Adapting to High Temperatures: Effect of Farm Practices and Their Adoption Duration on Total Value of Crop Production in Uganda

Abstract

In this article, we use spatially granular climate data merged with four waves of household survey data in Uganda to examine empirically the relationships among high temperatures, total value of crop production, and the adoption and adoption duration of two sustainable agricultural practices (organic fertilizer adoption and maize–legume intercropping). We do this using a fixed-effect model with instrumental variables to address potential endogeneity issues. Our findings indicate that the adoption of these practices has a positive effect on the total value of crop production, and such effect increases monotonically as temperatures increase from long-term averages. Moreover, the number of years a farmer uses the practice is associated with higher total value of crop production, and this relationship holds across the full distribution of high temperature deviations. Taken together, the results suggest that promoting the adoption, and particularly the sustained adoption, of these practices can help to address the risks posed by rising temperatures to Ugandan agriculture and the livelihoods of farmers who depend on it.