Assessment of The Utilization of Climate-Smart Agriculture (Csa) Among Arable Crop Farmers in Taraba State, Nigeria

The study assessed the utilization of climate-smart agriculture among arable-crop farmers in Taraba State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents; and assess the extent of utilization of CSA by respondents. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 278 respondents from seven local government areas. Primary data were collected through structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics and likert-type rating scales as described by Best and Kahn (2006). Results revealed that the mean age of the farmers was 42 years, indicating that most respondents were in their active and productive years. The majority (75.54%) were male, and most (86.33%) were married, with an average household size of nine persons. The mean farm size was 2.51 hectares, indicating that most respondents were smallholder farmers. A considerable proportion had secondary (33.45%) and tertiary education (30.94%), while 58.27% had access to credit and were members of cooperative societies. The findings further showed that commonly utilized CSA practices include early planting (mean=2.74), use of improved seed varieties (mean=2.65), and drought-tolerant crops (mean=2.57). However, the overall level of the utilization was moderate, indicating that although farmers are aware of CSA technologies their level of use remains suboptimal. It is therefore recommended that the government and relevant stakeholders strengthen extension services, improve access to credit, invest in rural infrastructure, and promote policies that support the utilization of climate-smart agriculture practices.