Crops response to climate variability and societal implications on rural dwellers of Nigeria

Sina Ayanlade, Obafemi Awolowo University

This study examines impacts of climate variability on the yield of eight major crops in the guinea ecological of Nigeria, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The Guinea ecological zone represents a rich agricultural area for Nigeria, sometime call “the food basket zone of the country”. Thet study apply GIS techniques to examine the climate variability and its implications on the eight crops (Cassava, yam, Maize, sorghum, Groundnut, Cowpea, Cocoyam and Melon), majorly cultivated in the area. Rainfall, temperature and the crops yield dataset from 1982 to 2012 were used in the analysis. The results show that during the past decades the yields of these crops were associated with climate variability, which vary differently in the year with high rainfall than the year with low rainfall.