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The paper examined adaptation strategies used by rice processors in Ebonyi State to manage climate risks. The paper used random sampling technique to select respondents and questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. Cross-sectional data collected from 98 rice processors were analysed using descriptive statistics and multivariate probit regression model. The results indicated that majority of the rice processors perceived prolonged dry season and increased rainfall intensity as the main climate risks in the state. Livelihood diversification, storing of paddy, and reliance on climate information were the major adaptation strategies used by the rice processors to manage the climate risks. The main determinants of climate change adaptation strategies of rice processors were education, membership of cooperative societies, income, training on rice processing and climate risk management, experience of climate hazards, and ownership of assets. The processors faced various barriers to adoption which are mainly related to capital needs, competition from foreign brands, access to basic infrastructure and roads and information, high cost of labour. It is recommended that government support be given to the rice producing communities in terms of basic infrastructure and policies to protect the industry. Also, regular workshops/trainings should be held to train processors on best climate risk management practices and encourage registration of processor cooperatives/relevant associations.

This paper examined climate change adaptation strategies in fish farming and the effect of such methods on the profit of fish farmers in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country. Using cross‐sectional data obtained from 420 fish farmers from the region and applying multivariate probit and instrumental variable regressions, the study found that fish farmers have adopted a broad range of strategies to address climate risk and that these have significantly increased farmers’ profit. Our findings indicated important relationships between certain farm, socio‐economic and institutional characteristics and the adaptation actions. The study provides useful insight into factors that potentially encourage the adoption of livelihood‐enhancing climate risk adaptation strategies by fish farmers in the Niger Delta region and similar contexts.

Fish represents an important component of protein intake of many households in Nigeria. The different forms of fish available for consumption in most urban areas of Nigeria are fresh, smoked, dried or frozen fish. Households have different preferences for different forms of fish arising from changes in demand, price and income of the household. This creates the need to study and understand the level of demand for the different forms of fish consumed, the factors that influence fish consumption and how the demand for different forms responds to changes in price and income of consumers. It is in recognition of this fact that the present study assessed the demand for different forms of fish in Abakaliki metropolis of Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The paper describes the socio-economic characteristics of the fish consumers in Abakaliki metropolis, estimated the quantity and price of different forms of fish consumed in Abakaliki metropolis, ascertained the determinants of consumption of different forms of fish in the area and computed the income and price elasticities of fish demand in the area. Fifty-four (54) consumers were randomly selected from the area and interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Using descriptive statistics, seemingly unrelated regression analysis, income and price elasticities, the study found that the largest number of the consumers (75.9%) was interested in fresh fish. Dried fish was the second most preferred fish form consumed by the households (72.2%) while frozen fish emerged was consumed by 64.8% of the households making it the third preferred fish form in the area. The least preferred form of fish consumed in the area was smoked fish and 53.7% of the households consumed this fish form. The average monthly demand was highest for frozen fish. Furthermore, the findings show that age, household size, income, price of different forms of fish, education and gender were significant predictors of fish consumption. All the different forms of fish were price and income inelastic, with varying levels of inelasticity.

The paper analyzed the demand for imported rice, local rice, maize, and other cereals in Nigeria. Using the second wave data of the Nigerian Living Standard Measurements Survey - Integrated Survey on Agriculture, it employed the Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System model for empirical analysis. The result indicates that the imported and local rice are proved to be normal goods. However, imported rice is a luxury item while local rice is a necessity. The compensated and uncompensated own-price elasticities for imported and local rice are negative, indicating that an increase in own-price will decrease its own-demand in line with the law of demand. The estimates of uncompensated cross-price elasticity show that imported rice and local rice are complements in Nigeria. Finally, the study represents an effort to disaggregate food demand analysis to obtain useful information on price and other factors determining the demand for specific foods.

This paper classified the delivery strategy of pro-vitamin A biofortified crops in Nigeria and characterized the adoption pattern, determinants, and constraints to adoption. Forty papers were reviewed based on delivery strategies and organized into nine categories with cost effectiveness having the highest number of papers mentioned while sustainable approach has the least. Delivery authority, type of breeding technology, location-specific variable, farmland ownership and yield of improved varieties were determinants of adoption of biofortified cassava varieties stated in the papers. Major constraints to adoption included availability of resources, enabling environment for biofortification and undesirable traits due to instability of vitamin A during processing. The study concluded that the delivery strategies are similar to Harvestplus approach. Collaboration between Harvestplus and other agricultural research institutes in Nigeria was recommended.

An in-depth understanding of the impact of vulnerability on livelihoods and food security is important in deploying effective adaptation actions. The Nigerian agricultural sector is dominated by rainfed and non-homogenous smallholder farming systems. A number of climate change risk studies have emerged in the last decade. However, little attention has been given to vulnerability assessments and the operationalization of vulnerability. To highlight this shortcoming, this study systematically reviewed climate-change-focused vulnerability assessments in the agricultural sector by evaluating (1) variation in climate variables in Nigeria over time, (2) the state of climate change vulnerability assessment in Nigerian agriculture, (3) the theoretical foundations, operationalization approaches, and frameworks of vulnerability assessments in Nigeria, (4) the methods currently used in vulnerability assessments, and (5) lessons learned from the vulnerability studies. We used a linear trend of climatic data spanning over a period of 56 years (1961&ndash, 2016) obtained from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom, along with a systematic review of literature to achieve the objectives. The analysis indicates a significant and positive correlation between temperature and time in all major agro-ecological zones. For precipitation, we found a non-significant correlation between precipitation in the Sahel, Sudan, and Guinea Savanna zones with time, while the other zones recorded positive but significant associations between precipitation and time. The systematic review findings indicate no clear progress in publications focused specifically on vulnerability assessments in the Nigerian agricultural sector. There has been progress recently in applying frameworks and methods. However, there are important issues that require addressing in vulnerability assessments, including low consideration for indigenous knowledge and experience, unclear operationalization of vulnerability, non-standardization of vulnerability measures, and inadequacy of current assessments supporting decision making.

Rice production in Nigeria is vulnerable to climate risks and rice farmers over time have experienced the risks and their respective impacts on rice farming. Rice farmers have also responded to perceived climate risks with strategies believed to be climate-smart. Farmers’ perception of climate risks is an important first step of determining any action to be taken to counteract the negative effects of climate change on agriculture. Studies on the link between perceived climate risks and farmers’ response strategies are increasing. However, there are limited studies on the determinants of rice farmers’ perception of climate events. The paper therefore examined climate change perception and uptake of climate-smart agriculture in rice production in Ebonyi State, Nigeria using cross-sectional data from 347 rice farmers in an important rice-producing area in Nigeria. Principal component analysis, multivariate probit regression model and descriptive statistics were adopted for data analysis. Perceived climate events include increased rainfall intensity, prolonged dry seasons, frequent floods, rising temperature, severe windstorms, unpredictable rainfall pattern and distribution, late onset rain, and early cessation of rain. Farmers’ socioeconomic, farm and institutional characteristics influenced their perception of climate change. Additionally, rice farmers used a variety of climate-smart practices and technologies to respond to the perceived climate events. Such climate-smart practices include planting improved rice varieties, insurance, planting different crops, livelihood diversification, soil and water conservation techniques, adjusting planting and harvesting dates, irrigation, reliance on climate information and forecasts, planting on the nursery, appropriate application of fertilizer and efficient and effective use of pesticides. These climate-smart agricultural measures were further delineated into five broad packages using principal component analysis. These packages include crop and land management practices, climate-based services and irrigation, livelihood diversification and soil fertility management, efficient and effective use of pesticide and planting on the nursery. High fertilizer costs, lack of access to inputs, insufficient land, insufficient capital, pests and diseases, floods, scorching sun, high labour cost, insufficient climate information, and poor extension services were the barriers to uptake of climate-smart agriculture in rice production. Rice farmers should be supported to implement climate-smart agriculture in rice production in order to achieve the objectives of increased rice productivity and income, food security, climate resilience and mitigation.

Empirical evidence is scanty on the nexus between caregivers&rsquo, nutrition knowledge, market accessibility, and preschool children&rsquo, s dietary diversity in remote communities of Africa&rsquo, s most populous country, Nigeria. To fill this gap, this study evaluated the effects of caregivers&rsquo, nutrition knowledge and access to food market on dietary diversity of preschool children. We used cross-sectional data from four hundred households selected from twenty remote communities in Southeast Nigeria. The study adopted instrumental variable regression to estimate the impacts of nutrition knowledge and food market access on preschool children&rsquo, s dietary diversity. The findings show that in remote communities, caregivers&rsquo, nutrition knowledge and households&rsquo, closeness to the market improved preschool children&rsquo, s dietary diversity. The study demonstrates the potential of improving preschool children&rsquo, s nutrition outcomes through enhancing access to food market and the nutrition knowledge of the caregivers.

This study explored rural-urban migration and agricultural investment in Southeast Nigeria. The study adopted a multi-stage sampling procedure in the selection of respondents. Cross-sectional data gathered from 200 household heads (100 male-headed households and 100 female-headed households) were used. Using percentage, mean and ordinary least square regression, the findings revealed that the major determinants of migration were sex of the household head (3.53), male to female ratio of household members not resident at home (14.86), age (0.50), access to credit (10.53), number of migrants in the working age (2.6), occupation (11.56) and number of livelihood activities pursued by the household (1.87). The average annual remittance from male migrants in maleheaded households was ₦204,269.3 while that of their female counterparts was ₦161,297.76. The average annual remittance from male migrants in femaleheaded households was ₦189,282.9 while that of their female counterparts was ₦170,297.8. The average amount of remittance invested in agriculture in maleheaded households was ₦131,334.8 while that of their female counterparts was ₦151,676.5. Gender drives migration, remittances from both the sender and receiver perspectives and household investment decisions. Gender should be mainstreamed in migration policies to consider the peculiarities of both men and women in migration and remittances. Key words : Migration; gender; remittance; investment in agriculture

This study prioritised sustainable agricultural practices in Ebonyi State, Nigeria by using a participatory methodology and selected 240 farmers from the state for interview and group discussion through a multistage sampling technique. Scoring and bidding exercises using pseudo money were employed to check the willingness to pay for various SAPs. Stated preference and chi-square were adopted for data analysis. Strong similarities and differences characterise preferences of different SAPs by farmers in different agricultural zones. Insurance, climate change-based advisory services, improved crop varieties, mounds and adjusting planting dates were the commonly preferred practices. Farmers' scoring and bidding differed significantly for insurance, improved crop varieties and climate change-based advisory services. Adopting a stated preference methodology in prioritising farmers' preferences for sustainable agricultural practices in a changing climate provides relevant information on climate risk management.