Building Climate Resilience Using Improved Cassava Planting Materials Among Stallholder Cassava Producers in Cameroon

Abstract

Climate change represents one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century, disproportionately affecting rural communities reliant on agriculture for their livelihoods. To address the urgency of climate change in SSA, the technologies used must be accessible and easy to adopt. This study, based on a survey of 1,233 cassava producers in Cameroon, analyzes the effect of adopting improved cassava planting material (ICPM) on climate resilience. The econometric approach employed is a recursive bivariate probit model, which allows for the estimation of marginal effects and treatment effects. The results reveal a positive effect of ICPM adoption on resilience to drought and flood shocks. To be precise, it emerges that the probability of farmers in the sample being affected by floods decreased by an average of 30% due to ICPM adoption in anticipation of drought. The probability of farmers who adopted ICPM being affected by floods decreased by an average of over 35% due to their adoption of ICPM in anticipation of drought. The probability of farmers in the sample being affected by drought decreased by nearly 15% due to ICPM adoption in anticipation of floods. The probability of farmers who adopted ICPM being affected by drought decreased by an average of over 10% due to their adoption of ICPM in anticipation of floods. Access to electricity and the producer's experience in agriculture are identified as the main factors influencing ICPM adoption. Consequently, several recommendations are made to improve the adoption of quality seeds and mitigate the impacts of climate change-related shocks.