Coping strategies against climate change among Eriwe earthen fish farmers in Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria

Fishing folks have experienced a range of losses due to the impacts of climate change. These losses are multifaceted, affecting economic, social and environmental aspects of their lives and businesses. Therefore, the study assessed coping strategies employed to climate change by earthen pond fish farmers. Data were collected through primary sources with interview guide. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 200 earthen fish farmers. Data were presented using descriptive statistics (such as frequency and percentage) and also analysed by inferential statistics including Pearson’s product moment correlation, multiple regression and Chi square (x2 ). The results showed that the mean age of the respondents was 51 years, with an average of 5-10 years of fish farming experience. The majority of them had secondary level of education, and their average annual income was between ₦600,000 and ₦800,000. About 60% of the earthen fish farmers were males. Coping strategies correlated positively with marital status (r = 0.221, p < 0.01), but negatively with occupation and income (r = –0.305, p < 0.01). There was a significant relationship between socio-characteristics of the earthen fish farmers and losses they experienced due to climate change (F = 10.829, p < 0.05). In addition, the Chi-square tests showed a significant association between the categorical variables (x2 = 28.451, p < 0.001). It was concluded that the earthen fish pond farmers experienced losses due to climate change and adopted a range of coping strategies to ameliorate such losses. Therefore, it is recommended that governments at all levels should assist the earthen fish farmers more, to invest in more sophisticated flood management practices and infrastructure to prevent pond damage and fish stock losses during extreme weather events.