Impact of climate change adaptation strategies on the income of maize farmers in Benin
摘要
Climate change poses a significant threat to agricultural production as well as to farmers' incomes. This study analyzes the factors influencing the choice of adaptation strategies and their impacts on farmers' income, using data collected from 1,000 maize farmers in Benin. Poisson models and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) were utilized. Drought-resistant crop varieties (40.5%), income diversification (34.5%), crop diversification (40.5%), and short-cycle varieties (40.10%) are the main strategies adopted. The results from the Poisson model show that age, gender, household size, access to information on rainfall and temperature, education level, agricultural production experience, membership in a cooperative, as well as access to credit and training influence the choice of the number of adaptation strategies. Furthermore, the PSM results indicate that, compared to non-adopters, income increases by 10 to 11% with the adoption of a single adaptation strategy, by 11 to 14% with the adoption of two strategies, by 14 to 18% with the adoption of three strategies, and by 19 to 24% with the adoption of four adaptation strategies. These results suggest that climate change adaptation strategies have a positive effect on farmers' income, and this effect becomes more significant as the number of strategies adopted increases.