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Land fragmentation, climate change adaptation, and food security in the Gamo Highlands of Ethiopia

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  • Tesfaye C. Cholo
  • Luuk Fleskens
  • Diana Sietz
  • Jack Peerlings

Abstract

Household food security among smallholder farmers is sensitive to a variable and changing climate, requiring farmers in the Gamo Highlands of Ethiopia to adopt new land management practices to improve food security. Agricultural land in the Gamo Highlands is highly fragmented. The extent to which land fragmentation (LF) moderates the food security effects of sustainable land management (SLM) practices is unknown. This study used probit and Poisson models to explain this relationship. The study found that food insecurity was severe during the food shortfall season. LF provides more potential opportunities for improving food security than challenges. Furthermore, SLM practices had both positive and negative effects on food security and their effects were conditioned by the magnitude of LF. Reducing severe LF through the assembly of small parcels into larger heterogeneous plot clusters could enhance food security by exploiting synergies between adaptation practices and LF.

Suggested Citation

  • Tesfaye C. Cholo & Luuk Fleskens & Diana Sietz & Jack Peerlings, 2019. "Land fragmentation, climate change adaptation, and food security in the Gamo Highlands of Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 50(1), pages 39-49, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:agecon:v:50:y:2019:i:1:p:39-49
    DOI: 10.1111/agec.12464
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    3. Nguyen Thai Phan & Ji-Yong Lee & Nguyen Duc Kien, 2022. "The Impact of Land Fragmentation in Rice Production on Household Food Insecurity in Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-12, September.
    4. Pierre Damien Ntihinyurwa & Walter Timo de Vries, 2021. "Farmland Fragmentation, Farmland Consolidation and Food Security: Relationships, Research Lapses and Future Perspectives," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-39, January.
    5. Erwin Knippenberg & Dean Jolliffe & John Hoddinott, 2020. "Land Fragmentation and Food Insecurity in Ethiopia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(5), pages 1557-1577, October.
    6. Tsegaye Ginbo, 2022. "Heterogeneous impacts of climate change on crop yields across altitudes in Ethiopia," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 170(1), pages 1-21, January.
    7. Tuyen Quang Tran & Huong Van Vu, 2021. "The impact of land fragmentation on food security in the North Central Coast, Vietnam," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(2), pages 327-345, May.
    8. Yu, Peiheng & Fennell, Shailaja & Chen, Yiyun & Liu, Hui & Xu, Lu & Pan, Jiawei & Bai, Shaoyun & Gu, Shixiang, 2022. "Positive impacts of farmland fragmentation on agricultural production efficiency in Qilu Lake watershed: Implications for appropriate scale management," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    9. Ndip, Francis Ebai & Molua, Ernest L. & Mvodo, Meyo-Elise Stephanie & Nkendah, Robert & Djomo Choumbou, Raoul Fani & Tabetando, Rayner & Akem, Nina Fabinin, 2023. "Farmland Fragmentation, crop diversification and incomes in Cameroon, a Congo Basin country," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    10. Sietz, Diana & Conradt, Tobias & Krysanova, Valentina & Hattermann, Fred F. & Wechsung, Frank, 2021. "The Crop Generator: Implementing crop rotations to effectively advance eco-hydrological modelling," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).

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