Abstract
ABSTRACT This paper evaluates the technical efficiency of smallholder dairy farmers assisted by a climate resilience programme in the Brazilian semi-arid region. We use stochastic frontier models applied to a panel with quarterly data for 43 dairy family farmers assisted by the MAIS programme (Módulo Agroclimático Inteligente e Sustentável) between January 2016 and March 2018. Results highlight how the assistance to implement climate-smart production practices, in addition to access to basic technologies, played a key role in improving the frontier of production of dairy farmers. We also show that increasing temperature continues to be the main threat to the continuous growth of technical efficiency in the region. Our findings provide insights for policy and decision-makers in designing adaptive strategies to reduce the vulnerability of impoverished family farmers that face extreme weather events.
Highlights
Farmers in the semi-arid region of Brazil are extremely vulnerable to climate change
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the technical efficiency of family dairy farmers assisted by a climate resilience programme in the Brazilian semi-arid region
Model 1 is based on a traditional Cobb–Douglas production function: the average log of production as a linear function of the log of area, hours of hired labour, and a binary for investment
Summary
Farmers in the semi-arid region of Brazil are extremely vulnerable to climate change. This scenario is explained by various factors such as advanced desertification, land degradation, rainfall deficits, water scarcity, and precarious socioeconomic and infrastructure conditions (Burney et al, 2014). Several studies have investigated the impact of climate change on agricultural production in different regions of the world (Donatti et al, 2019; Hannah et al, 2017; Key & Sneeringer, 2014; Mendelsohn & Dinar, 2009; Omerkhil et al, 2020 Pires et al, 2016). The study focuses on the Jacuípe basin area (JBA), located in the state of Bahia – Northeast region of Brazil (Figure 1). The region has historically suffered prolonged and irregular periods of drought, which seems to have worsened in the last decades: the average rainfall has reduced by 10 mm per decade since the 1960s
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