Determinants of the choice of mitigation strategies to climate variability adopted by agro-pastoralists in Kano and Jigawa States, Nigeria
Isyaku Suleiman, Amina Mustapha, Amina Lawan Mustapha, Abdullahi Tofeeq Lawal, Salmanu Abdusalam Safiyanu, and Alasan Alhassan
Abstract
This study analyzed the determinants of mitigation strategies adopted by agro-pastoralists in Kano and Jigawa States, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 377 respondents from seven Local Government Areas. Primary data were collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression techniques. The results showed that agro-pastoralism is male-dominated (100%), with a mean age of 41 years and 25 years of farming experience. Most respondents had an average household size of eight persons, a mean farm size of 3.1 hectares, and an annual income of ₦791,466. The majority were married (92.57%), 60.74% had Qur’anic education, while access to extension services (44.83%), credit (44.03%), and cooperative membership (33.69%) was limited. Multinomial regression results revealed that years of experience, farm size, income, and household size significantly influenced the choice of mitigation strategies at varying levels. The study recommends improving access to credit and financial services to enhance agro-pastoralists’ adaptive capacity and promote livelihood diversification.