Abstract

Author:
Webnjoh Emile Kongvum

Doi: 10.26480/sfna.01.2026.16.22

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

This study investigated drought adaptation strategies of smallholder maize farmers in Sudan Savanna Regions of Kano State, Nigeria, and the maize profitability of the farmers. The study sought to achieve three objectives namely: describe the socioeconomic characteristics of smallholder maize farmers in the Sudan Savanna; examine the drought adaptation strategies adopted by smallholder maize farmers before and after drought in the Sudan Savanna and estimate the profitability of maize production by smallholder maize famers in the Sudan SavanaThrough multistage sampling, primary data was collected from 373 farmers using structured questionnaires and STATA for analysis. Descriptive statistics and Gross Margin Analysis (GMA) were used to achieve the study’s objectives. Maize is primarily produced by married, male farmers with an average age of 43, with an average of 11 people living in the farming household, farming a mean 1.68 hectares of farmland. Key ex-ante drought adaptation strategies employed included crop diversification, income diversification, planting early maturing maize variety and changing crop variety. Key ex-post drought adaptation strategies by maize farmers included crop diversification, mixed farming, irrigation and changing cropping patterns. Maize farming is profitable with a gross margin of N264, 071.19, operating ratio of 28.3% and ROI of 2.14. The study recommended maize as a profitable farming business in the Sudan Savanna and also recommended training to be provided to smallholder maize farmers on proper use of the top drought adaptation strategies to manage drought effects.