Agribusiness

Assessing farmer responses to climate change - adjustment policy options

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Project code
ADP/2011/039
Program
Budget
AUD 816,800
Project leader
Christopher Findlay - University of Adelaide
Commissioned organisation
The University of Adelaide
Duration:
JUL 2014
DEC 2016
Project status
Concluded
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Overview

This work aimed to make adjusting to climate change affordable for farmers and thereby to increase their livelihood. The project focussed on the rice sector.

Millions of farmers in East and Southeast Asia must decide how to respond to climate change. They risk poverty if they do not respond, but market failures and lack of information may distort their choices if they decide to act. Most funding for climate change research goes towards work on the science and the physical mechanisms. While it is important for that work to continue, less attention has been given to how farmers respond to climate change and to related public policy responses.

    Project outcomes

    This project added these social science dimensions to the study of climate change. The project:

    1. identified those farmers at risk from climate change by using farm-level survey data to assess different types of farmers, forms and costs of response to climate change
    2. modelled the consequences of climate change and farmer responses to climate change through market processes for prices, outputs and incomes
    3. assessed the effects of policy options, and identified and promoted priority policy responses to help farmers adapt and adjust to climate change
    Key partners
    Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy
    Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development
    Documents