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Does agricultural diversification build economic resilience to drought and flood? Evidence from poor households in Zambia

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  • Chonabayashi, Shun
  • Jithitikulchai, Theepakorn
  • Qu, Yeqing

Abstract

The adverse effects of weather extremes produce widespread damage and cause severe alterations in the normal functioning of household agricultural production in Zambia. Extreme weather events such as floods and drought are expected to increase in intensity and frequency due to climate change. Coupled with high poverty levels and limited institutional capacity, the country is highly vulnerable to the impact of extreme events. We quantify the effects of economic diversification on agricultural productivity of poor farm households with a skew-normal regression approach while accounting for drought and flood shocks. Our analysis finds that economic diversification is a strategy to increase agricultural productivity and mitigate the adverse impact of droughts and floods on agricultural households. The results also support the country's policies to encourage hybrid maize production and to provide crop seeds and fertiliser to poor farmers. This paper provides a framework to plan and inform interventions to enhance household economic resilience to weather shocks through agricultural diversification in Zambia and other countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Chonabayashi, Shun & Jithitikulchai, Theepakorn & Qu, Yeqing, 2020. "Does agricultural diversification build economic resilience to drought and flood? Evidence from poor households in Zambia," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 15(01), March.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:afjare:307618
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.307618
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    2. Ida Brzezinska & Paul Jasper, 2024. "The Negative Effect of Temperature Variability on Household Wealth in Low- and Middle-Income Countries," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 417-452, November.
    3. Jithitikulchai, Theepakorn, 2023. "The effect of climate change and agricultural diversification on the total value of agricultural output of farm households in Sub-Saharan Africa," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 18(2), October.
    4. Nekeisha Spencer & Eric Strobl, 2025. "Modeling the Impact of Extreme Climate Events on Household Welfare: An Empirical Framework," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 88(4), pages 921-964, April.
    5. Tii N. Nchofoung & Ibrahim Ngouhouo, 2024. "Determinants of economic resilience response in sub-Saharan Africa to a common exogenous shock: roles of demographic differences, exchange rate regimes and institutional quality," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 26(1), pages 186-213, April.
    6. Artiom Volkov & Agnė Žičkienė & Mangirdas Morkunas & Tomas Baležentis & Erika Ribašauskienė & Dalia Streimikiene, 2021. "A Multi-Criteria Approach for Assessing the Economic Resilience of Agriculture: The Case of Lithuania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-16, February.

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