SMALLHOLDER FARMERS' PERCEPTIONS AND USE OF CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is increasingly promoted as a means of strengthening the resilience of smallholder farming systems to climate variability. Yet awareness of CSA does not necessarily translate into actual implementation, particularly where farmers face financial, technical and institutional constraints. This study examined the roles of climate experience, agricultural information and socioeconomic characteristics in CSA adoption among smallholder farmers in southwestern Nigeria. Primary data were obtained through a structured cross-sectional survey of 190 farmers in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State. Descriptive statistics were used to characterise respondents and examine CSA awareness, agricultural information, experience of weather variability, willingness to adopt, reported adoption and perceived constraints. Because the adoption outcome was highly imbalanced, Firth-penalised logistic regression was used to identify factors independently associated with actual CSA adoption. The results show that 98.4% of respondents were aware of CSA and 96.3% reported experiencing changes in weather conditions. Although 96.3% expressed willingness to adopt CSA, 88.4% reported actual use, indicating an intention–implementation gap. Water-conservation technologies received the highest proportion of “very important” responses (83.7%), followed by organic manure (80.5%), drought-resistant crops (80.0%) and crop rotation (79.5%). Government extension officers were the principal reported source of agricultural information (55.3%). Implementation cost was the leading constraint (54.7%), followed by uncertainty about effectiveness (25.8%) and difficulty learning new techniques (19.5%). In the Firth model, experience of changing weather conditions was the only statistically significant predictor of adoption (OR = 10.401, 95% CI: 3.118–34.694, p < 0.001). Gender, education, farm size and extension information were not statistically significant. The findings indicate that CSA adoption in the study area is not adequately explained by awareness alone. Farmers’ direct experience of climatic variability appears to be an important stimulus for adaptation, while financial and technical constraints can restrict implementation. Climate adaptation policies should therefore move beyond general awareness creation towards practical extension, affordable inputs, locally relevant climate information and resource-supported implementation.