Climate Change as a Correlate of Food and Human Security among Farming Households in Abia State

Abstract

The study was centered on climate change as a correlate of food and human security among farming households in Abia state, Nigeria. A correlational research design was used for the study. Three research questions and one null hypothesis guided the study. The hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. The target population consisted of 470 registered farmers in Aba South and Umuahia North Local Government Areas of Abia state. A sample of 212 registered farmers were selected through simple random sampling technique using Krejcie and Morgan’s table (1970) 5% margin of error, 95% confidence level and was used for the study. Two structured questionnaires titled: Climate Change Awareness Level Questionnaire (CCALQ) and Climate Change & Food Insecurity Questionnaire (CCFIQ) were developed, validated and used for the study. The internal consistency reliability of the instruments was calculated using Cronbach Alpha procedure and reliability estimate of 0.82 and 0.80 were obtained for CCALQ and CCFIQ respectively. They were administered to the participants by hand with the help of 7 trained research assistants and all the copies were returned. The data obtained from data collection were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer for research question 1, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient for research question 2 and the hypothesis was also tested with Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient at 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed that farmers had moderate awareness level of climate change and that climate change results to food and human insecurity in Abia state, Nigeria. However, it was recommended among others that researchers should conduct more on climate change, its impact and possible ways of ameliorating the negative effects on the society.