Oladapo A A
Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Nigeria
Title: Perception of climatic variability on food security and consumption pattern of rural households in Idanre Local Government Area, Ondo State, Nigeria
Biography
Biography: Oladapo A A
Abstract
The study was designed to assess the awareness of the farm settlers in Idanre Local Government Area (LGA) on the impact of climatic variability on food production and food security status. 100 households, whose major occupation was farming, were randomly selected in 4 rural communities of Idanre LGA Ondo State, Nigeria. Semi structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio economic characteristics, availability and affordability of some staple foods, coping strategy during food crisis, food security status and awareness on climatic variability. The results showed that 59% were male while 41% were female, majority (93%) of the households reported that some of the staple foods such as cassava were both available and affordable. While result on food consumption pattern showed that 44% of the households consumed cassava more than four times per week and the overall consumption of roots and tuber were high (90%). Food security status of the households using coping strategy index showed that 47% of the household had no/low coping strategy and one quarter (25%) of the households reported that they reduce the number of their meal while 40% purchased food on credit. Awareness of the households on the impact of climatic variability on food production showed that majority (75%) were aware that climatic variability reduces soil nutrients with resultant effect on crops yield. The farm households were aware of the impact of climatic variability on food production but lacked adequate knowledge on adaptation strategy.