Abstract
PERCEIVED EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON LAND RESOURCE USE AMONG FARMERS IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

The study assessed perceived effects of climate change on land resource use in Rivers State. It describes the socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents; respondents’ awareness of climate change; describes the effects of climate change on land resource use; identified adaptations strategies adopted to mitigate the effect of climate change. Data were collected using structured questionnaire administered to one hundred and fifty (150) respondents randomly selected from the zone III agricultural zone of Rivers State Agricultural Development Programme (RISADP). Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data collected. Results showed that 58% of the respondents were females and 42% were males, 89.34% had various levels of formal education. The study showed that 46% of the respondents were very much aware of climate change. Climate change had the following effects on land resource use: increase forest fire outbreak ( =2.32), tree mortality ( =2.14), increase soil erosion ( =2.19), death of flora and fauna (2.32) among others. Adaptation strategies employed included, planting of different crop varieties, increased fertilizer application, accessed credit facilities, early harvesting and soil conservation.