Evidence of Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture and Food Security in Nigeria

Change in climate and consequent global warming are posing threats to food security in many developing nations including Nigeria because of the climate-dependent nature of agricultural systems and lack of coping capabilities. The spatiotemporal pattern of temperature and rainfall of Nigeria between 1901 and 2005 (105 years), using temperature and rainfall data to support the concept of regional climate change and its impact on Agriculture and food security was investigated. Also assessed was the level of agriculture funding and output in Nigeria. Mean annual air temperature and rainfall data between 1901- 2005 (105 years) were obtained from Food and Agricultural Organization publications, National Bureau of Statistics, Central Bank of Nigeria bulletin and National Meteorological Agency. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The results showed that within the period of 105 years, rainfall decreased by 81 mm with increasing temperature of 1.1℃. The unpredictability of rainfall and steadily increasing air temperature were observed from 1971-2005. The total federal budget between 2001 and 2005 averaged 824 billion Naira per year of which very small amount (14.7 billion (1.8%)) went to agricultural sector. The actual spending was 681 billion Naira per year with 11.4 billion Naira for agriculture. Over 25 years, there were low and dramatic walloping of public spending in agriculture relative to large size and importance of agricultural sector in the economy. There is a continuous rise in output from 1987 to 2000 before it dropped in 2001. Land degradation, desert encroachment, drying up of surface waters, coastal inundations, and shift in cultivated crops over time affected the food security in Nigeria. The current available data showed that Nigeria, like most parts of the world is experiencing the basic features of climate change. Therefore, Nigerian government/ private sector partnership should encourage agricultural, industrial and domestic practices which will not contribute to the emission of greenhouse gasses.