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Reconciling Climate Resilience and Farm Profitability: Evidence from New Theory Agriculture in Thailand

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  • Ali Akram
  • Kannika Thampanishvong

Abstract

Climate change threatens agricultural sustainability, making the nexus of farm-level adaptation and economic performance a critical area of scientific inquiry. In Thailand, New Theory Agriculture (NTA) is a diversification strategy designed to enhance farmer resilience against climate and market risks. This study provides an experimental evaluation of the NTA's effectiveness, quantifying its impacts by comparing a treatment cohort of NTA adopters against a control group of non-adopters. The analysis reveals that NTA has a statistically significant positive effect on both farm diversification and profitability. Notably, participants in the NTA earned an average of $971 more in net farm revenue per growing season than their counterparts. This result contributes to the literature by empirically challenging the posited trade-off between resilience-oriented diversification and economic returns. Ultimately, the findings demonstrate that NTA represents an effective paradigm for concurrently achieving climate adaptation and economic sustainability in the Thai agricultural sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Ali Akram & Kannika Thampanishvong, 2025. "Reconciling Climate Resilience and Farm Profitability: Evidence from New Theory Agriculture in Thailand," PIER Discussion Papers 239, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.
  • Handle: RePEc:pui:dpaper:239
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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