Abstract

This study focused on how altered climate has affected the livelihood of the farmer and the farming families in Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. This study had two research questions and two hypotheses. The population for the study was 246,807 made up of registered farmers. Proportionate stratified random sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 4,936 as respondents. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The instrument was face validated by three experts. Cronbach alpha method was used to determine the internal consistency of the questionnaire items which yielded a coefficient of 0.81. Mean, standard deviation, and t-test were used for data analysis. The findings of the study revealed that altered climate have adversely influenced the livelihood and living conditions of the farmer and the farming families in the area studied. Findings further revealed that the altered climate has led to increased poverty level and raised cost of production (input and labour cost), thus affecting farmers hitherto coordinated livelihood. Adoption of local adaptation approaches will help the farmers survive.

Key words: Farmer, flooding, sea level rise, rainfall, sustainable agriculture.