ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIP OF CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND CROP PRODUCTION IN BAUCHI TOWN AND ENVIRON
Keywords:
Climate, Crop, Production, Rainfall, Temperature, Variability and Bauchi.Abstract
The study examines the relationship between climate variability and crop production in Bauchi
town and its environs. Climatic elements such as rainfall and temperature were obtained from
the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) in Bauchi for three decades (1981-2010) and
crop yield of some selected crops such as maize, millet, rice, sorghum, groundnut and cowpea
were sourced from the Bauchi State Agricultural Development Programme (BSADP) for
30years (1981-2010). These data were analysed using correlation and simple linear regression
analysis. The results obtained reveals that rice and cowpea show significant relationship with
rainfall at 0.05 level of significant while maize, millet, sorghum and groundnut shows no
significant relationship. Temperature and Rainfall explain 10% crop yield of the selected crops
but will explain better other crops not included in the study. This implies that other
environmental factors such as soil fertility, agricultural inputs may explain better the variation
between climatic variable and the selected crop yield. As a result, it was recommended that
crop yield should be regressed on other environmental factors such as soil fertility and
agricultural inputs. More investment should be made on rain fed agriculture using agricultural
extension service.
