Climate-smart agricultural assets and household coping strategies in times of upheaval
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Wiley
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Transferring agricultural assets can be welfare-improving for smallholders. Can agricultural assets also improve smallholders' ability to cope with unprecedented exogenous shocks? We investigate this question using the case of subsidized solar-powered irrigation pumps (SIP) during the time of upheaval (COVID-19 pandemic) in Nepal. Data come from a primary survey of 656 households in southern Nepal. Using matching methods and ordinary least squares, we find that small-scale producers who received SIPs are more able to cope with COVID-19 restrictions than producers who did not receive SIPs. Selection into the subsidized SIP program is non-random, and the estimated relationship is not causal, but the findings alert policymakers and researchers to a positive unintended consequence of climate-smart agricultural assets. Our results contribute to building evidence on whether and how programs transferring climate-smart agricultural assets can improve smallholders' ability to cope with exogenous economic shocks and highlight the need for producing rigorous causal evidence.
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climate-smart agriculture, risk-coping strategies, households, agricultural assets, COVID-19, solar powered irrigation systems