Page 135 - EER-2-3

Explora: Environment

and Resource

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Adoption of indigenous practices for climate

change adaptation by sweet potato farmers in
Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Loveday Chukwudi Njoku * , Ngozi Ekunyi Umeh 1 , Chidera Nicholas Akude 1 ,
1
Joshua Chibudo Nwabuisi 2 , Abraham Godwin Ominikari 3 , Chibuzo Uzoma
Izuogu 1 , and Hamma Ismail Ibrahim 4

1 Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Faculty of Agriculture, Alex Ekwueme
Federal University, Ndufu Alike, Ebonyi State, Nigeria
2 Department of Geography and Environment, Faculty of Social Science, Western University, London,
Ontario, Canada
3 Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Faculty of Agriculture, Niger Delta University,
Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State, Nigeria
4 Department of Agricultural Extension, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maiduguri, Borno State,
Nigeria

Abstract
*Corresponding author:
Loveday Chukwudi Njoku Existing literature recognizes the role of indigenous practices in building
(njoku.chukwudi@funai.edu.ng)
resilience to climate change, yet few empirical studies have examined crop- and
Citation: Njoku LC, Umeh NE, location-specific strategies. This research assessed that gap by assessing the
Akude CN, et al. Adoption of indigenous adaptation practices of sweet potato farmers in Ebonyi State, Nigeria.
indigenous practices for climate
change adaptation by sweet Indigenous practices are defined as traditional farming approaches, skills, and
potato farmers in Ebonyi State, strategies passed down through generations within a specific locality or culture.
Nigeria. Explora Environ Resour. Data were collected through a multistage sampling procedure and analyzed
2025;2(3):025250048.
doi: 10.36922/EER025250048 using mean scores, percentages, and probit regression analysis. Results showed
that most sweet potato farmers widely adopted indigenous practices such
Received: June 16, 2025 −
as changing planting dates (x score = 3.5), crop rotation (x score = 3.2), mixed
−
−
−
1st revised: August 1, 2025 farming (x score = 3.4), and crop diversification (x score = 3.1). The challenges
2nd revised: August 18, 2025 associated with the utilization of indigenous practices included a lack of real-time
and accurate information (74%), limited knowledge of potentially feasible options
Accepted: August 18, 2025
(79%), and competing resource use (87%). Age (β = 0.326) positively influenced
Published online: September 9, the extent of indigenous practice use, while distance to farm (β = −0.101), religion
2025
(β = −0.213), and membership in cooperative associations (β = −0.652) had
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s). negative effects. Overall, sweet potato farmers extensively employed indigenous
This is an Open-Access article practices as part of their strategies for adapting to climate change. Christian
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution organizations and cooperative associations should be encouraged to support the
License, permitting distribution, adoption of these strategies among farmers. Furthermore, the study recommends
and reproduction in any medium, that agricultural credits and loans be provided through the national agricultural
provided the original work is
properly cited. bank to help farmers overcome financial constraints in implementing indigenous
climate change adaptation practices.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Keywords: Adaptation practices; Challenges of indigenous practices; Determinants of use
affiliations.

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2025) 1 doi: 10.36922/EER025250048