CAN FARM HOUSEHOLDS IMPROVE FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY THROUGH ADOPTION OF CLIMATE-SMART PRACTICES? EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM NORTHERN GHANA

Abstract

We examine the factors that influence farmers’ decisions to adopt climate-smart practices and how adoption affects food and nutrition security in Ghana, using an endogenous switching regression approach to account for selectivity bias. The results show that adoption positively and significantly impacts food and nutrition security. The impacts of adoption are greater in the lower quantiles of the distributions of food and nutrition security, an indication of the potential role of adoption in reducing poverty among poor households. Policy efforts that seek to improve farmers’ access to machinery and extension services may enhance the adoption of climate-smart practices.