ABSTRACT
Nigeria has seen a worsening of severe flooding, landslides, and gully erosion. In rural and urban Nigeria, it is predicted that 6,000 gullies destroyed homes, pipelines, and roads by 2009. These extreme weather events caused a lot of Nigerians to feel anxious and hopeless. This study therefore seek to investigate the Effects of Climate Change on Businesses in North central Nigeria. The specific objectives are to empirically examine the effect of flood on business performances in Northern Nigeria: analyze the effect of drought on agribusiness performance in Northern Nigeria and make useful recommendations. This study makes use of survey research design, the data were obtained from structured questionnaire distributed to the respondents. Findings revealed that Small and medium-sized businesses in Northern Nigeria have been shown to be more vulnerable to flooding and drought due to their inherent characteristics, according to this study. Loss or damage to goods, property damage, broken or missing building equipment, and a lack of ability to conduct business are just a few ways that the repercussions may be felt directly or indirectly. The study recommends that state and local governments to implement a well-planned drainage system that can handle the localized high rainfall in the metropolis in light of the findings.
Introduction
Seventy percent of the Nigerian population works in the agriculture sector. Crop farming is a key industry and revenue generator for the vast majority of rural farmers. Most of the food in the country is grown and harvested by smallholder farmers in rural regions (Farauta, Egbule, Idrisa&Agu, 2011). This group of farmers is easily identifiable by the fact that they cultivate their crops on a small scale, relying heavily on in-kind resources and cultural norms that have been passed down through generations.
The Samaru Zone is home to many small-scale farmers, the vast majority of whom are subsistence farmers. Modern farming equipment and agrochemicals like pesticides and herbicides are not permitted due to their practise of continuous crop farming and mixed cropping. Crop farmers cultivate their land using primitive tools including hoes, cutlasses, and machinery drawn by animals. Most crop producers lack easy access to modern input and productive resources like insecticides and fertiliser because of a lack of government support.
In the Samaru Agricultural Zone of Kaduna State, Nigeria, farmers primarily grow cereals. Mango trees, citrus trees, grapefruit trees, and palm oil trees are just a few examples of different tree crops. Food crops make up the bulk of the agricultural practise, with one or more supplementary crops planted in combination or rotation. There are millions of people in the Samaru Agricultural Zone who rely on agricultural production for their survival, since it provides them with food, animal feed, and a source of income. The major strengths of crop production are the large variety of agricultural commodities that may be grown and the generally favourable weather conditions throughout the year (Nigeria Agricultural Digest, 2010). In many cases, farmers are forced to adapt to changing weather conditions.
Weather patterns, storm frequency and severity, cold snaps, and hot weather are all part of a place’s climate, which is the long-term (about 35-year) average weather Akinoso (2017).
The environment around us varies on a daily basis, and this is what we call the weather. Precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, sunshine (day length), cloud cover, air pressure, and wind are all considered climatic elements according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 2007. However, the effects of climate on agricultural output vary by kind of crop and by stage of development. The rate at which plants develop and attain full maturity depends on the average temperature in their growing region. Rainfall refers to the gradual accumulation of water on the ground caused by precipitation falling from the sky. A favourable climate for seed germination and growth is very necessary for agricultural progress. The term “wind” is used to describe the flow of air across the surface of a planet or through its atmosphere. The wind influences crop yields because it aids in pollination and the dispersal of seeds and fruit. Plant growth, maturity, and blooming are all aided by the relative humidity of the surrounding environment. The relative humidity determines what sorts of plants may be grown. The longer days increase the amount of sunlight available, which in turn increases the pace at which plants can perform photosynthesis. High agricultural productivity is frequently the result of a combination of climatic factors Conrow (2021).
