The NUTMON determinants are mostly scale-neutral and can therefore be used to monitor nutrient balances at farm, regional, national and supranational levels.NUTMON is fed by a number of basic data, and by nutrient input and output data . Basic data include the surface area of the arable land, and the spatial patterns of land use systems.Nutrient input and output data are reflections of different processes, each of which has a certain value which is specific for a given LUS at a given time. A second monitoring exercise at a later stage may yield different results, which may be due to changes in the LUS, or changes in the individual nutrient input and output values. As the changes have either aggravated or ameliorated the nutrient balance, NUTMON can support decision-making in the interest of sustainable forms of agriculture. The environmental changes attributable to climate change are known to have direct and/or indirect effects on farmers thus on agricultural production in any region. Agriculture, for its numerous ecosystem services, has been an important component of human society.

Agriculture generates revenue for the government at the federal,state and local levels and as well serves as a means of livelihood by providing employment for farmers, marketers and processors of agricultural products. Like many countries, agriculture is a major sector of Nigeria’s economy, engaging over 70% of labour force and contributing about 40% to Gross Domestic Product . Agricultural production processes greatly rely on climate, thus a change in its composition is bound to have effects on the sector. Climate change has been a global issue affecting various agricultural production processes, including the producers: the farmers and their families. Climate change is the complete variation of the average state of the atmosphere over time, ranging from decades to millions of years in a region or across the entire globe, and can be caused by processes internal to the earth, external forces from space or anthropological activities. In recent time, especially in the context of environmental policy, climate change has often been referred to as the noticeable variation in environmental and atmospheric composition attributed to human activities .Climate change in the context of this study refers to the variation in the statistical distribution of average weather conditions over a prolonged period of time in any region of the world, such as the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Niger Delta region of Nigeria is densely populated and occupies about 12% of the total land mass of Nigeria with a land area of about 70,000 km2 out of which 2,370 km2 consist of rivers, creeks and estuaries, while stagnant swamp covers about 8,600 km2 . The region is divided into drier landward part where crop farming is the major agricultural activity and the seaward part which is characterized by extensive creeks and water bodies where fishing and aquaculture replaces crop farming as the dominant aspect of the rural economy. Economic activities of communities in the region are either land-based or water-based to include collection and processing of palm fruits, crop and animal farming, fishing and fish farming, forest resources utilization and trading of agricultural goods. The region occupies greater area of Nigeria’s most fertile land suitable for the cultivation of crops such as cassava, palm tree, rubber, yam, and many other crops while the availability of water bodies makes aquaculture feasible. The major agricultural produce in the region are cassava, cocoa, maize, melon, okra, palm oil, rubber and yam, in addition to domestication of animals such as fishes, goats, pigs, poultry, sheep, snail and rabbit.

The topical alteration in climate has become significant for worldwide discussion as it is likely human-induced.The major human related cause of climate change is the increase of Green House Gases in the atmosphere resulting from gas flaring, fossil burning and deforestation arising from clearing of land for agricultural and industrial uses, in addition to other human activities that have led to increased concentrations of GHG especially carbon IV oxide. The two primary sources of GHG emission are combustion of fuels and flaring of the natural gas, which is extracted along with crude oil. In 2009, the average CO2 emission in Nigeria was 74.14 million metric tons, which increased to 80.51 million metric tons and was predicted to drastically increase in the near future due to rising demand for products from crude oil . Anthropological activities have sped up climate change in recent time leading to the persisting impacts on agriculture and livelihoods in communities. For example, the Niger Delta region is reported to have over 123 gas flaring sites, making Nigeriaone of the highest emitters of GHG in Africa. Nigeria accounts for roughly one-sixth of worldwidegas flaring: Nigeria flares about 75% of her gas and all take place in the Niger Delta region. Some 45.8 billionkilo watts of heat are discharged into the atmosphere of the Niger Delta, from flaring 1.8 billion cubic feet of gas every day . Between 1970 and 1986, about 125.5 million cubic meters of gas was produced in the NigerDelta region of which about 102.3 million cubic meters were flared.