Nutrition Security, Climate Variability, and Livelihood Strategies in Farming Households of North Central Nigeria: A Resilience Framework

Climate variability is increasingly recognised as a threat to agricultural productivity, household food and nutrition security, and livelihood sustainability in smallholder farming communities across Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet empirical studies applying resilience frameworks to understand the nutrition-climate-livelihood nexus in Nigerian farming households remain scarce. This study examines how climate variability affects nutrition security and livelihood strategies in smallholder farming households of Nasarawa and Niger States, North Central Nigeria, using a resilience conceptual framework. A longitudinal agri-nutrition design collected data from 600 farm households over two agricultural seasons, capturing rainfall and temperature variability from local meteorological stations, household dietary diversity, caloric and nutrient adequacy, livelihood asset portfolios, agricultural practices, and food coping strategies. The Food Insecurity Experience Scale was used to assess food insecurity severity. Detailed nutritional assessment of women of reproductive age and children under five in enrolled households provided individual-level nutrition outcomes. Climate resilience capacity was assessed using the Resilience Index Measurement and Analysis tool. Structural equation modelling with climate variability indicators as exogenous variables examined pathways to household nutrition security through livelihood and dietary mediators. Qualitative data from seasonal focus group discussions with farming men and women complemented the quantitative findings. Findings will contribute an original resilience-informed understanding of climate-nutrition linkages in North Central Nigeria, generating actionable evidence for climate-smart nutrition programming. Keywords: nutrition security, climate variability, resilience framework, farming households, North Central Nigeria.