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Diversification Strategies and Adaptation Deficit: Evidence from Niger

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  • Asfaw, Solomon
  • Palma, Alessandro
  • Lipper, Leslie

Abstract

This paper provides fresh empirical evidence on the adaptation process to face climate changes through the analysis of original cross-sectional data collected at household-level in Niger merged with detailed geo-referenced climatic information. In particular, we identify the main drivers and barriers of crop and labour diversification, which constitute two livelihood strategies in mitigating the adaptation deficit by employing a Seemingly-Unrelated Regression (SUR) model, which accounts for potential interdependence among different diversification practices. Secondly, the effectiveness of diversification practices is assessed by means of three complementary welfare measures, namely income changes, food security and the poverty gap using quantile regression and instrumental variable strategy. We find that, aside from climate shocks, the diversification level varies in response to the educational level of household members and spatial location as well as the adoption of ICTs. The impacts of diversification appear differentiated. While labour diversification is always positively associated with all the three welfare measures, positive coefficients of crop diversification are significant only when associated to food security. Robust causal inference confirms that anomalies in rainfall patterns and droughts in particular, induce adaptation responses, which result in welfare gains limited by a richer calorie intake, while the effects on income and severity of poverty appear detrimental.

Suggested Citation

  • Asfaw, Solomon & Palma, Alessandro & Lipper, Leslie, 2016. "Diversification Strategies and Adaptation Deficit: Evidence from Niger," 2016 Fifth International Conference, September 23-26, 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 246282, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
  • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaae16:246282
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.246282
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    Cited by:

    1. William Adzawla & Abou Kane, 2018. "Gender Perspectives Of The Determinants Of Climate Adaptation: The Case Of Livelihood Diversification In Northern Ghana [Une Approche Genrée des déterminants de l'adaptation au climat: le cas de la," Post-Print hal-01929070, HAL.
    2. Mackenzie, Lesego & Mburu, John & Irungu, Patrick, 2017. "Analysis Of Household Choice And Determinants Of Livelihood Diversification Activities In Chobe District, Botswana," Dissertations and Theses 269268, University of Nairobi, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    3. Bolier Torres & Cristian Vasco & Sven Günter & Thomas Knoke, 2018. "Determinants of Agricultural Diversification in a Hotspot Area: Evidence from Colonist and Indigenous Communities in the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve, Ecuadorian Amazon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-21, May.
    4. Hayatullah Ahmadzai, 2017. "Status, patterns, and microeconomic drivers of the extent of diversity in crop production: Evidence from Afghanistan," Discussion Papers 2017-07, University of Nottingham, CREDIT.

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    Keywords

    Environmental Economics and Policy; Financial Economics; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies;
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