Climate-smart agriculture and climate resilience: panel data evidence from Ethiopia

Abstract

While climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is widely promoted for its potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, boost productivity, and enhance resilience, empirical evidence of its effectiveness in fulfilling these wins under climate stress remains critically understudied. We examine the relationship between extreme weather events, climate-smart agriculture, and land productivity (yields) using a three-wave plot-level multiple crop panel data from Ethiopia. We find that the adoption of climate-smart agricultural (CSA) practices, such as improved crop varieties, crop rotation, and conservation tillage exhibit a positive association with yields. However, the biggest yield gains are observed when these practices are jointly adopted as a bundle, with the adoption of improved (climate-resilient) crop varieties standing out as a major positive influence. We also show that these climate-resilient practices deliver on their promise of improving climate resilience as they mitigate yield losses associated with adverse weather events. Our findings reveal that while CSA adoption can help mitigate yield losses from extreme weather events, its effectiveness varies significantly across crops. This suggests that a one-size-fits-all approach to CSA implementation is ineffective for improving crop yields and resilience.