Given the constraints in Northern Nigerian agriculture, you might assume that awareness and adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) would be low. But emerging evidence reveals a more nuanced picture, where farmers are adapting. Although not necessarily because they’re versed in climate policy, but because they have learned from years of observing and responding to environmental change.
A 2023 study covering the North Central and Northwest zones challenges the narrative that smallholders in the region are disconnected from climate resilience strategies. The research found that 87.2% of farmers had adopted at least one climate-resilient trait. The most common were early-maturing crops (84.1%) and pest and disease-resistant varieties (74.7%), both of which directly address the unpredictable rainfall and increasing pest pressures linked to climate change.
Interestingly, while formal practices like soil testing, agroforestry, terracing, and conservation tillage had lower adoption rates (below 80%), traditional methods, such as mixed cropping and intercropping, were widespread. These were often learned through personal observation and experimentation, with extension agents being the second most important source of information.
Climate-smart Practices in Northern Nigeria
This high level of adoption, despite limited formal exposure to climate policy, raises an important question: What exactly are these farmers doing differently? In many cases, the answer lies in a blend of traditional techniques and locally adapted innovations that align with global climate-smart agriculture principles. These methods help farmers cope with unpredictable weather patterns and productivity in the face of growing environmental pressures. Let’s take a look at some of these methods.
Drought-Tolerant Seeds
One of the most transformative shifts in Northern Nigerian farming is the widespread use of drought-tolerant seeds. These varieties, often early-maturing, are bred to withstand prolonged dry spells and unpredictable rainfall, and this enables farmers to secure harvests even in shortened growing seasons. Their popularity is no accident, though. Shorter rainfall duration has been the hallmark of the climate in the region for some time now, and repeated crop losses from mid-season droughts have pushed even conservative smallholders to embrace improved varieties.
The impact has been particularly visible in cereal crops such as maize, sorghum, and millet, where drought-tolerant strains now help farmers achieve reasonable yields despite erratic rainfall. Research institutions like the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) at Ahmadu Bello University have been at the forefront of this shift, releasing varieties such as SAMMAZ 52 and SAMMAZ 55 (maize), which mature in as little as 90–95 days, and SAMNUT 25 (groundnut), bred for both drought resistance and pest tolerance.
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From a climate-smart perspective, drought-tolerant seeds address both adaptation and productivity pillars of CSA. They adapt production systems to water scarcity by sustaining yields under climatic stress, reducing the need for replanting (which wastes both seed and labour), and safeguarding household food security.
Intercropping
Intercropping is climate-smart because it maximises land productivity while reducing vulnerability to climate shocks. It involves growing two or more crops in the same space (most often cereals paired with legumes) to create a system where each crop supports the other. Legumes improve soil fertility through nitrogen fixation, reducing the need for synthetic fertilisers, while the cereal canopy can shade and protect the soil, helping retain moisture. This biodiversity also interrupts pest cycles and reduces the severity of outbreaks.
Intercropping also provides a safeguarding effect due to risk diversification. If erratic rainfall or pest pressure causes one crop to fail, the other may still survive, ensuring that some harvest is secured. For example, if drought shortens the growing season and affects millet yields, intercropped cowpeas might still produce, providing both food and income.
In Northern Nigeria, intercropping is not just a technique but also a cultural practice passed down through generations. Farmers often adapt crop pairings to local conditions and traditions. In some areas of the North West, Maize is commonly intercropped with soybeans, while in parts of the North East, millet with cowpea is more prevalent. These location-specific choices reflect differences in soil type, rainfall patterns, and market demand.
Mixed Cropping
Mixed cropping involves growing two or more crops on the same plot without a fixed spatial arrangement, and has long been part of Northern Nigeria’s agricultural heritage. It is climate-smart because it spreads risk in a context where rainfall is unpredictable and pest pressures are rising. Like intercropping, a crop mix helps farmers reduce the likelihood of a complete loss in a bad season.
But unlike intercropping, which is carefully planned to maximise biological interactions between specific crop pairs, mixed cropping is less structured and more about broad resilience than precision optimisation. Farmers plant different crops in the same field, often in irregular patterns, creating a natural insurance system. If erratic rainfall or pests damage one crop, others may still survive and produce.
This approach works by spreading ecological and economic risk: varied plant heights and root structures make better use of available light, water, and nutrients; the diversity in crop types disrupts pest and disease cycles; and the variety of harvest times allows for staggered food and income flows. While intercropping tends to boost productivity and soil health through targeted complementary effects (such as legumes fixing nitrogen for cereals), mixed cropping leans on diversity and redundancy to absorb climate shocks and reduce vulnerability in uncertain conditions.
Mulching
In Northern Nigeria, mulching is more commonly practised in vegetable farming than in cereals or other staple crops. This is largely because vegetables require more consistent soil moisture and weed suppression. The practice involves covering soil with crop residues, organic matter, or other materials to conserve water, regulate temperature, and reduce erosion.
Adoption in the vegetable sector has been strongly supported by companies like East-West Seed, whose Knowledge Transfer department actively trains farmers, students, and agricultural stakeholders on improved vegetable production techniques, including mulching. These efforts have not only increased awareness but also encouraged experimentation with newer materials.
One notable trend is the rising use of plastic mulch alongside traditional organic mulches. Plastic mulch provide excellent moisture retention, weed control, and soil warming benefits; however, they are non-biodegradable. They create waste management challenges after use. This environmental concern is an area that warrants further attention, with opportunities for research into affordable, biodegradable alternatives that can match the performance of plastic without its lasting ecological footprint.
System of Rice Intensification (SRI)
SRI is gaining ground as farmers look for ways to boost productivity while conserving water. In SRI, younger seedlings are transplanted at wider spacing, organic matter is heavily used, and there is more emphasis on maintaining moisture rather than continuously flooding soils.
SRI enables farmers to achieve higher yields with less water, while experiencing pest and disease issues, leading to stronger plants. SRI is labour-demanding, though, especially in the early stages. Despite its promise, the method’s labour demands in the early stages and the need for reliable irrigation control remain key barriers to widespread adoption.
The irrigation challenge arises because SRI depends on alternate wetting and drying, rather than constant flooding. This requires reliable water delivery and control, so farmers need to be able to apply water at the right time and in the right amount. In areas with poor irrigation infrastructure or where water is shared among many farmers, maintaining this schedule is difficult.
The Road Ahead
The adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices in Northern Nigeria has already helped thousands of smallholders adapt to harsher growing conditions. Yet, these strategies, as effective as they are today, will not be enough to meet the scale of challenges coming. Two forces in particular threaten to outpace the progress made so far: climate change and population growth.
On climate change, the problem is escalating despite global commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Temperatures in the Sahel are rising at roughly 1.5 times the global average, rainfall patterns are becoming even more erratic, and extreme events such as floods, heatwaves, and prolonged droughts are projected to intensify. In other words, while current CSA techniques reduce vulnerability, they do not eliminate it.
Population growth compounds this pressure because Nigeria is already the sixth most populous country in the world, with over 220 million people. According to UN projections, it is set to overtake the United States by 2050, becoming the third most populous nation globally. This means more mouths to feed. More strain on already stretched farmland. And greater competition for water and other resources. Even small decreases in per capita food production could tip vulnerable households into crisis.
Together, climate change and population growth increase both food demand and the urgency for scaling up CSA beyond current approaches. Traditional and low-input methods will need to be complemented with agritech-driven innovations, such as precision irrigation, climate-informed planting calendars, solar-powered cold storage, digital weather advisory services, and improved post-harvest handling. Without this integration of modern tools with proven traditional resilience practices, Northern Nigeria (and Nigeria as a Nation) risks falling behind in the fight for sustainable food security.
