Evaluating the Perceived Effects of Climate Change on the Availability of Water Irrigation in Dutse Local Government Area of Jigawa State, Nigeria

This research evaluates the perceived effects of climate change on the availability of water irrigation in Dutse Local Government Area of Jigawa State, Nigeria. Dutse is a largely semi-arid region; its situation is being affected by increasing problems with water-related agriculture arising in consequence of rising temperatures, variable rain conditions and the depletion of surface and groundwater. It employed both mixed-method with the use of structured questionnaires to 400 irrigation farmers, focus group discussion (FGDs) and key informants (KI) participant interviews. Descriptive statistics and Likert-based assessments were applied to quantitative data, which is used in drawing conclusions on the knowledge of local adaptation strategies and gaps in policy, whereas qualitative data provided a contextual interpretation of a local adaptation strategy. Findings show that most of the farmers have observed that rainfall pattern is changing and that water supply to irrigate their farms is lower which have led to low productivity and income. Very poor adoption of new irrigation technologies had been linked to financial factors and absence of awareness. Conventional alleviating measures like water rotating and early planting are still common but they are a less efficient measure nowadays. The government was deemed to play a minor role, and there were more of self-managed or community-based adjustments. The research summary is that the threat of climate change risks suggesting on the irrigation agriculture in Dutse LGA and recommends the adoption of comprehensive policy interventions involving increased investments in more water efficient technology, climate adaptive infrastructural development along with capacity building to enable rural farmers. This study improves our knowledge on the effects of the climate on local food systems and gives evidence-based recommendations on sustainable agricultural water management in northern Nigeria.