Climate Change Adaptation Strategies,crop Productivity,and Willingness To Pay For Planned Adaptation Of Smallholder Farmers

Climate change is a major global environmental issue that affects the well-being of all societies in various ways,including agricultural production.And the need to adopt innovative practices to mitigate climate change impacts on-farm productivity and livelihoods has become urgent across agricultural communities.Besides,smallholder farmers can use a variety of climatesmart adaptation measures to sustain and enhance agricultural production in the face of climate change in their farming systems.Thus,location-specific empirical evidence is needed to improve policymaking on this goal.However,most previous studies have overlooked how smallholder farmers’ adaptation practices and crop production technical efficiency are linked,have been limited to a few portions of climate change(e.g.,perception,adaptation strategies,or both),and have scantily documented farmers’ willingness to pay(WTP)for planned climatesmart practices(PCSP).Therefore,the current study was designed to assess smallholder crop farmers’ perception of climate change and their climate-smart adaptation practices,and examine their contribution to technical efficiency and impact on wheat yield.Furthermore,the study investigated farmers’willingness to pay for PCST(crop insurance(CI)and weather forecast information(WFI))in the study area.Six rural kebeles in southern Ethiopia’s Lemo district were selected randomly,and cross-sectional survey data from 600 crop farmers was gathered from December 2019 to February 2020,supplemented by focus group discussions(FGD),experts’consultations,and field observations.Multiple linear regression and the first step double hurdle model were used to investigate adaptation decision factors,while the second stage hurdle was used to determine intensity influencers.The technical efficiency(TE)was measured through stochastic frontier analysis(SFA),and the impact of adaptation practices on wheat yield was evaluated via endogenous switching regression(ESR)and propensity score matching(PSM)models.The farmers’ WTP was assessed using a bivariate probit model.The result shows that the majority(89.80%)of smallholders in the study area perceived a changing pattern in the climate over the last two decades.They observed changes in different weather change indicators,including increased temperatures during the summer season(75.23%)and the winter season(57.7%),an increase in the length of the summer season(76.14%)and weather unpredictability(77.83%),a decrease in precipitation(65.26%),and in the length of the winter season(62.2%),were noticed by the respondents.During the discussion,FGD participants also confirmed the occurrence of similar weather parameter variability in the area.Most households(73.64%)implemented at least one adaptation practice in response to climate change.Diversification of crop variety(56.14%),altering planting or harvesting dates(51.76%),crop rotation(47.69%),and using drought-tolerant varieties(40.12%),terracing(soil conservation techniques)(58.57%),improved chemical fertilizer use(52.48%),improved compost and farmyard manure use(41.34%),and following weather information(56.71%)were the most common practices adopted by smallholder farmers.An expert’s consultation score was used to measure farmers’ Activity-based Adaptation Index(AAI)for smallholder climate-smart adaptation practices.The mean AAI for major crop farmers was 44.14%.The study revealed that gender,plot number(parcel of land),farming experience,cooperative membership,and access to extension service,credit service,and weather information have all been found to have a positive and significant effect on both adaptation decisions and intensity.The education level and climate change perception of farmers were correlated positively and significantly with the decision of the adaptation,but not with the intensity model,while land fertility and livestock ownership(TLU)were significant only in the intensity model.Furthermore,the model test results established that the adaptation decision was made independently with the level of the adaptation measures.In addition,the study estimated the contribution of climate-smart adaptation practices to crop farmers’ TE by employing the SFA with the farmers’adaptation index.The model result revealed that adaptation to climate change have contributed positively and significantly to major crops,wheat,and teff production efficiency.The mean level of TE for major crops,wheat,and teff production were 69.95,75.10,and 65.73%,respectively,indicating that crop farmers have wider room for improving their TE.Furthermore,smallholder farm households that implemented more adaptation practices on a larger scale were,on average,11.31,8.62,and 6.70%more technically efficient than their counterparts in major crop production,wheat production,and teff production,respectively.The other key determining factors of farmers’ TE were farming experience,educational level,extension agent contact,TLU,and farm household income.Furthermore,this study examined the climate-smart practices adaptation impact on wheat yield employing ESR and PSM models.The use of the ESR model helps to address potentially associated endogenous issues with adaptation and provides a more robust result by combating the selectivity problem of unobserved factors.In applying the ESR model,this study considered access to climate information from various sources(radio,other farmers)and access to extension services as selection instruments.ESR model results showed that,for both adopters and non-adopters,local cooperative membership and market access were key determining variables of wheat yield.However,between adopters and non-adopters,the effects of gender,family size,TLU,and access to credit on wheat output were significantly different.A differential effect like this demonstrates heterogeneity between adopters and non-adopters,verifying the ESR model robustness.The adopters’ use of all inputs(land,labor,oxen,seed,fertilizer,and chemicals)in wheat production was substantial;except labor,non-adopters’ use of these inputs had the same effect.The average treatment on treated(ATT)value from the ESR model shows that wheat farmers who adopted climate-smart practices produced 217.29(34.35%)kg/ha more in wheat yield due to these climate-smart adaptation practices.Equally,the average treatment effect on untreated(ATU)value indicates that if farmers who failed to adopt climate-smart adaptation practices decide to do so,they will produce 196.65(32.11%)kg/ha more in wheat yield.This implies that if non-adopter households adopt climate-smart adaptation practices,their wheat yield could increase significantly.Interestingly,the PSM model result was consistent with the ESR result findings.The PSM model results of ATT for the impacts adaptation practices on wheat yield indicated that adopters had 215.87 kg/ha(nearest neighbor estimates),and 223.24 kg/ha(kernel estimates)more wheat yield than non-adopters,respectively;implying adaptations have a substantial effect on wheat yield.In addition,this study has also provided interesting and timely evidence of the crop farmers’willingness to pay for planned climate-smart practices(CI and WFI).Using the contingent valuation approach,farmers were asked to express their WTP for better service provision in PCSP.Of the respondents,around 71.74%and 73.77%expressed that they are willing to pay for CI and WFI services,respectively.However,during the survey,it was understood that most farmers were not well aware of planned CSP,particularly crop insurance.Furthermore,respondents’ refusal to pay "said no" was primarily due to their low income(58.08%)and their perception of the program as a government obligation(32.34%).For those who "said yes answer," the mean WTP value for CI was ETB 192.312($5.885),while for WFI,it was ETB 164.986($5.04).Also,the ranges between the maximum value and the mean computation indicate that farmers have demonstrated a low payment figure,even though the majority are ready to pay.Except for family size,the biprobit model findings show that variables such as farming experience,education level,farm income,membership in a local cooperative,access to credit,extension service,and weather information all had a significant positive influence on crop farmers’ WTP for PCSP.Based on the findings of this study,the following recommendations are made(ⅰ)Farmers’awareness levels should be raised to understand the need to take action to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and close the gap between perception and adaptation.ⅱ)Farmers’access to information and credit sources should be a key component of agricultural policies to enhance their adaptation decision.ⅲ)A policy shift to encourage smallholder farmers to adapt to climate change by implementing climate-smart measures would result in a more effective response to climate change impacts while also increasing TE.iv)Policymakers should prioritize smallholder farmers’ climate-smart adaptation as a core plan to improve and sustain agricultural productivity in the face of climate change.ⅴ)Farmers’ understanding of the planned CSP(for example,crop insurance plan and WFI)should be improved through improved extension services and information sources such as radio and television.