Climate Change and Economic Development
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- ItemAnthropogenic Land Use Change and Adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa(African Economic Research Consortium, 2022-10) Tione, SarahAgricultural production and productivity (crop and livestock) is increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) at the cost high carbon footprint. Emissions of greenhouse gases is mainly from land use changes, food and feed production and manure management. This double burden is slowing down development efforts, particularly in SSA. Agricultural policy has been promoting Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies and practices especially among smallholder farmers. Although there is compelling evidence on the impact of CSA technologies on agricultural productivity,their uptake in low-income is still lowand considered unsatisfactory (Makate, 2019). Hence, empirical gap exists in context-specific studies, particularly, on intertemporal and spatial anthropogenic changes of land use related to CSA household decisions to inform policy. We considered a basket of CSA practices, including soil erosion control variables like terraces, control bunds (stones, earth or sandbags/gibbons),tree belt, water harvesting bunds and drainage ditches; Use of organic manure; Irrigation farming by diverting streams, hand and treadle pumps, motor or gravity-fed; land preparation techniques that include box ridges, zero tillage, pit planting, ripping and minimum tillage. Data is from LSMS and FAOSTAT.
- ItemClimate Change and Economic Development in Africa(African Economic Research Consortium, 2022-10) Ngepah, Nicholas; Mwiinga, Regina ConselhoGender equality and female empowerment (SDG 5) and embarking on actions to tackle climate change (SDG 13) are amongst the sustainable development goals established by the United Nations. South Africa has been experiencing extreme climatic events like droughts, floods, heat waves, etc because of climate change. These have impacted water and fuel sources, habitats, human health, and economic productivity. For instance, it is estimated that 19,113 households were affected by the recent floods in KwaZulu Natal Province. This resulted in 435 deaths and damage estimated at R17 billion1 . Females are particularly vulnerable due to their inherent social responsibilities (energy collection and use) and dependency on traditional sources of fuel (wood, charcoal, agricultural waste). As a result, they are exposed to danger of physical and sexual harm This is particularly visible, in rural areas. Consequently, they are time poor and face a high economic cost of their time usage which could have otherwise been spent on income generating activities2 . As climate events increase in frequency and intensity the plight of women is expected to worsen.
- ItemClimate change impact on Meteorological hazards in the Volta River Basin, West Africa(African Economic Research Consortium, 2022-10) Limantol, Andrew Manoba; Larbi, Isaac; Dotse, Sam-QuarcooClimate change has increasingly become a serious threat to meteorological hazards such as drought and flood. The slightest changes in temperature and rainfall patterns could have asignificant implication on economic activities in many countries around the world.InWestAfrica,theVolta riverbasin(Fig 1)is an important transboundary basinin the regionsharedby six ripariancountries (i.e.Burkina Faso, Togo,Benin,Côted’Ivoire, Niger and Ghana). These countries over the last few decades have been affected by increased intense rainfall events and long dry spells which often resulted in floods and droughts, causing many losses and damages. This makes the basin with a population of over 24 million vulnerable to the impact of climate change and extreme events. In the basin, experiences in the past have shown that there are occasional erratic rainfall periods that characterize the three zones (Ndehedehe et al.2017).Previous studies in Ghana indicate that climate extremes such as floods have resulted in drastic reduction in the national out put of maize(6.3%)and rice(9.3%)(Stutley,2010).This is problematic as it has serious implications on household food security, as a result ofthe rising prices of food commodities (Wossenetal.,2018), thereby affecting the attainment of sustainable development.However,only handful of studies (e.g.Aziz,2015;Larbietal2018;Okafor et al. 2021) on changes in climate and extremes under different climate scenarios over the basin exists. In order to address this gap, this study aims to contribute to the basic. understanding of climate change, its impact on meteorological hazards and make policy recommendations that will contribute to achieving Sustainable Development in the Volta basin, West Africa. Specifically, to: (i) analyze the changes in rainfall and temperature under Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) scenarios (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5) for the period 1985-2014 relative to 2021-2050 period over the Volta basin; and (ii) assess the spatio-temporal changes in meteorological extreme indices at the Basin between two periods (i.e. 1985-2014 and 2021-2050). Information derived from this research is useful for planning and designing climate change adaptation measures to achieve Sustainable Development at the Basin.
- ItemClimate Resilience Through Dual-Purpose Crops for Small-Scale Dairy Farming in Benin(African Economic Research Consortium, 2022-10) Montcho, MartheIn response to livestock feed constraints, farmers are increasingly exploring new options to improve the productivity and efficiency of their crop-livestock enterprises (Snapp et al, 2018). One such option is dual-purpose crops, which has a high potential to simultaneously improving grain yields and livestock feed availability and quality (Erenstein, et al, 2013; Hassan et al, 2015). A promising method of enhancing crop and livestock productivity is increasing the availability and quality of cereal residues as livestock feed (Amede et al., 2009; Alkemade et al., 2012). Dual-purpose crops provide food and income to households, while crop residues are an essential fodder source for livestock (Tarawali et al, 2011; Salmon et al, 2018).Compared to grain-only crops, dual-purpose crops help to significantly improve the profitability, environmental sustainability, and resilience of the whole farm system (Tarawali et al, 2011). It is recognized that dual-purpose crops have positive effects on nutrition and adaptation to climate change. However, policy recommendations do not consider climate variability across the country and the tolerance of each dual-purpose crops to the various climate regions. This policy brief aims to share evidence for dissemination of appropriate use of dual-purpose crops on dairy farms across the various climate regions of Benin.
- ItemClimate Variability, Temporal Migration and Welfare Among Agricultural Households in Tanzania(African Economic Research Consortium, 2022-10) Chegere, Martin J.; Mrosso, Theresia L.Climate change risks poses threat to productivity and human welfare especially those living in climatic prone areas and those whose livelihood depends on agriculture activities. More than 80 percent of rural households in Tanzania are employed in the agricultural sector. Their incomes are vulnerable to climate change due to the adverse impact of climate variabilities on the sector. Already several mechanisms are employed by households to insure themselves against climatic risks, including agriculture diversification, income diversification, and social networks.Still no guarantee of which mechanism is best especially for agricultural households in developing countries like Tanzania. Among other mechanisms temporal migration strategies has been linked as strategy to cope with impacts of climate change but this channel has not been intensively researched on which motivates this brief’s objective. Most of mechanisms adopted by households may work better in the cases of individual risks, while most are less efficientifrisks are covariant and affect everyone in an area. Spatial diversification, such as internal migration, has been employed to ensure against covariant risks like climate risk. Temporal internal migration may guarantee vulnerable households by supplementing income from remittances, extended business networks, or benefits from returning migrants who have acquired capital and skills.However, benefits only materialize if migrants remain in contact with their sending household.
- ItemClimate-Smart Agriculture, Welfare, and Income Risk Management in Ethiopia(African Economic Research Consortium, 2022) Yitbarek, Eleni; Tesfaye, WondimagegnDespite significant gains in poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa, rural poverty remains a concern in the region (Barrett et al., 2017; Hansen et al., 2019; Clay and Zimmerer, 2020). The agriculture sector in the region continues to underperform because farmers rely on unsustainable farming practices that lead to land degradation and poor soil fertility (Marenya and Barrett, 2009; Tittonell and Giller, 2013; Grabowski et al., 2016; Mekuria, 2018; Yigezu, 2021). Moreover, climate change appears to be a major source of risk for agricultural production. One option for sustainable agricultural production is “climate-smart” agricultural practices that support production and enhance adaptive capacity (Bradshaw, Dolan, and Smit, 2004; Di Falco, Veronesi, and Yesuf, 2011; Lipper et al., 2014; Asfaw et al., 2016). Thus, it is important to establish this link of substitutability or complementarity of different livelihoods options of farmers such as adopting CSA and other income risk management strategies such as migration and off-farm employment, scaling up CSA practices or promoting off-farm employment to improve farmer’s resilience against the effect of climate change. This brief provides insight into the link between CSA and household welfare and income risk management in SSA using data from a low-income country context using Ethiopia as a case.
- ItemDo Smallholder Farmers in Heterogeneous Settings in Malawi Use Commercial Input Purchasing to Adapt to Recurrent Weather Shocks?(African Economic Research Consortium, 2022-10) Makate, Clifton; Makate, MarshallAgriculture in Malawi is mainly rain-fed, making it highly sensitive to climate risk, particularly weather shocks. Historical climate trends in the country show high climate variability, and extreme climate events such as drought and flood have been linked to low agricultural yields (Figure 1). Therefore, efforts toward building the resilience of smallholder farmers to persistent weather shocks are vital for sustainable livelihoods. Promoting strategies that enhance smallholder farmers' resilience to climate risks is high on the policy agenda of Malawi. This notion is evidenced by remarkable progress in incorporating climate change adaptation and management in the country's development plans, policies, and strategies in the past twenty years. Through the National Agricultural Policy (NAP), Malawi supports climate change adaptation in agriculture through Climate-smart agriculture (CSA). As evidenced in the recently launched National Agriculture Investment Plan (NAIP), which is the main implementation vehicle for NAP, resilient livelihoods and agricultural systems is one of the four programs1 targeted at transforming agriculture. To successfully transform smallholder agriculture with increasing climate risk, smallholder farmers need access to diverse inputs to adapt to climate change. Commercial input purchasing offers farmers the opportunity and autonomy to alter input choices and diversity in ways that improve the resilience of their agricultural activities to weather shocks.
- ItemDrought Impacts on Crops Sector and Adaptation Options in Burkina Faso : A Gender Focused Computable General Equilibrium Analysis(African Economic Research Consortium, 2022-10) Sawadogo, BoureimaBurkina Faso has experienced recurrent droughts since the 1970s. Between 1969 and 2020, drought affected more than 15 million people in Burkina Faso. In 2011, for example, the drought resulted in the loss of half a million tons of grain and caused a food shortage that affected 2.8 million people (USAID, 2019). In addition, estimates predict reductions in rainfall and increases in temperature by 2050 (USAID, 2019). Such shocks would increase drought events and have adverse effects on economic activities, particularly agricultural activities. Droughts pose a threat to the stability of food production from agriculture in Burkina Faso, but also to the production system as a whole, as well as the services it provides. These effects affect both rural and urban households and both men and women. However, women are less resilient to drought shocks, especially given their low capacity to access productive resources, such as land, uninsured credit and low capacity to migrate. The economic and social situation in Burkina Faso is also generally poor, including gender inequality. Approximately 41.4% of the population still lives below the poverty line, and the average per capita income is $1,335 for women versus $2,077 for men (PNUD, 2019). In addition, income poverty affects relatively more women (43.7%) than men (40.6%) (Agbodji et al., 2015). Between 2014 and 2016, 20.7% of the population of Burkina Faso was food insecure and rural areas are the most affected by extreme poverty, with 94.4% suffering from hunger (INSD, 2015).
- ItemExtreme Climate Events and Conflicts in the G5 Sahel Countries(African Economic Research Consortium, 2022) Ouédraogo,MahamadyClimate change affects population and economic activities dynamic and thereby puts additional pressure on scarce resources. These dynamics have the potential to trigger conflicts or exacerbate the existing ones. According to Homer-Dixon (1999), arid regions in Africa, in particular, are prone to ‘scarcity-induced conflicts. This policy brief aims to share insights on climate and conflicts nexus with a specific focus on the G5-Sahel countries. To do so, we use both country and cell level analysis The G5 Sahel countries are trapped in a complex socio-political environment and multiple factorsmay contribute to conflicts. Isolating the contribution of each factoris criticaltodesigning andimplementing conflictmitigationandpeace-buildingpolicies. The G5-Sahel country members (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad) are experiencing both and increase in conflicts and extreme climate events in terms of occurrence, and intensity reinforcing the suspicion about any association. Figure 1 shows the of extreme climate events and the number of people affected on the one hand (a) and the number of conflicts on the other hand (b). We observe an increase in both events over the last decades.
- ItemImpact of Climate Change on Food Prices in Eastern and Southern Africa(African Economic Research Consortium, 2022-10) Odongo, Maureen Misati, Roseline Kamau, Anne Kethi, NgokaClimate change manifested in global greenhouse emissions, extreme weather patterns, and rising temperatures continues to be a global concern. Developing countries are most vulnerable to climate change, frequently experiencing extreme weather patterns such as drought, floods, heatwaves, storms, precipitation variations, and changes in sea level with devastating effects on agriculture, food security, nutrition, housing, health, travel, infrastructure and incomes. These developments threaten efforts to reduce extreme poverty, especially in low income countries, and have led to reversals of gains for certain groups in terms of incomes, health, and education outcomes besides increasing global inequalities. The paper focuses on the impact of climate change on the prices of all goods and services with a bias on its impact on the price of food in the Eastern and Southern Africa region. Specifically, the study isolates climate disaster events in each of the countries in the Eastern and Southern Africa region and assesses their implications on food prices besides analyzing the dynamics of the key climate change indicators and their implications on prices in the selected countries. The main countries of interest include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
- ItemThe Necessity to Account for Air Quality in Climate Change Strategies in Africa(African Economic Research Consortium, 2022-09) Diallo, Sokhna Mbathio; Seck, AbdoulayeThe process of economic development and urbanization is Sub-Saharan Africa is accompanied with worsening air quality in urban cities. Most of the time (90%) during a typical year, concentration of particle matters remain above the WHO thresholds, as a result of emissions from cooking energy (biomass), industries, and transport. These high pollution levels lead to relatively high costs to the society and the economy, in the forms of health burden from respiratory illnesses and premature deaths on one hand, resource misallocation, reduction in effective labor supply, and growth drag on the other hand. These adverse effects of air pollution are exacerbated by climate change or global warming. For instance, there is a high correlation between ozone concentration and temperature in regions with high air pollution levels. In addition, the number of pollution-related deaths is significantly larger in the context of increased temperatures. With the general aim of realizing sustainable development, which requires a reconciliation between economic, environmental and social processes, mechanisms underlying economically-generated air pollution need to be accounted for in the broad strategy to combat climate change and its adverse impacts on the economy and the society. Understanding individuals’ awareness of and attitude towards air pollution and its various economic and health consequences on one hand, and the extent to which air quality enter their preference and valuation scheme, on the other hand, have the potential to garner collective support to climate change policies. As a result, the latter will benefit from greater legitimacy and more involvement of the general public, leading to more effectiveness in, for instance, improving air quality.
- ItemSustainable Scaling of Climate Smart Agricultural Technologies and Practices in Africa: The Case of Kenya, Nigeria and Malawi(African Economic Research Consortium, 2022-09) Phiri, Austin T.; Edewor, Sarah Edore; Charimbu, Miriam Karwitha; Gaveta, EliasClimate change (CC) is among the major challenges globally affecting all areas of life. It has destabilized agricultural production with negative production trends projected to increase in regions with limited capacity to adapt to CC. In addressing this challenge in agricultural production, it is important to shift to more sustainable practices such as the Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) which has a three-pronged goal of increasing productivity, enhancing climate change adaptation and resilience and reducing greenhouse gas emission.
- ItemThe Transition to Renewable Energy in Sub-Saharan Africa(African Economic Research Consortium, 2022-10) Diene, MbayeWhile sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is not responsible for climate degradation, it suffers its adverse natural and socioeconomic effects. • Nonetheless, sub-Saharan Africa has a role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, thus contributing to reducing global warming. • It is possible for SSA countries to increase their energy consumption in order to meet the needs of their economies, without contributing to global climate degradation, provided that they transition to renewable energy use. • But that requires changing production technologies and consumption patterns and using adapted infrastructure.
- ItemUnderstanding Gender Differences on the Choices of a Portfolio of Climate-smart Agricultural Practices in Sub-Saharan Africa(African Economic Research Consortium, 2022-10) Teklewold, HailemariamManaging climatic risks and ensuring gender equality are critical to achieving sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In this regard, the uptake of a portfolio of farm level Climate-smart Agriculture (CSA) practices (such as cropping system diversification, soil and water conservation, reduced tillage, organic fertilizer, irrigation, etc.) becomes increasingly important to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity of farm households. CSA practices comprise interventions that aim to sustainably increase productivity, build adaptive capacity and reduce green-house gas emissions through diverse sets of soil, water and crop husbandry practices. We consider a set of the CSA practices that can be categorized into three broad categories: yield-increasing, risk protection, and resource conservation strategy sets. The issue of gender inequality in the adoption of CSA technologies, among others, has long been an important subject in most developing countries. Despite women’s important roles in the farming systems, women farmers may not have the same influence as their men counterparts on farming decisions regarding changing agricultural practices. Gender differences in agricultural technology adoption may be observed for a number of reasons including women’s lower initial endowments, bargaining power, access to financial resources, or institutional services. Differences in men’s and women’s responsibilities, priorities, and access to productive resources and institutional services at the community and household levels are crucial to describe the gender gap in agricultural investment.