Impact of climate change adaptation practices on crop productivity: evidence from North Shewa Zone, Amhara region, Ethiopia

This study is conducted with the main objective of investigating the impact of farmers’ adaptation to climate change on their crop productivity in North Shewa zone of Amhara region in Ethiopia. Using structured questionnaire, data were collected from 400 smallholder farmers which were sampled from the study area using multistage sampling technique. And the study applies endogenous switching regression model in order to investigate the impact of adopting climate technologies on crop productivity. The findings of the descriptive analyses indicate that climate change is being felt by most farmers in the study area, and in fact majority of them (66%) report they have noticed a decrease in rainfall and (70%) an increase in temperature overtime. The results of farmers’ decision to adopt climate change adaptation practices indicate, adoption of technology (strategy) is significantly associated with household head’s education level, household size, employment in off-farm activities, participation in farm cooperatives, access to extension services, access to climate information, soil quality, land ownership right, agro-climate zone and proximity to markets and urban centres. The results of the endogenous switching model indicate farmers which adopt climate adaptation strategies have managed to produce higher crop yield. And for those which do not adopt the strategy, the results indicate these farmers could have produced more yield had they adopted the strategy. The study recommends that adoption of climate change adaptation practices helps increase crop productivity of farm households and build a resilient agricultural system.