Climate Change and Adaptation Strategies on Cocoa Production in Ibarapa Central of Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

In spite of various efforts of improving cocoa yield and farm’s production embarked upon by cocoa farmers, the nation has recorded poor yield due to the unending activities of men which has led to global warming. In view of the relevance of cocoa in the country’s gross domestic product, there is need to sustain efforts for increase production and productivity of the sector.   This research work examined the climate change and adaptation strategies on cocoa production in Ibarapa central local government area of Oyo state with sample size of 120 respondents. Data were collected from selected cocoa farmers with the aid of structured interview schedule and data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed that some respondents (60.6%) were still in their active age range with abundant family labour. The findings also revealed that majority (78.9%) of the respondents are small-scale farmers with less than 5 hectares of farm size while 94.5% of the respondents plant cover crops as regular adaptation strategy. Finance was a serious constraint faced by the respondents in the use of adaptation strategies in the study area. However, a significant relationship exists between respondent age education and farm size at P<0.05. It is recommended that farmers should be properly educated on current practices that will reduce the negative impact of climate change in cocoa farming environment.