CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION PRACTICES IN AGRICULTURE, THE STATUS OF FOOD SECURITY AND CHILD NUTRITION: A STUDY OF SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN RURAL ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Agricultural productivity, poverty, and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa remain far below the global average. Continuous population growth, climate change, declining soil fertility, and environmental degradation exacerbate the situation. Smallholder farmers in Ethiopia have been subjected to severe climate-related hazards, including highly variable rainfall and severe droughts, which have harmed their livelihoods. Climate change is expected to exacerbate existing challenges and impose new risks beyond the scope of current experiences. Adoption of climate change adaptation strategies that increase agricultural productivity and build farmers’ resilience capacity has become a top policy priority in Ethiopia. This study was undertaken in rural Ethiopia targeting to examine the nature of climate change adaptation practices in agriculture, the impact of adaptation practices on food security, the implication of non-farm diversification on food security, and the impact of improved agricultural technologies adoption on the welfare of farm households and child nutrition in rural areas of Ethiopia. Both primary and secondary data are used in the analysis. Primary data are collected from household surveys, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews, whereas the secondary data are collected from Ethiopian Socioeconomic Survey (ESS) World Bank data set 2018 wave 4, and literature reviews. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics and econometric regression techniques are used. Agro-forestry, soil and water conservation, small-scale irrigation, crop diversification, and adjusting planting dates have been adopted as climate change adaptation strategies by farm households in the study area. The findings show that various demographic, socio-economic, institutional, and biophysical factors influence climate change adaptation options. The findings also show that farm households that adopted climate change adaptation strategies consumed more calories on average than non-adopters. The non-farm sector is critical to alleviating poverty, reducing food insecurity, and mitigating the effects of climate change. The result of the study reveals that various socio-economic, institutional, and geographical factors are the major ones that determine the non-farm income-generating activities. Participants in non-farm works are food secure compared to their counterfactual non-participants. The empirical results also demonstrate that adopting multiple agricultural technologies increases consumption expenditure and food security, reducing child malnutrition problems. The findings of this study indicate the need for governmental and/or private institutions interventions to improve climate change adaptation, non-farm diversification, and improved agricultural technologies adoption that enhance food security, welfare, and child nutrition by providing the necessary institutional support to the smallholder farmers in Ethiopia.