We examine the driving forces behind farm households' decisions to adapt to climate change, and the impact of adaptation on farm households' food productivity. We estimate a simultaneous equations model with endogenous switching to account for the heterogeneity in the decision to adapt or not, and for unobservable characteristics of farmers and their farm. Access to credit, extension and information are found to be the main drivers behind adaptation. We find that adaptation increases food productivity, that the farm households that did not adapt would benefit the most from adaptation.

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This paper investigates the effects of crop genetic diversity on farm productivity and production risk in the highlands of Ethiopia. Using a moment-based approach, the analysis uses a stochastic production function capturing mean, variance, and skewness effects. Welfare implications of diversity are evaluated using a certainty equivalent, measured as expected income minus a risk premium (reflecting the cost of risk). We find that the effect of diversity on skewness dominates its effect on variance, meaning that diversity reduces the cost of risk. The analysis also shows that the beneficial effects of diversity become of greater value in degraded land.Key words: barley, diversity, Ethiopia, food security, land degradation, risk.Production risk is one of the quintessential features of agriculture. Unpredictable weather can expose farm households to significant production uncertainty and serious hardship. Under harsh climatic and agroecological conditions, this can result in food insecurity and famine. The highlands of Ethiopia are a prime example of such environment. During the last forty years, Ethiopia has experienced many severe droughts, 1 leading to production levels that fell short of basic subsistence levels for many farm households (Relief Society of Tigray (REST) and NORAGRIC at the Agricultural University of Norway 1995, p. 137). Harvest failure due to drought is the most important cause of risk-related hardship of Ethiopian rural households, with adverse effects on farm household consumption and welfare (Dercon 2004(Dercon , 2005. When facing prospects of harvest failure, ex-ante farm production decisions, such as crop or varietal choice, remain a part of risk management strategies (Just and Candler 1985;Fafchamps 1992;Chavas and Holt 1996;Dercon 1996;Smale et al. 1998). The authors would like to thank the editor, three anonymous referees, Melinda Smale, Chris Barrett, and Fitsum Hagos for useful comments on an earlier draft of the paper. We also thank John Pender for making the data available. The usual disclaimer applies.1 Ethiopia experienced droughts in 1965Ethiopia experienced droughts in , 1974Ethiopia experienced droughts in , 1983Ethiopia experienced droughts in , 1984Ethiopia experienced droughts in , 1987Ethiopia experienced droughts in , 1990Ethiopia experienced droughts in , 1991Ethiopia experienced droughts in , 1999Ethiopia experienced droughts in , 2000Ethiopia experienced droughts in , and 2002 In this environment, management options are somewhat restricted. Insurance and risk coping mechanisms often function poorly because of credit constraints, information asymmetries, and commitment failures (Deaton 1989;Fafchamps 1992;Kurosaki and Fafchamps 2002). Safety nets typically provide only limited support We argue that, in dry environments, farmers' reliance on crop biodiversity is an essential part of ex-ante risk management strategies. Diversity in genetic resources embedded in crop seeds can support productivity and help manage risk . Ethiopia is a recognized global center of g...

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in ABSTRACTIn this paper we investigate how consumers respond to the UK food label Traffic Light System (TLS). Employing a Choice Experiment (CE) we find that consumers appear to behave in a manner consistent with our expectations regarding the impact of the TLS nutrition label. In particular, we identify a strong preference on the part of respondents to avoid a basket of goods containing a mix of foods with any "Red" lights. We have also found that consumers have a hierarchy of importance in terms of perception of the various nutrients examined and clear behavioural differences associated with particular socio-economic characteristics confirming early research on the use of nutrition labels. Overall our results indicate significant heterogeneity in the attitudes and responses of consumers to food labels within and across socioeconomic strata in terms of the magnitude of WTP.

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Many developing countries grapple with high rates of farmland degradation and low agricultural productivity amidst increasing climate variability. Considerable efforts have been exerted to promote the diffusion of improved farmland management to address these challenges. Despite these efforts, adoption rates, especially of soil conservation and water harvesting technologies, are still low, which has been the subject of investigation in several studies in Ethiopia and elsewhere. Most studies on the adoption of these technologies, however, tend to focus on economic incentives only, paying little attention to the role of social capital. This article provides evidence of the effects of different dimensions of social capital on innovation adoption across households holding different levels of risk aversion. We address this issue by using cross section and panel data from Ethiopia. Results show that social capital plays a significant role in enhancing the adoption of improved farmland management practices. We also find evidence that the effect of social capital across households with heterogeneous risk taking behavior is different. JEL classifications: C36, C93, D71, D81

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