Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper was to assess the effects of quality coffee production on climate change adaptation using household surveys and interview data gathered from coffee farmers in Yirgacheffe, southern Ethiopia. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 352 households, stratified into conventional coffee farmers 232 (66%) and specialty coffee producers 120(34%), was used. The propensity score model for participating in quality coffee production was estimated using 14 covariates, and the impact of quality coffee production on adaptation to climate change adaptation was examined. The results are augmented with qualitative data collected through focus group discussions and key informant interviews held with randomly selected smallholder farmers. A telecoupling theoretical perspective was used to understand the link between coffee farmers’ adaptation practices and the demand for quality coffee, as coffee is a global commodity. Findings The PSM analysis reveals that quality coffee production positively influences climate change adaptation. This implies that conventional coffee producers would have performed better in adaptation to climate change if they had participated in quality coffee production. The results of group discussions also confirm the positive effects of quality coffee production on adaptation to climate change, which also suggests a positive spillover effects for sustainable coffee farm management. Practical implications This study suggests enhancing quality coffee production is essential if a more sustainable and climate change resilient coffee livelihood is envisioned. Originality/value Though many studies are available on adaptation to climate change in general, this study is one of the few studies focusing on the effects of quality coffee production on climate change adaptation by smallholders in one of the least developed countries, Ethiopia. This study provides a better understanding of the importance of adaptation strategies specific to coffee production, which in turn help develop a more resilient coffee sector, as coffee production is one of the most sensitive activity to climate change.
Highlights
The impact of climate change is most severe in Africa, as its food production systems are among the most sensitive due to its extensive reliance on rainfed crops production and droughts are recurrent under natural climate variability (Moore et al, 2012)
3.1 Propensity scores The propensity score was estimated using a logistic regression model of the probability of participating in quality coffee production based on the set of pre-tested covariates
This study reveals that coffee farmers adjusted their farming practices to adapt their coffee production to climate change
Summary
The impact of climate change is most severe in Africa, as its food production systems are among the most sensitive due to its extensive reliance on rainfed crops production and droughts are recurrent under natural climate variability (Moore et al, 2012). The African coffee sector, which supports millions of smallholder families and generates the muchneeded foreign currency to national government is sensitive to climate change impacts. This is the case with the Arabica coffee, which requires very specific environmental conditions for successful production (Ebisa, 2017), including an optimum mean temperature range of between 15°C and 23°C (Davis et al, 2012). Though Ethiopia is the first African coffee producer, it is the second exporter to the global market (Daviron and Ponte, 2007) This could be attributable to several reasons; inadequate pre-and post-harvest activities to produce coffees that meet the high quality requirement of the speciality coffee market and poor marketing systems. The high domestic consumption that takes up more than 50% of the total production (Petit, 2007) due to the country’s strong coffee-drinking culture could play in the balance between the production and export of coffee in Ethiopia
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