Understanding climate-risk coping strategies among farm households: Evidence from five countries in Eastern and Southern Africa

The impact of risk perception and preference on farmland transfer-out: Evidence from a survey of farm households in China

This study examines the impact of farmers' risk perceptions on their decision to transfer-out farmland, as well as the variations in this influence based on different risk preferences. The research utilizes survey data from 1389 farmers in rural China. By expanding the decision-making model for farmer households within the context of risk perception, this paper analyzes the equilibrium point of farmers' decision-making using mathematical models. Employing the Probit and Tobit models with instrumental variable methods, we discovered that farmers' perceptions of land revenue risk, land use risk, and non-farm employment risk significantly hindered the decision and rate of farmland transfer-out. Notably, the inhibitory effect decreased progressively. Moreover, risk preference was found to moderates the negative impacts. However, it is worth noting that risk perception remains a crucial factor impeding farmland transfer, primarily due to the prevalence of neutral or risk-averse risk preferences among most farmers. This study presents a novel perspective and explanatory framework for development of the farmland circulation market, aiming to overcome existing challenges from a risk-oriented standpoint. Consequently, it is essential for the government to carefully address all risks associated with farmland transfer, enhance the income guarantee system for farmers post-transfer, and offer non-farm employment training and job opportunities to facilitate the healthy and rapid development of the agricultural land transfer market.

Experiences from Cyclone Anna and Cyclone Dumako: A short report

In the third week of January 2022, the southern districts of Malawi were hit by Cyclone Ana. The worst affected areas were Chikwawa and Nsanje. Four weeks following Cyclone Ana, a rather smaller cyclone, Dumako, hit the same areas, causing more damage. The Partners in Health or Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo, an international humanitarian nongovernmental organisation that provides primary health care (PHC), organised teams to join Chikwawa District Council - Health, providing PHC assistance in the most affected district (Chikwawa); these teams were joined by three senior residents in family medicine from Kamuzu University of Health Sciences.Contribution: From the experiences of the interventions reported here, it was learnt that a multidisciplinary team of PHC providers is the key to the success of the emergency PHC programmes in times of natural disasters. While immediate PHC may be important at the actual time of disaster, it was learnt that PHC is also very important for continuation of care for chronic conditions, antenatal clinics and other clinics that are interrupted by the disaster. The experiences emphasised the importance of involving the PHC physicians and other PHC cadres in planning PHC programmes in natural disaster-prone areas.

Tracking Key Industrial Sectors for CO2 Mitigation through the Driving Effects: An Attribution Analysis

The heavy pressure to improve CO₂ emission control in industry requires the identification of key sub-sectors and the clarification of how they mitigate CO₂ emissions through various actions. Focusing on 30 Chinese provincial regions, this study quantifies the contribution of each industrial sector to regional CO₂ mitigation by combining the logarithmic mean Divisia index with attribution analysis and extract the key sectors of CO₂ mitigation for each region. Results indicate that during 2010-2019, significant emission reduction was achieved through energy intensity (74%) in Beijing, while emission reductions were attained through industrial structure changes for Anhui (50%), Henan (45%), and Chongqing (45%). The contribution to emission reduction through energy structures is not significant. The production and supply of power and heat (PSPH) is a central factor in CO₂ mitigation through all three inhibitive factors. Petroleum processing and coking (PPC) generally contributes to emission reduction through energy structures, while the smelting and pressing of ferrous metals (SPMF) through changes in industrial structures and energy intensity. PSPH and SPMF, in most regions, have not achieved the emission peak. Except in the case of coal mining and dressing (CMD), CO₂ emissions in other key sectors have almost been decoupled from industrial development. CMD effectively promotes CO₂ mitigation in Anhui, Henan, and Hunan, with larger contribution of PPC in Tianjin, Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, and that of smelting and pressing of nonferrous metals in Yunnan and Guangxi. The findings help to better identify key sectors across regions that can mitigate CO₂ emissions, while analyzing the critical emission characteristics of these sectors, which can provide references to formulating region- and sector-specific CO₂ mitigation measures for regions at different levels of development.

The Role of Climatic and Non-Climatic Factors in Smallholder Farmers’ Adaptation Responses: Insights from Rural Ethiopia

This paper discusses how climatic and non-climatic factors, either separately or together, shape the adaptation responses of smallholder farmers in the Raya Azebo district of Ethiopia. Their adaptation responses included adjusting planting periods, crop diversification, changing crop types, adopting improved seeds, using irrigation, conducting migration, participation in wage employment, selling local food and drinks, and owning small shops. These adaptation responses were motivated by various climatic (e.g., drought and rainfall variability) as well as non-climatic factors (e.g., market conditions, yield-related factors, land scarcity, labor shortages, soil fertility issues, crop diseases, and limited local employment options). We therefore argue (i) that successful adaptation requires a broader understanding not just of climatic factors but also of the various social-ecological factors that shape smallholder farmers’ adaptations; and (ii) that the successful design and implementation of locally appropriate planned adaptation interventions require the inclusion of both climatic and non-climatic factors.

Linking climate change adaptation practices with farm technical efficiency and fertilizer use: a study of wheat-maize mix cropping zone of Punjab province, Pakistan

Climate change is a serious threat to global agriculture and the farming community is well aware of this challenge. This is the first empirical study that looks beyond the traditional studies only limited to the adoption of climate change measures by estimating the impact of adopted practices on technical efficiency and computing the actual level of fertilizer at the farm level. For this purpose, face-to-face interviews were conducted for data collection with 196 farmers selected through multiple stage simple random sampling in the wheat-maize mix cropping zone of Punjab province. The results depicted that changing fertilizer was the most commonly adopted strategy (76%) to negate the effects of climate changes on crop production. Stochastic frontier analysis results revealed that the adoption of diversification practices, soil and water conservation practices, and modern input use strategies were influential factors explaining the technical efficiency differential among different farmers. The average technical efficiency score was 0.71 in the locality implying that farmers have an opportunity to increase their farm efficiency by 29% with the present level of inputs. Moreover, adopters of modern input practices with a high index were 27% more efficient than those with a low adaptation index of these climate countering measures. The empirical results also revealed the excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer to counter the climate change impacts at the agricultural farms. This result has important policy implications for government agencies that it is not enough just to guide and motivate the farmers to adopt certain strategies to negate the effect of climate change. They should also be informed about the exact usage level of those suggested measures.

How productive are rice farmers in Sri Lanka? The impact of resource accessibility, seed sources and varietal diversification

This paper assesses the impact of resource accessibility, seed sources and varietal diversification on the production efficiency of Sri Lankan rice growers using farm and household level survey data. The empirical results show that there are opportunities for average Sri Lankan rice farmers to further improve production efficiency by up to 30%. Among the variables, those related to resource accessibility, age, migration, income sources and agricultural training are all found to affect production efficiency. Furthermore, we find that households relying only on their own saved seeds are less efficient compared to those who had purchased seeds from markets. In addition, this study indicates that varietal diversification significantly reduces production efficiency.

Climate risks and adaptation strategies of farmers in East Africa and South Asia

Understanding major climate risks, adaptation strategies, and factors influencing the choice of those strategies is crucial to reduce farmers’ vulnerability. Employing comprehensive data from 2822 farm households in Ethiopia and Kenya (East Africa; EA) and 1902 farm households in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal (South Asia; SA), this study investigates the main climate risks that farmers faced and the adaptation strategies they used. Among others, excessive rainfall and heightened crop pest/disease incidence are commonly observed climate-induced risks in all study areas, while cyclones and salinity are unique to Bangladesh. Drought is prevalent in Ethiopia, India, Kenya, and Nepal. Farmers in those countries responded with strategies that include change in farming practices, sustainable land management, reduce consumption, sell assets, use savings and borrowings, seek alternative employment and assistance from government or NGO. In general, farmers faced several multiple climate risks simultaneously and they responded with multiple adaptation strategies. Therefore, this study used a multivariate probit (MVP) approach to examine the factors influencing the adoption of adaptation strategies. Unlike other studies, we also tested and corrected for possible endogeneity in model estimation. All the countries mentioned have low adaptive capacity to address climate change, which is further weakened by inadequate governance and inefficient institutions. We observed significant differences in the choice of adaptation strategies between male-headed households (MHHs) and female-headed households (FHHs), as well as across countries. Generally, MHHs are more likely to seek additional employment and change agricultural practices, while FHHs and households headed by older persons tend to reduce consumption and rely on savings and borrowings. Institutional support for adaptation is much less in EA compared to SA. Training on alternative farming practices, enhancing non-farm employment options, better institutional support, and social security for older farmers are crucial for climate change adaptation in both regions.