Environmental Impact of Climate Change

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN EKITI STATE, NIGERIA
*Ogundele, J. A.
Jegede, A. O.
Department of Geography and Planning Science
Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Ado-Ekiti
Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
*E-mail: [e-mail],[e-mail]

ABSTRACT
Climate change will impact agriculture and food production around the world due to; the effects of elevated Carbondioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, higher temperature, altered precipitation and transpiration regimes, increased frequency of extreme events, and modified weed, pest and pathogen pressure. Data for this study were collected from primary and secondary sources. Primary source of data were collected using two sets of structured questionnaires. A total number of three hundred (300) questionnaires were administered on two categories of respondents in this study. Results from this study revealed that Food Crops are the major crops cultivated in the study area, and the effects of climate change on agricultural production results to soil loss, plant nutrient loss, textural change, increase in pests and diseases and poor yield germination etc. This study therefore recommended that cover trees should be planted, which will provide shade and reduce heat, due to climate change and the preservation of underground water.
Keywords: Agricultural Production, Climate-Change, Environmental Impact.

INTRODUCTION
Climate change and agriculture are interrelated processes, both of which take place on a global scale (Jeremy, 2008). Environmental impact of agriculture varies based on the wide variety of agricultural practices employed around the world. Global warming is projected to have significant impacts on conditions affecting agriculture including temperature, precipitation and glacial run-off. These conditions determine the carrying capacity of the biosphere to produce enough food for the human population and domesticated animals (Marcoux, 2000). Rising levels of

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