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Explora: Environment
and Resource Climate change adaptation through indigenous practices in Ebonyi State

crop failure. It also supports the protection of rangeland that indigenous practices and knowledge systems remain
and promotes its sustainable use for livestock production, effective tools for climate change adaptation among sweet
rather than continuous ploughing, which can lead to soil potato farmers. In addition, these systems are easily
compaction. 22 accessible to them.
Crop diversification enhances agricultural production 3.5. Factors determining the extent of indigenous
by increasing variety. Ihenacho et al. observed that practice utilization by sweet potato farmers
7
diversification improves soil productivity, reduces the
incidence of pests and diseases, and contributes to higher Table 4 reveals that several factors influence the extent
crop yields. This approach offers a more environmentally to which farmers utilize indigenous practices. The age
friendly and sustainable alternative to the use of agricultural of sweet potato farmers shows a significant positive
chemicals. relationship (β = 0.326) with the extent of utilization of
indigenous practices. This indicates that as respondents
Farmers in the study area consider adjusting planting advanced in age, they implemented more indigenous
dates crucial, as they rely on natural precipitation for adaptation strategies. These findings agree with Juah
agricultural production 8. Sweet potato farmers take and Nhamo, as well as Izuogu et al., who reported that
23
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advantage of early rains to ensure sufficient moisture for indigenous adaptation practices become increasingly
crop growth and reduce vulnerability to pests and diseases.
Atasie et al. documented that most farmers in the zone Table 3. Challenges in implementing indigenous climate
22
practiced bush fallowing as a climate change adaptation change adaptation strategies
strategy. However, the low extent of fallow use observed Challenges %
in this study could be attributed to increasing pressure Competing resource use 87
on agricultural land caused by population growth and
urbanization. Izuogu et al. noted that Nigerian farmers face Inadequate knowledge about potentially feasible options 79
23
challenges such as competing land use, limited knowledge, Absence of accurate and timely information and technical 74
and land tenure issues that hinder the implementation of advisory services
fallow systems. As an indigenous adaptation strategy, late Poor access to adequate information about climate change 68
planting helps farmers avoid extreme weather. However, Shortage of land 66
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climate variability has frustrated the effective use of late Unavailability and lack of access to inputs 62
planting, as predicting rainfall patterns and duration has Lack of promotion of indigenous practices 38
become increasingly difficult. Concerns about the reliability of indigenous practices 27

3.4. Challenges faced by farmers implementing Lack of adequate education on the role of indigenous practices in 23
indigenous adaptation strategies climate change adaptation
The main obstacles to effective indigenous climate change Table 4. Determinants of the extent of indigenous practice
adaptation, as presented in Table 3, include insufficient utilization
access to accurate information (74%), limited knowledge
about viable alternative options (79%), and competing Variables Coef. SE z Prob
resource use (87%). These findings align with Juah and Age 0.326*** 0.315 3.461 0.001
Nhamo, who reported that insufficient resources and Gender 0.421 0.120 2.856 0.085
6
poverty hinder the use of indigenous climate change Distance to the farm −0.101** 0.166 1.459 0.060
adaptation practices among farmers. For instance, the Access to weather information 2.454 0.660 0.287 0.658
inability to strengthen adaptation strategies has led to a Use of weather information 1.032 0.111 4.739 0.031
lack of information among rural farmers, leaving many
unaware of viable alternatives. Access to credit 0.112 0.121 7.633 0.006
Extension contacts −0.532 0.928 0.125 0.907
Sweet potato farmers, however, do not consider the
reliability of indigenous practices to be a major challenge Religion −0.213*** 0.145 0.114 0.004
(27%). These findings contradict Juah and Nhamo, who Membership in a cooperative association −0.652 ** 0.725 1.813 0.058
6
argued that indigenous practices have lost credibility over Constant 254.7 317.5 -0.614 0.685
time due to their unreliable predictions and inconsistent R 2 0.567 - - -
outcomes. However, because these practices are passed Observations 132 - - -
down through generations, sweet potato farmers continue Note: **p<0.05, ***p<0.01.
to access, own, and rely on them. This response suggests Abbreviations: Coef.: Coefficient; SE: Standard Error.

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2025) 5 doi: 10.36922/EER025250048