CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE PRACTICES AND ITS IMPACT ON HOUSEHOLD WELFARE: THE CASE OF ABICHU GNEA DISTRICT, NORTH SHOA ZONE, OROIMIA NATIONAL REGIONAL STATE OF ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Implementing different climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices helps by lowering greenhouse gas emissions, building resilience to climate change, increasing production and productivity, and thereby improving farmers’ well-being. Understanding farmers' adoption behavior and evaluating the welfare impacts of these practices inform strategies for governments and development partners to promote their use in smallholder production systems. This paper analyzes factors that affect adoption of CSA practices and evaluates the impact of CSA on household welfare in terms of food consumption expenditure, calorie intake, and income, using a cross-sectional survey of 387 farm households selected from Abichu Gnea district, Oromia National Regional State of Ethiopia. The multinomial logit model was used to identify factors affecting the adoption of CSA practices, while the multinomial endogenous switching regression model was used to analyze the impact of those practices. In the study area, there were 12 commonly used CSA practices. Using the principal component analysis method, the researcher grouped these 12 practices into three components, namely conservation agriculture, integrated soil fertility management, and livestock management practices. The result of the study revealed that the likelihood of using large possible combinations of CSA packages was positively and significantly influenced by the education status of the household head, engagement in off-farm activities, farm size, livestock holding, annual frequency of agricultural extension contact, access to credit, training on CSA practices, and access to weather information, while negatively affected by the age of the household head. If non-adopting farm households adopted large possible combinations of CSA packages, which consisted of conservation agriculture, livestock management practices, and integrated soil fertility management, it would result in an increase of Birr 7684.03 in their total annual food consumption expenditure per adult equivalent of households, 3457.57 kilocalories in calorie intake per adult equivalent per day, and Birr 23890.71 in their total annual on-farm income. Thus, for farm households, it is recommended that combining and using conservation agriculture, integrated soil fertility management, and livestock management together have a greater and more positive impact on farm households' food consumption expenditure, calorie intake, and on-farm income, than adopting them alone. Therefore, in light of the benefits offered by CSA practices in combination, it is imperative to effectively target policies and programs that promote these practices to enhance household food consumption expenditures and income and reduce food insecurity.