The impact of climatic change adaptation on agricultural productivity in Central Chile: A stochastic production frontier approach

AUTORES

Lisandro Rocco∗,1, Boris Bravo-Ureta2,3, Alejandra Engler3,4 y Roberto Jara-Rojas3,4

1. Universidad Católica del Norte.
2. University of Connecticut.
3. Universidad de Talca
4. Center for Socioeconomic Impact of Environmental Policies,

*     sepulveda.sepulveda.j@gmail.com.

 

Resumen

Adaptation to climate change is imperative to sustain and promote agricultural productivity growth and site specific empirical evidence is needed to facilitate policy making. Therefore, this study analyses the impact of climate change adaptation on productivity for annual crops in Central Chile using a stochastic production frontier approach. The data come from a random sample of 265 farms located in four municipalities with different agro-climatic conditions. To measure climate change adaptation, a set of 14 practices was used in three different specifications: count, index, and binary variable; representing intensity, quality and decision of adaptation, respectively. The aforementioned alternative variables were used in three different Stochastic Production Frontier models. Results suggest that the use of adaptive practices had a significant and positive effect on productivity; the practice with the highest impact on productivity was irrigation improvement. Empirical results demonstrate the relevance of climate change adaptation on farmers’ productivity and enrich the discussion regarding the urgent need to implement adaptation measures.

Keywords: climate change; adaptation; agricultural systems; productivity; technical efficiency; Chile.

 

Participación en sesión: Recursos naturales y desarrollo local.