Anthony Nyong

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Adapting to Droughts Among Poor Rural Households
in Semi-arid Nigeria Influencing Factors and
Enhancing Opportunities

• Anthony Nyong
• University of Jos, Nigeria

UNFCCC In-Session Workshop on Impacts of, and
vulnerability and Adaptation to, Climate
Change. Hotel Maritim, Bonn, Germany 18 June 2004
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Acknowledgement

• This report outlines some of the experiences
  drawn from an AIACC supported project on
  Assessing the Vulnerability and Adaptation of
  Households to droughts in the West African Sahel.
• Funding for AIACC (Assessment of Impacts and
  Adaptations to Climate Change in Multiple
  Regions) was provided by GEF, USAID, CIDA and
  USEPA.
• AIACC is jointly administered by START (Global
  SysTems for Analysis, Research and Training) and
  TWAS (Third World Academy of Science)

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Africa is Highly Vulnerable to Climate
Change.IPCC 2001
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Introduction

• Climate is changing with far reaching impacts
• Recurrent drought is a major climatic problem
  affecting the livelihoods of the people in
  semi-arid northern Nigeria.
• Not everyone is equally vulnerable.
• Some have already adapted to the phenomenon,
  while others have not. So
• Who has adapted?
• How have they adapted?
• What factors influence their capacity to adapt?,
  and
• What enhancement opportunities exist to further
  increase their adaptive capacity?

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Project Context

• From the beginning of the 20th Century, the
  following drought events have been recorded in
  Northern Nigeria
• 1904-1912
• 1914 1930
• 1942
• 1950-1952
• 1966 1968
• 1969 1974
• 1983 1984
• 1987

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(No Transcript)
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Adaptation Strategies

• Use of shallow wells
• Small-scale irrigation initiatives
• Planting of drought-resistant crop varieties
• Nomadism (transhumance)
• Crop and animal diversification
• Income diversification
• Reliance on neglected local food resources
• Relocation and migration

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Influencing Factors (1)

• Availability of Resources
• Financial Resources
• Human and Natural capital
• Socio-cultural capital
• Appropriate Technology
• Water Extraction and storage
• Climate forecast
• Improved cropping systems and varieties

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Influencing Factors 2

• Government Policy
• National Drought Action Plan
• Nomadic Education Program
• Strategic Grains Reserve Program
• Fadama Agriculture Program
• National Emergency Management Agency
• National Agency for Poverty Eradication
• NEEDS

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Influencing Factors (3)

• Capacity Building through Establishment of
  Regional and National Institutions.
• Presidential Implementation Committee on CDM
• Attitudes and Perception of Stakeholders
• The victim syndrome
• Common Resource

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Enhancing Opportunities for Adaptation (1)

• Government Policy
• Setting of long term national goals
• Mainstreaming adaptation into national economic
  policies
• Elimination of edge problems in managing drought
  and climate change issues
• Institutional change (credit facilities, pricing
  market policies)
• Pursue beneficial impacts of climate change
• Provide for the security of Lives

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Enhancing Opportunities for Adaptation (2)

• Agricultural systems
• Develop new varieties in line with local norms
  (indigenous research)
• Introduce appropriate technology
• Evolve a system of attitudinal change in
  unsustainable agricultural practices
• Extension services on information dissemination
• Capacity Building
• Build on Indigenous Knowledge to develop good
  practice guidance for the design of adaptation
  strategies
• Establishment of a data bank to collate
  researches and information on vulnerabilities and
  adaptation

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So?

• What do the people want?

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Listen to the stakeholders
As specified in project request
As designed by senior analyst
As produced by the programmers
As installed at the users site
What the user wanted