Impacts of climate change adaptation strategies on smallholder farmers’ livelihoods in North Wollo Zone of Ethiopia

In developing countries like Ethiopia, climate change poses a significant threat to agricultural production and the rural livelihoods of its people. In response, smallholder farmers have adopted a range of climate change adaptation strategies (CADS), such as small-scale irrigation, crop diversification, and improved crop varieties, to enhance crop income and food security. Hence, this study examined the impact of CADS on households’ crop income and food security in the North Wollo Zone, Ethiopia. A multi-stage sampling procedure was applied to collect data from 385 households in three districts using a semi-structured questionnaire. The study used descriptive statistics and a multinomial endogenous switching regression (MESR) model to correct for selection bias. Descriptive results revealed significant mean differences in crop income and daily calorie intake across single, partial, multiple, and full adoption groups at the 1% level. The MESR model result showed that climate adaptation practices significantly improved farmers’ crop income and daily calorie intake at all adoption categories. The average treatment effect on treated (ATT) estimation result revealed that multiple and full adopters of climate adaptation practices had 11.7% and 16.9% more crop income per hectare, respectively, compared to non-adopters. Likewise, multiple and full adopter households had 720.51 kcal and 1271.6 kcal more daily food intake per adult equivalent compared with non-adopters. The average treatment effect on untreated (ATU) further indicated that non-adopters could have substantially enhanced their crop income per hectare and daily calorie intake per adult equivalent had they adopted adaptation practices. Hence, it is recommended that policymakers and stakeholders expand support for farmers’ adaptation and integrate adaptation strategies into regional agricultural development plans to improve rural livelihoods and resilience to climate change within the study region.