Effects of Climatic Variability on Cassava Production in Nigeria

Abstract

Climate change has brought about irregularity in pattern and intensity of climatic variables such as rainfall and temperature that are important in crop production; making planning in agriculture difficult. The importance of cassava in the diet of Nigerian and its industrial use necessitate the need to examine the effects of climatic variability on cassava production. Secondary data obtained from Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) were used for the study. Analysis of Variance and Error Correction model were utilized.  The study showed that the rainforest zone had the highest averages of annual rainfall (1709mm) and relative humidity (82.1%) while the Sahel savannah had the highest mean annual temperature (35.3oC). The variability in annual rainfall and relative humidity was low in the rainforest zone. The study showed that the rainforest zone had the least dispersion of average annual relative humidity (2.06%) while the guinea savannah had highest dispersion (4.68%). The average cassava output from the agro-ecological zones was 49,118,871MT per year. Rainforest and guinea savannah accounted for 56.3% and 41.9% of total cassava output respectively. There were significant variations in the climatic variables (rainfall and temperature) among the agro-ecological zones but not significant among the years (p>0.05).  The annual rainfall and solar radiation were the factors that influenced cassava output in all the agro-ecological zones. The need for affordable irrigation by cassava farmers and the adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture are recommended to boost cassava production in Sudan savannah and Sahel savannah.