Perceived Effect of Climate Variability on Arable Crop Production in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

The study examined the perceived effect of climate variability on arable production in of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected using structured interview guide administered to 120 farmers. Purposive random sampling technique was used to select twelve communities and two agricultural zones. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive such as mean while, inferential statistics was used to test the null hypothesis. The findings showed that the perceived effect of climate variability on cassava in regards to poor yield, damage and breaking of plants due to windstorm. The hypothesis test showed that the mean of perceived effect of climate variability on arable crop production in Nembe agricultural zone was (3.6530) while that of Yenagoa Agricultural Zone was (3.3272). The Z – cal (6.747) was much higher than Z-tab (2.02). The study concluded that the food security status of rural farmers is threatened. Hence, it was recommended that farmers should form cooperative societies in order to cope with high cost of agricultural production and government should reduce tax on farm input purchased by farmers.