Agriculture represents a significant part of the rural economy in southeastern Nigeria, even after the floods. However, livelihoods are becoming increasingly diverse. This study was based on a household-level adaptation analysis that focused on the tactical decisions farmers make in response to flooding. These tactical decisions are influenced by a number of socioeconomic factors that include household characteristics, household resource endowments, access to information, and the availability of formal institutions (input and output markets) to smooth consumption. Flooding is perhaps the most serious environmental threat to the fight against hunger, malnutrition, disease and poverty in the study area, essentially due to its impact on agricultural productivity. The study confirms that young adults continue to engage in agriculture as their main occupation in rural areas. It showed that the main staple crops of these farmers were cassava, yam and maize; while the most important animals raised were poultry and goats. However, mixed farming was the most popular agricultural system in the region. Important adaptation options used by farmers include diversification from agricultural to non-agricultural activities, exit from flood-prone areas, adaptation through relief materials provided by government and NGOs, income diversification, and building embankments and gutters. However, 5% of farmers have not adopted any form of adaptation strategy. Those who did not use any of the methods considered described lack of information on suitable adaptation methods, financial constraints, labor shortage, poor market access, lack of access to weather forecasting technologies as the main constraints to adaptation. The study used multinomial method ...... middle of paper ...... the poor receive the right kind of services to increase their adaptive capacity. Every adaptation effort arises from both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors are the efforts made by vulnerable people themselves (farming families in this case) such as farmers, farmer associations, rural youth associations, community groups, etc. While extrinsic factors are the efforts of external people, including government agencies, non-governmental agencies, donor agencies, civil society organizations, etc. Integrating these efforts in a synergistic manner usually results in more effective adaptation to flood impacts. However, judging from the poor rural context of most agricultural households in Nigeria (and in most developing societies), farmers will certainly need extrinsic supports to overcome barriers that prevent effective adaptation to floods...