ADAPTATION STRATEGIES TO CLIMATE CHANGE AMONG POULTRY FARMERS IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

This study examined the adaptation strategies to climate change among poultry farmers in Lagos State, Nigeria, with the aim of assessing their socioeconomic characteristics, climate change knowledge, adaptation strategies utilization, constraints, and resilience capacity. Using the simple random sampling technique, 169 poultry farmers were sampled . Primary data were collected using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Poultry farmers were aged 45.88±12.00 years, mostly males (53.3%), married (76.3%), had tertiary education (76.9%), Christian (55.6%) and had an average household size of 6.52±3.00 persons. The average annual income from poultry production was ₦2,585,526±₦1,500,000. The majority engaged in poultry production for commercial purposes (59.2%). Medium-scale production (54.4%) was most common, with the deep-litter system (49.7%) as the predominant management practice. Layers (71.6%) and broilers (67.5%) were the most reared bird types. Hired labour (59.8%) was mostly used, and major credit sources are microfinance banks (31.4%) and cooperatives (29.0%). Access to extension services was low (37.3%). Local government announcements, fellow farmers, and associations were the leading sources of climate information. Poultry farmers have high knowledge of climate change effects (69.2%). Perceived effects of climate change on poultry production include low productivity, increased mortality rate, reduced feed intake, and rising production costs. Overall, the perceived effects of climate change were high (53.8%). Major adaptation strategies include use of disease-resistant and climate-resilient breeds (over 90%), improved housing (92.3%), vaccination (77.5%), and water management (69.8%). The main constraints to adaptation strategies utilization were high cost of technologies, market inaccessibility due to flooding, inadequate storage facilities, limited knowledge, and low access to technology. Farmers exhibited strong climate resilience through continued production during extreme weather and structural adjustments to housing but showed weak institutional support, with poor access to weather forecasts, veterinary services, and training. Proposed solutions emphasized the need for affordable credit (67.5%) and government subsidies (55.0%) to lower adaptation costs. There was a significant relationship between sources of information (r=0.566, p=0.000), perceived effects of climate change on poultry production (r=0.555, p=0.000), constraints to adaptation strategies utilization (r=0.440, p=0.000) and the utilization of adaptation strategies. The determinants of adaptation strategies utilization were information sources (β=0.390), knowledge (β=0.287) and perceived effects (β=0.334). The study concludes that poultry farmers in the study area had knowledge of climate change effects and employ several adaptive strategies, but financial, infrastructural, and institutional barriers limit optimal adaptation. Strengthening access to affordable credit, targeted subsidies, climate information services, and extension support are recommended to enhance climate resilience, sustain productivity, and promote poultry sector growth.