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Farm size and exposure to extreme heat: evidence from subsistence farms in Sub-Saharan Africa

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This paper pools panel data from Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Malawi to examine the heterogeneous impact of extreme heat on subsistence farmers. Despite significant differences in agricultural practices and performance between smaller and larger farms, we find that high temperatures have a negative impact on agricultural productivity, output, and food security regardless of farm size. Farms of different size seem to respond differently to extreme temperatures: small farms increase their land use while larger farms use more pesticides. While all farms also increase off-farm work, these responses do not fully mitigate the effects on output and food insecurity.

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  • Fernando Aragon & Juan Pablo Rud, 2023. "Farm size and exposure to extreme heat: evidence from subsistence farms in Sub-Saharan Africa," Discussion Papers dp23-02, Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University.
    • Handle: RePEc:sfu:sfudps:dp23-02
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