Climate change has direct impact on agricultural production in local communities where agriculture constitutes employment and income sources for the majority of the population. The study examined how indigenous knowledge can be effectively included into climate adaptation policy for farmers in Ebonyi State. The study adopted interview method. Six farmers two from each senatorial districts were selected using convenient sampling method. Data collected were analyzed and the research questions were answered using thematic analysis. The major factors constraining farmers from adapting to climate change were poverty; inadequate farmland and access to more efficient inputs, lack of information and poor skills. It was reported that the communities had undocumented knowledge of indigenous and local meteorologies which are based on observation and traditional practices and belief systems. The findings showed that the main adaptation practice used by the farmers in the state to adapt to climate change were relocation to the upper land during floods, mulching, mixed cropping, winter farming, and planting drought-resistant crops and usage of birds in weather forecast. The study concluded that the indigenous knowledge among the farmers in the communities of Ebonyi State could, to a large extent, be included in climate change mitigation and adaptation to ensure food security. The knowledge can help fill the gap by including it into the climate change policy and implementation of climate change initiatives. Therefore, it is recommended that inclusion of indigenous knowledge provides a robust approach to adapt to the changes in climate.

Keywords: Policy, Climate change, local and indigenous knowledge, adaptation, Practice