Musa, Mohammed Shariff.2023-12-142023-12-142018-07-16A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES, NASARAWA STATE UNIVERSITY KEFFI, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENThttps://keffi.nsuk.edu.ng/handle/20.500.14448/4674Recurring droughts are endemic feature for agriculture in Sule-Tankarkar Local Government Area. This study looked at the effects of drought on the rural livelihoods of the inhabitants of SuleTankarkar and the coping strategies they have adopted over time in dealing with the situation. Data on perception of members of three purposively selected communities (Garin- Sule, Jeke and Tsamiya) about drought, its effects on livelihood activities, locally adopted strategies and extent of institutional supports in the area, were obtained from 265 multi-staged sampled household heads using questionnaires, key informant interviews and focus group discussion. Findings from the study revealed that most of the respondents (48%) perceived drought as deficiency of rainfall while as small as 5% of the respondents believed drought to be an act God. Furthermore, the study found that water and pasture depletion, loss of livestock, poor human health, livestock morbidity and increased food prices were the main direct and indirect effects of drought on livelihoods in the study area. The study also shows that mobility is the main strategy employed to cope with drought in SuleTankarkar LGA while the least practiced adaptation strategy was livestock management adjustment. Some other coping strategies uncovered through key informant interviews and focus group discussion included: food preservation, livestock distribution, livestock loaning and social networks, herd diversification, sales of livestock, herd splitting and merging. The study also revealed that the communities received support for drought resilience from different institutions but the highest support (90%) as indicated by the respondents comes from non-governmental organizations and social networks in the forms of friends and relatives. It is concluded that governmental institutions are not doing enough towards supporting household‟s resilience to cope with drought in Sule-Tankarkar Local Government Area. There is therefore need for the government to adequately address the challenges faced by extension agencies such as transport, stationery for farmer training, in service training resources and staff demotivation due to poor remuneration, was recommended.enThesis