Perception of Agricultural Education Students on the effects of Climate Change on farming Activities in Tertiary Institutions of Southwest, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the perception of agricultural education students on the effects of climate change on farming activities in tertiary institutions of Southwest, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 95 students from both institutions used for the study, while oral Interview or interview guides were used to collect data. Frequency counts, simple percentage, Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC), Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Independent t-test were used to analyze the data. From independent samples t- test, the p-value (0.000) is less than the standard significance level of 0.05, male and female perception on the effect climate change is high. PPMC (r= .663, p<0.05) revealed a significant relationship between agricultural education student’s sources of information and their perception on the effect of climate change on farming activities. PPMC (r=456, p<0.05) revealed a significant relationship between socio economic characteristics of agricultural education students and their knowledge of causes of climate change.  ANOVA (F = 6.765, p<0.05) showed a statistically significant difference between agricultural education students’ perceptions on the effect of climate change on farming activities in tertiary institution. it can be concluded that respondents have diversity of perception on the effects of climate change on farming activities in tertiary institutions. It is recommended that climate related courses particularly courses on climate change, mitigation and adaptation must be integrated in the curriculum of Agricultural education/Agricultural disciplines in the tertiary institutions to enhance and prepare students for future scenario of climate change as it affects agricultural production and farming activities.