Climate change impacts on agriculture are alarming despite several recommendations from research to tackle its effects. There is need for sustainable agriculture to meet the increasing demand of agro-industries for raw materials and food for the growing population in Nigeria. This study evaluated the adverse effects of climate change on small-scale agro-industries in Southwestern, Nigeria. Specifically, the study described the socio-economic characteristics of the agro-processors, identified subsectors of agriculture adversely affected by climate change, determined the perception of agro-processors towards the effects of climate change on small-scale agro-industries. A multistage sampling procedure was employed to select 238 agro-processors, while a structured interview schedule was used to collect data. The collected data were analyzed with frequency counts and percentages as the main statistical tools and PPMC was used to make inferences between the variables. The study revealed different types of agro-processing industries in the zone and subsector of agriculture adversely affected by climate change, as well as the agro-processors perception of the adverse effects of climate change on agriculture, environment and agro-industries. The study further revealed that age (r=0.457**; p≤0.000), educational status (r=0.744**; p≤0.000), level of operation (r=0.219*; p≤0.026) and awareness of climate change (r=0.249*; p≤0.011) respectively exhibited significant relationship with their perception of adverse effects of climate change on agriculture and agro-processing industries in the zone. The study, therefore, recommends that government at the Federal, State and Local levels should exercise greater responsibilities in providing policy measures that will reduce the effects of climate change on the subsectors of agriculture and most importantly agro-industries and develop specific policies for implementation to enhance sustainable agro-industrialization in South-west, Nigeria.
Citation: Ogunwale, A.B., Akintonde, J.O., and Ayansina, S.O. (2021) Adverse Effects of Climate Change on Small-Scale Agro-Industries in South-Western, Nigeria, International Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Research,Vol.9, No.4, pp.1-10,
Keywords: Climate Change, agro-industries, agro-processors
