IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/agecon/v50y2019i6p765-778.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economywide effects of climate‐smart agriculture in Ethiopia

Author

Listed:
  • Adam M. Komarek
  • James Thurlow
  • Jawoo Koo
  • Alessandro De Pinto

Abstract

Climate‐smart agriculture (CSA) is an approach for transforming and reorienting agricultural systems to support food security under climate change. Few studies, however, quantify at the national scale CSA's economic effects or compare CSA to input‐intensive technologies, like fertilizer or irrigation. Such quantification may help with priority setting among competing agricultural investment options. Our study uses an integrated biophysical and economic modeling approach to quantify and contrast the economywide effects of CSA (integrated soil fertility management in our study) and input‐intensive technologies in Ethiopia's cereal systems. We simulate impacts for 20‐year sequences of variable weather, with and without climate change. Results indicate that adopting CSA on 25% of Ethiopia's maize and wheat land increases annual gross domestic product (GDP) by an average 0.18% (US$49.8 million) and reduces the national poverty rate by 0.15 percentage points (112,100 people). CSA is more effective than doubling fertilizer use on the same area, which increases GDP by US$33.0 million and assists 75,300 people out of poverty. CSA and fertilizer have some substitutability, but CSA and irrigation appear complementary. Although not a panacea for food security concerns, greater adoption of CSA in Ethiopia could deliver economic gains but would need substantial tailoring to farmer‐specific contexts.

Suggested Citation

  • Adam M. Komarek & James Thurlow & Jawoo Koo & Alessandro De Pinto, 2019. "Economywide effects of climate‐smart agriculture in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 50(6), pages 765-778, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:agecon:v:50:y:2019:i:6:p:765-778
    DOI: 10.1111/agec.12523
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12523
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/agec.12523?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lynam, John K. & Herdt, Robert W., 1989. "Sense and sustainability: Sustainability as an objective in international agricultural research," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 3(4), pages 381-398, December.
    2. Amsalu Woldie Yalew, 2016. "Economy-wide Effects of Climate Change in Ethiopia," EcoMod2016 9750, EcoMod.
    3. Edward Kato & Claudia Ringler & Mahmud Yesuf & Elizabeth Bryan, 2011. "Soil and water conservation technologies: a buffer against production risk in the face of climate change? Insights from the Nile basin in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 42(5), pages 593-604, September.
    4. John Pender & Berhanu Gebremedhin, 2008. "Determinants of Agricultural and Land Management Practices and Impacts on Crop Production and Household Income in the Highlands of Tigray, Ethiopia," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE), vol. 17(3), pages 395-450, June.
    5. Belay Kassie & Senthold Asseng & Reimund Rotter & Huib Hengsdijk & Alex Ruane & Martin Ittersum, 2015. "Exploring climate change impacts and adaptation options for maize production in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia using different climate change scenarios and crop models," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 129(1), pages 145-158, March.
    6. Aslihan Arslan & Nancy McCarthy & Leslie Lipper & Solomon Asfaw & Andrea Cattaneo & Misael Kokwe, 2015. "Climate Smart Agriculture? Assessing the Adaptation Implications in Zambia," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(3), pages 753-780, September.
    7. Menale Kassie & Precious Zikhali & John Pender & Gunnar Köhlin, 2010. "The Economics of Sustainable Land Management Practices in the Ethiopian Highlands," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(3), pages 605-627, September.
    8. Christopher B. Barrett & Michael R. Carter, 2010. "The Power and Pitfalls of Experiments in Development Economics: Some Non-random Reflections," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 32(4), pages 515-548.
    9. Sherman Robinson & Dirk Willenbockel & Kenneth Strzepek, 2012. "A Dynamic General Equilibrium Analysis of Adaptation to Climate Change in Ethiopia," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(3), pages 489-502, August.
    10. Salvatore Di Falco & Marcella Veronesi, 2013. "How Can African Agriculture Adapt to Climate Change? A Counterfactual Analysis from Ethiopia," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 89(4), pages 743-766.
    11. Shiferaw, Bekele & Holden, Stein T., 1998. "Resource degradation and adoption of land conservation technologies in the Ethiopian Highlands: A case study in Andit Tid, North Shewa," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 18(3), pages 233-247, May.
    12. Tsedeke Abate & Bekele Shiferaw & Abebe Menkir & Dagne Wegary & Yilma Kebede & Kindie Tesfaye & Menale Kassie & Gezahegn Bogale & Berhanu Tadesse & Tolera Keno, 2015. "Factors that transformed maize productivity in Ethiopia," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 7(5), pages 965-981, October.
    13. Akinwumi A. Adesina, 2010. "Conditioning trends shaping the agricultural and rural landscape in Africa," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 41(s1), pages 73-82, November.
    14. Gebreegziabher, Zenebe & Stage, Jesper & Mekonnen, Alemu & Alemu, Atlaw, 2016. "Climate change and the Ethiopian economy: a CGE analysis," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(2), pages 205-225, April.
    15. Robinson, Sherman & Mason d'Croz, Daniel & Islam, Shahnila & Sulser, Timothy B. & Robertson, Richard D. & Zhu, Tingju & Gueneau, Arthur & Pitois, Gauthier & Rosegrant, Mark W., 2015. "The International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT): Model description for version 3:," IFPRI discussion papers 1483, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    16. Holden, Stein & Shiferaw, Bekele, 2004. "Land degradation, drought and food security in a less-favoured area in the Ethiopian highlands: a bio-economic model with market imperfections," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 31-49, January.
    17. Ruerd Ruben & Gideon Kruseman & Arie Kuyvenhoven, 2006. "Strategies for sustainable intensification in East African highlands: labor use and input efficiency," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 34(2), pages 167-181, March.
    18. Bachewe, Fantu N. & Berhane, Guush & Minten, Bart & Taffesse, Alemayehu S., 2018. "Agricultural Transformation in Africa? Assessing the Evidence in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 286-298.
    19. Löfgren, Hans & Harris, Rebecca Lee & Robinson, Sherman, 2001. "A standard computable general equilibrium (CGE) model in GAMS," TMD discussion papers 75, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    20. Benfica, Rui & Thurlow, James, 2017. "Identifying priority value-chains in Ethiopia," ESSP working papers 110, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    21. John K. Lynam & Robert W. Herdt, 1989. "Sense and Sustainability: Sustainability as an Objective in International Agricultural Research," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 3(4), pages 381-398, December.
    22. Abdul Nafeo Abdulai, 2016. "Impact of conservation agriculture technology on household welfare in Zambia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(6), pages 729-741, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bazzana, Davide & Foltz, Jeremy & Zhang, Ying, 2022. "Impact of climate smart agriculture on food security: An agent-based analysis," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    2. Gebeyanesh Zerssa & Debela Feyssa & Dong-Gill Kim & Bettina Eichler-Löbermann, 2021. "Challenges of Smallholder Farming in Ethiopia and Opportunities by Adopting Climate-Smart Agriculture," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-26, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wondimagegn Tesfaye & Garrick Blalock & Nyasha Tirivayi, 2021. "Climate‐Smart Innovations and Rural Poverty in Ethiopia: Exploring Impacts and Pathways," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(3), pages 878-899, May.
    2. Vondolia, Godwin Kofi & Eggert, HÃ¥kan & Stage, Jesper, "undated". "Nudging Boserup? The Impact of Fertilizer Subsidies on Investment in Soil and Water Conservation," RFF Working Paper Series dp-12-08-efd, Resources for the Future.
    3. Michler, Jeffrey D. & Baylis, Kathy & Arends-Kuenning, Mary & Mazvimavi, Kizito, 2019. "Conservation agriculture and climate resilience," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 148-169.
    4. Ali M. Oumer & Michael Burton & Atakelty Hailu & Amin Mugera, 2020. "Sustainable agricultural intensification practices and cost efficiency in smallholder maize farms: Evidence from Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(6), pages 841-856, November.
    5. Aslihan Arslan & Kristin Floress & Christine Lamanna & Leslie Lipper & Solomon Asfaw & Todd Rosenstock, 2020. "IFAD RESEARCH SERIES 63 - The adoption of improved agricultural technologies - A meta-analysis for Africa," IFAD Research Series 304758, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
    6. Daregot Berihun & Passel Steven, 2022. "Climate variability and macroeconomic output in Ethiopia: the analysis of nexus and impact via asymmetric autoregressive distributive lag cointegration method," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 4064-4087, March.
    7. Issahaku, Gazali & Abdulai, Awudu, 2020. "Adoption of climate-smart practices and its impact on farm performance and risk exposure among smallholder farmers in Ghana," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(2), April.
    8. Oumer, Ali M. & Burton, Michael, 2018. "Drivers and Synergies in the Adoption of Sustainable Agricultural Intensification Practices: A Dynamic Perspective," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 273871, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Chesterman, Nathan S. & Entwistle, Julia & Chambers, Matthew C. & Liu, Hsiao-Chin & Agrawal, Arun & Brown, Daniel G., 2019. "The effects of trainings in soil and water conservation on farming practices, livelihoods, and land-use intensity in the Ethiopian highlands," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    10. Issahaku, Gazali & Abdulai, Awudu, "undated". "Adaptation to Climate Change and its influence on Household Welfare in Ghana," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 259938, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    11. Mequaninte, Teferi & Birner, Regina & Mueller, Ulrike, 2015. "Adoption of Land Management Practices in Ethiopia: Which Network Types," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212631, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    12. Dula Etana & Denyse J. R. M. Snelder & Cornelia F. A. van Wesenbeeck & Tjard de Cock Buning, 2021. "The Impact of Adaptation to Climate Change and Variability on the Livelihood of Smallholder Farmers in Central Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-21, June.
    13. Ramani, Shyama V. & Thutupalli, Ajay, 2015. "Emergence of controversy in technology transitions: Green Revolution and Bt cotton in India," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 198-212.
    14. Getnet, Kindie & MacAlister, Charlotte, 2012. "Integrated innovations and recommendation domains: Paradigm for developing, scaling-out, and targeting rainwater management innovations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 34-41.
    15. Musa Hasen Ahmed & Kassahun Mamo Geleta & Aemro Tazeze & Hiwot Mekonnen Mesfin & Eden Andualem Tilahun, 2017. "Cropping systems diversification, improved seed, manure and inorganic fertilizer adoption by maize producers of eastern Ethiopia," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 6(1), pages 1-16, December.
    16. Kumar, Praduman & Mittal, Surabhi, 2006. "Agricultural Productivity Trends in India: Sustainability Issues," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 19(Conferenc).
    17. Jianxu Liu & Mengjiao Wang & Li Yang & Sanzidur Rahman & Songsak Sriboonchitta, 2020. "Agricultural Productivity Growth and Its Determinants in South and Southeast Asian Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-21, June.
    18. Holden, Stein T. & Otsuka, Keijiro, 2014. "The roles of land tenure reforms and land markets in the context of population growth and land use intensification in Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 88-97.
    19. Montaud, Jean-Marc & Pecastaing, Nicolas & Tankari, Mahamadou, 2017. "Potential socio-economic implications of future climate change and variability for Nigerien agriculture: A countrywide dynamic CGE-Microsimulation analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 128-142.
    20. Franco, Juan Agustín & Gaspar, Paula & Mesias, Francisco Javier, 2012. "Economic analysis of scenarios for the sustainability of extensive livestock farming in Spain under the CAP," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 120-129.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:agecon:v:50:y:2019:i:6:p:765-778. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iaaeeea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.