Climate Change Adaptation Strategies among Yam Farmers in Wukari Local Government area, Taraba State, Nigeria

This study assessed yam farmers’ adaptation strategies to climate change in Wukari Local Government Area, Taraba State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected from 88 respondents using structured questionnaires and analyzed through descriptive statistics and multiple regression. The respondents were predominantly male (58%), with an average age of 42.25 years. Most were married (64%) and had attained formal education (88%). Household sizes were generally small, with 93% of farmers having 15 or fewer members, and 85% had more than 10 years of farming experience. Despite this, only 15% were members of cooperative societies, while 76% had access to credit. Analysis of adaptation strategies showed that the most adopted methods were use of chemicals (27.56%), cultural practices (22.44%), and mixed farming (21.70%), followed by afforestation (10.36%), crop rotation (9.94%), crop diversification (5.76%), and migration (2.24%). Multiple regression analysis revealed that age (β = 0.041, p < 0.01), education (β = 0.118, p < 0.05), farming experience (β = 0.039, p < 0.01), and cooperative membership (β = 0.135, p <0.01) significantly and positively influenced the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies. Conversely, household size (β = -0.048, p < 0.01) had a significant negative effect. The model explained 87.9% of the variance in adaptation levels (R² = 0.879, F = 457.932, p < 0.01).Key constraints to adaptation were limited access to credit (mean = 2.47), unsupportive government policy (mean = 2.36), and high cost of irrigation (mean = 2.22). The study concludes that although yam farmers are aware of and adopt various strategies to cope with climate change, their efforts are hindered by limited institutional support and financial resources. It is recommended that farmers be encouraged to join cooperatives to enhance access to information, credit, and climate-resilient innovations. Government and NGOs should support yam farmers through climate-smart agriculture policies, subsidized irrigation infrastructure, and targeted funding initiatives.