Assessing the Climate-Induced Agriculture Vulnerability: New Evidence from Asia–Pacific

Agriculture, essential for economic growth and food security, faces increasing losses from natural disasters, jeopardizing its ability to meet present and future demands. Hence, this study examines the impact of natural disasters on agricultural value added in 42 Asia–Pacific nations from 1990 to 2020. Four diagnostic tests were conducted in order to address issues like autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity, followed by regression analyses and the Generalized Least Squares (GLS) method. Quantile regression was employed as the data did not follow a normal distribution. The Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) was used to handle potential endogeneity. The findings indicate that droughts and storms have negative effects on agricultural value added, while floods and earthquakes have positive impacts. Population, fertilizers, and precipitation also positively influence agricultural value added. Additionally, inflation and GDP play enhancing roles in this dynamic. Lastly, identifying the subnational regions that are most at risk from climate change wrath and require support is vital.