Abstract:
Study investigated the effect of farmer perceptions of climate change stressors on stressmigration using primary data collected by means of multi-stage sampling technique in 2012 on
120 irrigated upland rice-farming households. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and
Heckman Two-Steps probit models. Results showed that drought and flood principally reduced
rice yield, led to high crop loss, increased food insecurity and indebtedness and induced farmer
stress-migration. Twenty-two percent of the farmers adapted to stress-migration between the
years 2007 to 2011. Farmers frequently coped with cutting expenses, engaging in wage labor,
hoarding food, seeking support from friends and relations, acquiring loans and petty trading and
stress-migration. Adoption of ‘change of cropping patterns’, uniquely influenced farmer stressmigration as farm-size influenced decision to stress-migrate. Study recommends that to reduce
farmer-stress migration towards ensuring resilience of rice system under persistent climate
change stress in Niger state, the Niger State government should provide incentives to attract
more men and educated farmers into rice farming and revisit land related matters to ensure that
farmers have access to adequate farm size. |
