Can farmers’ climate change adaptation strategies ensure their food security? Evidence from Ethiopia

ABSTRACT

Climate change poses a significant threat to the sustainability of agricultural production among smallholder farm households in Ethiopia. To reduce the adverse effects of climate risks, farm households have sought to adopt different adaptation strategies. This study investigates factors influencing farm households’ choice of climate adaptation strategies and associated effects on their food security in Ethiopia using data collected from 516 farm households from three regions. A multivariate probit and propensity score matching models were used to analyze data. Major adaptation strategies adopted by the farm households in the study area are planting drought-tolerant crop varieties (60%), changing the planting dates (53%), growing diversified crops (49%), and diversifying the sources of household income (45%). Results suggest that older farm household heads are more likely to use drought-tolerant crop varieties to reduce climate risks. Farm households with larger farmland size and those with more years of experience in farming are more likely to use drought-tolerant crop varieties and crop diversification strategies. Farm households with larger family size are more likely to use crop and income diversification strategies and change the planting dates against the backdrop of a high risk of climatic shocks. Membership in input supply cooperatives, frequency of contact with extension agents, and access to information on expected rainfall and temperature are positively associated with different adaptation practices adopted by farm households. Farm households who have adopted climate adaptation strategies have higher food security status (by 2.3–2.8%) compared to those who have not. Thus, the farm households’ climate adaptation practices have positive food security effects in Ethiopia.

KEYWORDS:

• Adaptation
• climate change
• food security
• propensity score matching
• Ethiopia

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) for supporting our study through the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (grant number OPP1134248).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Adopter, in this study, is defined as farm households who use at least one climate adaptation strategy to reduce the adverse effect of climate risk.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: [Grant Number OPP1134248].