TITLE:
The Impact of Climate Change Induced Extreme Events on Agriculture and Food Security: A Review on Nigeria
AUTHORS:
Oludare Sunday Durodola
KEYWORDS:
Agriculture, Climate Change, Drought, Food Security, Flood
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.10 No.4,
April
11,
2019
ABSTRACT: The study of the climate change and the effects of climate change induced extreme events on food security are fundamental for the sustainable development of agriculture globally. Climatic factors are the primary important factors affecting agricultural production. Furthermore, the world is now experiencing more frequent and intense droughts and floods in many agricultural regions which damage and at times destroy crops. The effects of climatic change on agriculture have triggered significant trend of research during the last decade globally in order to unfold the solutions to climate change induced extreme events on agriculture. Several studies have been conducted on effects of extreme events such as droughts and flooding induced by climate change on agriculture and food security. These effects include changes in crop and livestock yields as well as the economic consequences of these potential yield changes globally. Therefore, this study reviews the effects of extreme events, including floods and drought, caused by climate change on agriculture and food security with focus on Nigeria in particular. For the study, literatures were identified for review through a comprehensive search by using electronic and non-electronic databases to identify researches conducted on effects on climate change and extreme events on agricultural productivity. From the review, it shows that extreme events such as droughts and floods impact agriculture and food security. In order to mitigate the effects of climate change especially droughts and floods, on agricultural productivity, there is an urgent need to intensity efforts and researches on climate change to mitigate and adapt to the occurrences of these extreme events when necessary in Nigeria. Several mitigation and adaptation measures need to be implemented to mitigate the effects of extreme events on agricultural productivity and food security. These measures include practicing climate-smart agriculture, construction and improvement of drainage networks to effectively dispose of flood water in order to reduce the risks of flooding in urban agriculture and drought-resistant varieties of crops should be cultivated.