ASSESSING AWARENESS OF CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECTS ON YAM PRODUCTION AMONG LOCAL FARMERS IN KYADO, UKUM LGA, BENUE STATE, NIGERIA.

The study assessed awareness of climate change effects on Yam production among local farmers in Kyado, Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria.This study was conducted based on the level of Yam production in the study area.Data were collected by using structured questionnaire and administered to 240 farmers randomly selected.Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi -Square X2 statistical technique.The result showed that 81.25% of the farmers were male, 18.75% were female.while 70.83% of them were between 37 and 47 years old.83.33% were married.About 45% had formal (secondary) education, 33.33% had no education.Most of the respondents about 74.2%, their occupation was farming and only 12.9% were civil servants.Most farmers (70.83%) had annual income level of between 31,000-50,000, 23.75% had annual income level of between 10,000-30,000 and only 5% had 51,000-above annual income respectively.The study revealed that, most of the farmers (87.5%) have heard about climate change.Result showed significantly at α 0.05 and 0.01 level of significance that local farmers at Kyado are aware of climate change effects on yam production.Farmers perceived uneven distribution of rainfall, and high temperature as the greatest adverse effect of climate change.The study recommends further study on amount of rainfall needed for yam production which it did not cover but is vital for yam production amidst climate uncertainty