Exploring the Relationship between Climate Variability and Crop Yields in Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the impact of climate variability and its consequences on crop yields to achieve this, the study assessed the relationship between climate variables (rainfall, temperature and relative humidity) and crop yields in Niger State, Nigeria. The study utilized daily temperature and rainfall data for 30 years (1988-2018) The annual series of crop yields per unit area during 1997–2018(21 years) was collected from Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and Agricultural Development Project (ADP) Niger Stat. Linear regression model was used to analyze the relationship between crop yields and climatic variables. The result reveals that for every unit increment in rainfall there is a 29.9% positive effect on the yield of cassava, 36.50% positive effect in the yield of yam, 87.5% positive effect on the yield of rice, 0.07% positive effect on the yield of sweet potato, and 0.01% positive effect on the yield of millet. For temperature there is a 0.01% positive effect on the yield of cassava, 37.62% positive effect in the yield of sweet potato, and on humidity there is a 1.20% positive effect on the yield of yam. 2.0% positive effects on the yield of beans, 2.30% positive effect on the yield of sweet potato, and 3.40% positive effect on the yield of millet during the study period in Niger State. The study recommended that the result therefore, has much to offer in terms of far- level decision making policies on agricultural production, in Niger State.