Climate Change and Labour Output of Primary Sector in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

This study examines empirically the temporal changes in labour output of primary sector as a resultant impact of environmental dynamics induced by climate change in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria. Its specific objective is to analyse the temporal dynamics of the labour output in the main economic activities in the primary sector as a result of climate change between 2008 and 2012. It utilised data from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data were obtained from a survey of selected settlements using a questionnaire. Multi-stage sampling technique was employed in the selection of the sample. This involves a systematic random sampling of 450 household heads from a total of 4,578 households enumerated in five rural settlements drawn randomly from a representative state in the study area. The questionnaire covered impact of climate change on the environment and labour output, measured in monetary terms, of primary sector between 2008 and 2012.The paired sample t-test was used to analyse the data collected for the study. The result showed that climate change is manifested in excessive heat and off-season rainfall. There were significant dynamics in labour output over the two-time period. The study, therefore recommends environmental education of the population and adoption of coping strategies such as introduction of modern technology and improvement in quality of inputs into primary activities.