Although agriculture in Nigeria is the major source of income for about 70% of the active population, the impact of agrarian infrastructure on boosting productivity and supporting livelihoods has increased. Climate change and the increasing trend of climate-related events in Nigeria challenge both the stability of agrarian infrastructure and livelihood systems. Based on case studies of two local communities in Plateau state in Nigeria, this paper utilizes a range of perceptions to examine the impacts of climate-related events on agrarian infrastructures and how agrarian livelihood systems are, in turn, affected. Data are obtained from a questionnaire survey (n = 175 farmers) and semi-structured interviews (n = 14 key informants). The study identifies local indicators of climate change, high risks climate events and the components of agrarian infrastructures that are at risk from climate events. Findings reveal that, changes in rainfall and temperature patterns increase the probability of floods and droughts. They also reveal that, although locational differences account for the high impact of floods on road transport systems and droughts on irrigation infrastructures, both have a chain of negative effects on agricultural activities, economic activities and livelihood systems. A binomial logistic regression model is used to predict the perceived impact levels of floods and droughts, while an in-depth analysis is utilized to corroborate the quantitative results. The paper further stresses the need to strengthen the institutional capacity for risk reduction through the provision of resilient infrastructures, as the poor conditions of agrarian infrastructure were identified as dominant factors on the high impact levels.

The impacts of climate change on the planet are increasingly felt with projections suggesting even greater impacts in the immediate term and, as such, the need for concerted efforts directed at curbing them. Although Nigeria battles with huge development needs, and its economy is confronted with a rapidly deteriorating fiscal space and rising levels of debt, the country has shown commitment to achieving the United Nations 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030. This situation creates a gap between the SDG agenda and the workability of the goal. This paper appraises efforts made by Nigeria’s Federal Government to achieve the Climate Action Goal by 2030. The country’s level of implementation of the set SDG 13 was, first, evaluated using the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). Subsequently, the role of the Anthony Nyong Climate Centre of Excellence (ANCCE) towards achieving the SDG 13 was explored. Results from the 2018 EPI scorecard ranks Nigeria 100th (54.76%) out of 180 countries on 24 performance indicators across ten categories covering environmental health and ecosystem vitality. Similarly, results from SDG index and dashboard, places Nigeria at 42nd (47.07%) out of 56 African countries. Even though these results show that ‘challenges remain’ in achieving climate action, Nigeria is on track toward achieving the SDG agreement. Furthermore, the establishment of ANCCE has so far achieved building of partnerships with organizations and other universities locally and internationally, capacity building among academics and the establishment of a waste management project in a tertiary institution in the country. A bottom-up approach aimed at achieving Climate action through activities of similar centers that can provide insight into a country’s best practices and contribute in many ways to achieving the SDG 13 in Nigeria are suggested.