IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i5p2847-d761511.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change and Impacts on Household Income and Food Security: Evidence from Sahelian Region of Niger

Author

Listed:
  • Seydou Zakari

    (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Bamako, Mali)

  • Germaine Ibro

    (Institute National de la Recherche Agronomique du Niger (INRAN), Niamey BP 429, Niger)

  • Bokar Moussa

    (Institute National de la Recherche Agronomique du Niger (INRAN), Zinder BP 612, Niger)

  • Tahirou Abdoulaye

    (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Bamako, Mali)

Abstract

Sahelian countries, particularly Niger, are more vulnerable to climate change due to the high dependence of most of their populations on rain-fed agriculture and limited capacities to respond to climate variability and change. This paper examines the factors influencing climate change adaptation strategies and the impacts on household income and food security in rural Niger. For this purpose, we collected data from 1783 valid rural households in four main agricultural regions of Niger. The results showed that crop diversification (72.74%), income diversification (67.97%) and changing planting times (55%) are the main adaptation strategies adopted by households. The majority of respondents had noticed changes in rain patterns (93.21%), in the amount of rain (91.25%) and in the intensity of rain (81.82%) during the last five years. We categorized these adaptation strategies into six major groups namely climate-resilient crop varieties, improved agronomic practices, irrigation and water conservation practices, crop diversification, income diversification, and agroforestry. We ran logit regression to identify the determinants of each individual group. The results show mixed effects of independent variables on these categories of adaptation strategies. Using matching techniques, we found adaptation strategies have positive and significant impact on both household income and food security. The farmers who adopt climate change adaptation strategies are more likely to increase household income by 7721.526 FCFA compared to those households with zero adaptation strategies. Similarly, the adapters have 7% to 9% more chance to be food secure compared to those who did not adopt strategies. These results suggest that strengthening the awareness of the effects of climate change on farmers and the choice of appropriate adaptation strategies are necessary to enhance household resilience. Strengthening institutional factors such as access to credit and market, extension services, and using drought-resilient crop varieties would surely improve agricultural production.

Suggested Citation

  • Seydou Zakari & Germaine Ibro & Bokar Moussa & Tahirou Abdoulaye, 2022. "Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change and Impacts on Household Income and Food Security: Evidence from Sahelian Region of Niger," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-18, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:5:p:2847-:d:761511
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/5/2847/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/5/2847/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Seydou Zakari & Liu Ying & Baohui Song, 2014. "Factors Influencing Household Food Security in West Africa: The Case of Southern Niger," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-12, March.
    2. Barry Smit & Mark Skinner, 2002. "Adaptation options in agriculture to climate change: a typology," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 85-114, March.
    3. World Bank, 2009. "Niger : Food Security and Safety Nets," World Bank Publications - Reports 18550, The World Bank Group.
    4. Isaure Delaporte & Mathilde Maurel, 2018. "Adaptation to climate change in Bangladesh," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 49-62, January.
    5. 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.
    6. Nigussie Abadi & Ataklti Techane & Girmay Tesfay & Daniel Maxwell & Bapu Vaitla, 2018. "The impact of remittances on household food security: A micro perspective from Tigray, Ethiopia," WIDER Working Paper Series 040, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. Ellen Verhofstadt & Miet Maertens, 2015. "Can Agricultural Cooperatives Reduce Poverty? Heterogeneous Impact of Cooperative Membership on Farmers' Welfare in Rwanda," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 37(1), pages 86-106.
    8. Verhofstadt, Ellen & Maertens, Miet, 2014. "Heterogeneous impact of cooperative membership on farmers’ welfare in Rwanda," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 182775, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    9. Gbetibouo, Glwadys Aymone, 2009. "Understanding farmers' perceptions and adaptations to climate change and variability: The case of the Limpopo Basin, South Africa," IFPRI discussion papers 849, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    10. Mathieu Ouédraogo & Prosper Houessionon & Robert B. Zougmoré & Samuel Tetteh Partey, 2019. "Uptake of Climate-Smart Agricultural Technologies and Practices: Actual and Potential Adoption Rates in the Climate-Smart Village Site of Mali," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-19, August.
    11. Kirsty Lewis & Carlo Buontempo, 2016. "Climate Impacts in the Sahel and West Africa: The Role of Climate Science in Policy Making," West African Papers 2, OECD Publishing.
    12. Nasir Mahmood & Muhammad Arshad & Harald Kaechele & Muhammad Faisal Shahzad & Ayat Ullah & Klaus Mueller, 2020. "Fatalism, Climate Resiliency Training and Farmers’ Adaptation Responses: Implications for Sustainable Rainfed-Wheat Production in Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-21, February.
    13. Asfaw, Solomon & Shiferaw, Bekele & Simtowe, Franklin & Lipper, Leslie, 2012. "Impact of modern agricultural technologies on smallholder welfare: Evidence from Tanzania and Ethiopia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 283-295.
    14. Oluwabunmi Oluwaseun Popoola & Shehu Folaranmi Gbolahan Yusuf & Nomakhaya Monde, 2020. "Information Sources and Constraints to Climate Change Adaptation amongst Smallholder Farmers in Amathole District Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-23, July.
    15. Sinyolo, Sikhulumile, 2020. "Technology adoption and household food security among rural households in South Africa: The role of improved maize varieties," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    16. Oyinlola Rafiat Ogunpaimo & Zainab Oyetunde-Usman & Jolaosho Surajudeen, 2021. "Impact of Climate Change Adaptation on Household Food Security in Nigeria—A Difference-in-Difference Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-19, January.
    17. Maddison, David, 2007. "The perception of and adaptation to climate change in Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4308, The World Bank.
    18. Ahmed, Zobaer & Guha, Gauri S. & Shew, Aaron M. & Alam, G.M. Monirul, 2021. "Climate change risk perceptions and agricultural adaptation strategies in vulnerable riverine char islands of Bangladesh," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    19. Oecd, 2009. "Climate Change and Africa," OECD Journal: General Papers, OECD Publishing, vol. 2009(1), pages 5-35.
    20. Dominique Gentil & Jean-Michel Servet, 2002. "Microfinance : petites sommes, grands effets ? Introduction," Revue Tiers Monde, Programme National Persée, vol. 43(172), pages 729-735.
    21. Nigussie Abadi & Ataklti Techane & Girmay Tesfay & Daniel Maxwell & Bapu Vaitla, 2018. "The impact of remittances on household food security: A micro perspective from Tigray, Ethiopia," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-40, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    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. Girma Gezimu Gebre & Yuichiro Amekawa & Asmiro Abeje Fikadu & Dil Bahadur Rahut, 2023. "Do climate change adaptation strategies improve farmers’ food security in Tanzania?," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(3), pages 629-647, June.
    2. Arifa Yasmin Mukta & Md. Emdadul Haque & Abu Reza Md. Towfiqul Islam & Md. Abdul Fattah & Williamson Gustave & Hussein Almohamad & Ahmed Abdullah Al Dughairi & Motrih Al-Mutiry & Hazem Ghassan Abdo, 2022. "Impact of Canal Encroachment on Flood and Economic Vulnerability in Northern Bangladesh," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-21, July.
    3. Marina Kovaleva & Walter Leal Filho & Christian Borgemeister & Jokastah Wanzuu Kalungu, 2022. "Understanding Needs and Potentials for Gender-Balanced Empowerment and Leadership in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-27, August.
    4. Sunita Rani Das & Farjana Eyasmin & Bikash Chandra Ghosh, 2023. "Economic assessment of rice farmers’ climate change adaptation options and their sustainability: a case of Pabna district, Bangladesh," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(4), pages 1-19, April.
    5. Bello, Lateef Olalekan & Awotide, Bola Amoke & Sakurai, Takeshi, 2024. "Climate change adaptation and smallholder farmers welfare: Empirical evidence from the Sahelian Region of West Africa," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    6. Girma Gezimu Gebre & Yuichiro Amekawa & Aneteneh Ashebir, 2023. "Can farmers’ climate change adaptation strategies ensure their food security? Evidence from Ethiopia," Agrekon, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 62(2), pages 178-193, April.

    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. Hermann Comoé & Michael Siegrist, 2015. "Relevant drivers of farmers’ decision behavior regarding their adaptation to climate change: a case study of two regions in Côte d’Ivoire," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 179-199, February.
    2. Thennakoon, Jayanthi & Findlay, Christopher & Huang, Jikun & Wang, Jinxia, 2020. "Management adaptation to flood in Guangdong Province in China: Do property rights Matter?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    3. Alistair Munro, 2020. "Using experimental manipulation of questionnaire design and a Kenyan panel to test for the reliability of reported perceptions of climate change and adaptation," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 162(3), pages 1081-1105, October.
    4. Bryan, Elizabeth & Behrman, Julia A., 2013. "Community–based adaptation to climate change: A theoretical framework, overview of key issues and discussion of gender differentiated priorities and participation," CAPRi working papers 109, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. Dilshad Ahmad & Mohammad Afzal & Abdur Rauf, 2021. "Farmers’ adaptation decisions to landslides and flash floods in the mountainous region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 8573-8600, June.
    6. Alam, Khorshed, 2015. "Farmers’ adaptation to water scarcity in drought-prone environments: A case study of Rajshahi District, Bangladesh," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 196-206.
    7. Kamau M.W & Ndung’u C.K & Muriu Ng’ang’a F.W, 2020. "Factors Influencing Farmers’ Adaptations to Climate Variability and Extreme Events in Dry Kitui, Kenya," International Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources, Juniper Publishers Inc., vol. 24(1), pages 1-8, March.
    8. Mintewab Bezabih & Remidius Ruhinduka & Mare Sarr, 2016. "Climate change perception and system of rice intensification (SRI) impact on dispersion and downside risk: a moment approximation approach," GRI Working Papers 256, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    9. Damian Felladam Tangonyire, 2019. "Impact Of Climate Change On Farmers In The Talensi District Of The Upper East Region Of Ghana," Malaysian Journal of Sustainable Agriculture (MJSA), Zibeline International Publishing, vol. 3(2), pages 35-45, June.
    10. Sushenjit Bandyopadhyay & Limin Wang & Marcus Wijnen, 2011. "Improving Household Survey Instruments for Understanding Agricultural Household Adaptation to Climate Change : Water Stress and Variability," World Bank Publications - Reports 12764, The World Bank Group.
    11. Shamsheer ul Haq & Ismet Boz & Pomi Shahbaz, 2021. "Adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices and differentiated nutritional outcome among rural households: a case of Punjab province, Pakistan," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(4), pages 913-931, August.
    12. Muhammad Faisal & Azhar Abbas & Yi Cai & Abdelrahman Ali & Muhammad Amir Shahzad & Shoaib Akhtar & Muhammad Haseeb Raza & Muhammad Arslan Ajmal & Chunping Xia & Syed Abdul Sattar & Zahira Batool, 2021. "Perceptions, Vulnerability and Adaptation Strategies for Mitigating Climate Change Effects among Small Livestock Herders in Punjab, Pakistan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-21, October.
    13. Moranga, Lawrence Ongwae & Otieno, David Jakinda & Oluoch-Kosura, Willis, 2016. "Analysis Of Factors Influencing Tomato Farmers’ Willingness To Adopt Innovative Timing Approaches For Management Of Climate Change Effects In Taita Taveta County, Kenya," Dissertations and Theses 269270, University of Nairobi, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    14. Etwire, Prince Maxwell, 2020. "The impact of climate change on farming system selection in Ghana," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    15. Richard Kofi Asravor, 2022. "On-farm adaptation strategies to climate change: the case of smallholder farmers in the Northern Development Authority Zone of Ghana," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 5080-5093, April.
    16. Robert Becker Pickson & Ge He, 2021. "Smallholder Farmers’ Perceptions, Adaptation Constraints, and Determinants of Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change in Chengdu," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, July.
    17. Amadou, Mahamadou L. & Villamor, Grace B. & Kyei-Baffour, Nicholas, 2018. "Simulating agricultural land-use adaptation decisions to climate change: An empirical agent-based modelling in northern Ghana," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 196-209.
    18. Andrew Barnes & Luiza Toma, 2012. "A typology of dairy farmer perceptions towards climate change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 112(2), pages 507-522, May.
    19. Musa Hasen Ahmed & Hiwot Mekonnen Mesfin, 2017. "The impact of agricultural cooperatives membership on the wellbeing of smallholder farmers: empirical evidence from eastern Ethiopia," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-20, December.
    20. Nugun Patrick Jellason & Richard N. Baines & John S. Conway & Chukwuma C. Ogbaga, 2019. "Climate Change Perceptions and Attitudes to Smallholder Adaptation in Northwestern Nigerian Drylands," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-20, January.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:5:p:2847-:d:761511. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.