Heterogeneous impacts of climate change on crop yields across altitudes in Ethiopia
Tsegaye Ginbo
Abstract
Abstract Impacts of climate change can differ from one region to another. We combine the household-level panel data with weather and climate data to examine the heterogeneity of the impacts of climate change on crop yields across different crops and agro-ecologies in Ethiopia. Our results show that climate change will induce an increase in coffee and teff yields by 31% and 8.3%, respectively, at high altitudes by the years 2041–2060 compared to 1988–2018, under a medium emissions scenario. Conversely, it will reduce coffee yield by 3% at low altitudes, and barley, maize, and wheat yield by 22.7%, 48%, and 10%, respectively, at high altitudes. These findings suggest that tailoring agricultural development programs and climate adaptation strategies to address location and crop-specific sensitivity to climate change may help to build resilience and improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers.