Abstract
Adaptation to climate change is imperative to sustain and promote agricultural productivity growth, and site-specific empirical evidence is needed to facilitate policy making. Therefore, this study analyses the impact of climate change adaptation on productivity for annual crops in Central Chile using a stochastic production frontier approach. The data come from a random sample of 265 farms located in four municipalities with different agro-climatic conditions. To measure climate change adaptation, a set of 14 practices was used in three different specifications: binary variable, count and index; representing decision, intensity and quality of adaptation, respectively. The aforementioned alternative variables were used in three different stochastic production frontier models. Results suggest that the use of adaptive practices had a significant and positive effect on productivity; the practice with the highest impact on productivity was irrigation improvement. Empirical results demonstrate the relevance of climate change adaptation on farmers’ productivity and enrich the discussion regarding the need to implement adaptation measures.
Highlights
Agriculture represents a relevant economic sector for the analysis of climate change, given that it is situated at the interface between ecosystems and society, and it is highly affected by changes in environmental conditions [1,2]
We investigate whether adaptive practices can increase productivity in different agricultural production systems based on annual crops in Central Chile
These results demonstrate the importance of climate change adaptation through the improvement of irrigation at the farm level to increase resource use efficiency
Summary
Agriculture represents a relevant economic sector for the analysis of climate change, given that it is situated at the interface between ecosystems and society, and it is highly affected by changes in environmental conditions [1,2]. It is necessary to recognize the effect that limitations in natural resources will have on agriculture to build resilience to climate change at the farm level [6]. As natural resources available for food production become more constraining, crop productivity is essential for fostering the growth and welfare of the agricultural sector [7]. To relax these constraints, farmers have been modifying their practices to cope with climatic variability for centuries; climate change is threatening their livelihoods with increasing unpredictability, including frequent and intense weather extremes such as droughts, floods and frosts [8]. Changes in food production affect all consumers; it is producers that need to adapt to insure adequate supplies and who bear the costs involved in improving efficiency [12]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
