Climate Variability and its Implications on Rural Household Food Security in Nigeria

Some of the most important impacts of global climate change and food security will be felt among the rural household, predominantly in developing countries. Their vulnerability to climate change comes both from being predominantly located in the tropics and from various socio-economic demographic and policy trends limiting their capacity to adapt to change. Climate variability directly affects agricultural production, as agriculture is inherently sensitive to climate conditions and is one of the most vulnerable sectors to the risks and impacts of global climate change. However, these impacts will be difficult to predict because of lack of standard definition of the rural household farming system, intrinsic characteristics of these household particularly their location specificity and their integrated agricultural and non-agricultural livelihood strategies and their vulnerability to a range of climate related and other stressors. This study therefore, is on climate variability and its implications on rural household food security in Nigeria. The main aim is the assessment of the impact of the below normal rainfall and drought on food security in Nigeria. Based on the facts gathered, this study concludes that there is need for stakeholders in environmental management and agricultural sustainability in developing countries to come to terms with negative impact of climate change and likely positive and beneficial response strategies to global warming.