Please wait a minute...
Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2014, Vol. 13 Issue (4): 687-697    DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(13)60697-8
Special Focus:Climate Change and Agriculture Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
Household and Community Assets and Farmers’ Adaptation to Extreme Weather Event: the Case of Drought in China
WANG Yang-jie;  HUANG Ji-kun ; WANG Jin-xia
1.Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Beijing 100101, P.R.China
2.University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P.R.China
Download:  PDF in ScienceDirect  
Export:  BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)      
摘要  Under climate change, rising frequency and serious extreme weather events have challenged agricultural production. Designing appropriate adaptation measures to the extreme weather events require rigorous and empirical analysis. The overall goals of this study are to understand physical adaptation measures taken by farmers and the impacts of household and community assets on farmers’ adaptation when they face drought. The analyses are based on a unique data set collected from a household survey in three provinces in China. The survey results show that though not common on annual basis, some farmers did use physical adaptation measures to fight drought. Regression analysis reveals that both household and community assets significantly affect farmers’ adaptation behaviors. Improving households’ social capital and wealth, communities’ network and access to government’s anti-drought service can facilitate farmers’ adaptation to drought. Results indicate that community’s irrigation infrastructure and physical adaptation taken by farmers can substitute each other. Further analysis shows that the households taking adaptation measures have higher crop yields than those without taking these measures. The paper concludes with several policy implications.

Abstract  Under climate change, rising frequency and serious extreme weather events have challenged agricultural production. Designing appropriate adaptation measures to the extreme weather events require rigorous and empirical analysis. The overall goals of this study are to understand physical adaptation measures taken by farmers and the impacts of household and community assets on farmers’ adaptation when they face drought. The analyses are based on a unique data set collected from a household survey in three provinces in China. The survey results show that though not common on annual basis, some farmers did use physical adaptation measures to fight drought. Regression analysis reveals that both household and community assets significantly affect farmers’ adaptation behaviors. Improving households’ social capital and wealth, communities’ network and access to government’s anti-drought service can facilitate farmers’ adaptation to drought. Results indicate that community’s irrigation infrastructure and physical adaptation taken by farmers can substitute each other. Further analysis shows that the households taking adaptation measures have higher crop yields than those without taking these measures. The paper concludes with several policy implications.
Keywords:  drought       physical adaptation measure       household       community       asset       agriculture  
Received: 12 October 2013   Accepted:
Fund: 

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, 2012CB955700), the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (70925001, 71161140351), the International Development Research Center (107093-001), and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ADP/2010/070).

Corresponding Authors:  Correspondence HUANG Ji-kun, Tel: +86-10-64889440; Fax: +86-10-64856533; E-mail: jkhuang.ccap@igsnrr.ac.cn   

Cite this article: 

WANG Yang-jie; HUANG Ji-kun ; WANG Jin-xia. 2014. Household and Community Assets and Farmers’ Adaptation to Extreme Weather Event: the Case of Drought in China. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 13(4): 687-697.

[1]Bryan E, Deressa T T, Gbetibouo G A, Ringler C. 2009. Adaptation to climate change in Ethiopia and South Africa: Options and constraints. Environmental Science & Policy, 12, 413-426

[2]Changnon S A, Changnon J M, Hewings G D. 2001. Losses caused by weather and climate extremes: A national index for the United States. Physical Geography, 22, 1-27

[3]Cosar A K. 2011. Human capital, technology adoption and development. The B. E. Journal of Macroeconomics, 11, 1-39

[4]Dai A, Trenberth K E, Qian T. 2004. A global data set of Palmer Drought Severity Index for 1870-2002: Relationship with soil moisture and effects of surface warming Journal of Hydrometeorology, 5, 1117-1130

[5]Dai A. 2013. Increasing drought under global warming in observations and model. Nature Climate Change, 3, 52- 58.

[6]Deressa T T, Hassan R M, Ringler C, Alemu T, Yesuf M. 2009. Determinants of farmers’ choice of adaptation methods to climate change in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia. Global Environmental Change, 19, 248-255

[7]Dulal H B, Brodnig G, Onoriose C G, Thakur H K. 2010. Capitalizing on assets: Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in Nepal. In: The World Bank Social Development Papers No. 121. The World Bank, Washington, D.C.

[8]Easterling D R, Meehl G A, Parmesan C, Changnon S A, Karl T R, Mearns L O. 2000. Climate extremes: Observations, modeling, and impacts. Science, 289, 2068-2074

[9]Genius M, Koundouri P, Nauges C, Tzouvelekas V. 2013. Information transmission in irrigation technology adoption and diffusion: social learning, extension services, and spatial effects. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, doi: 10.1093/ajae/aat054

[10]Goodwin B K, Schroeder T C. 1994. Human capital, producer education programs, and the adoption of forward-pricing methods. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 76, 936-947

[11]Huffman W E. 1977. Allocative efficiency: The role of human capital. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 91, 59- 79.

[12]IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). 2007. Climate change 2007: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. In: Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

[13]IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). 2012. Managing the risks of extreme events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation. In: Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

[14]Koundouri P, Nauges C, Tzouvelekas V. 2006. Technology adoption under production uncertainty: Theory and application to irrigation technology. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 88, 657-670

[15]Liu K, Jiang D, Ma J. 2012. Drought over China in the 21st century: Results of RegCM3. Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters, 5, 509-513

[16]Liu X, Zhang J, Cai W, Tong Z. 2013. Assessing maize drought hazard for agricultural areas based on the fuzzy gamma model. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 12, 532-540

[17]Maddison D. 2007. The perception of and adaptation to climate change in Africa. In: World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4308. The World Bank, Washington, D.C.

[18]Mendelsohn R, Dinar A, Williams L. 2006. The distributional impact of climate change on rich and poor countries. Environment and Development Economics, 11, 1-20

[19]MWR (Ministry of Water Resources). 2012. Bulletin of Flood and Drought Disasters in China. Ministry of Water Resources, People’s Republic of China, Beijing. (in Chinese) NBSC (National Bureau of Statistics in China). 2012. China Statistical Yearbook 2012. China Statistical Press, Beijing. (in Chinese) NDRC (National Development and Reform Commission). 2007. China’s National Climate Change Program, National Development and Reform Commission, Beijing. (in Chinese)

[20]NDRC (National Development and Reform Commission). 2012. China’s Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change. National Development and Reform Commission, Beijing. Nelson R R, Phelps E S. 1966. Investment in humans, technological diffusion, and economic growth. The American Economic Review, 56, 69-75

[21]Nhemachena C, Hassan R. 2007. Micro-level analysis of farmers’ adaptation to climate change in southern Africa. In: IFPRI Discussion Paper 00714. IFPRI, Washington, D.C.

[22]Qian W, Shan X, Chen D, Zhu C, Zhu Y. 2012. Droughts near the northern fringe of the East Asian summer monsoon in China during 1470-2003 Climatic Chang, 110, 373-383.

[23]Saha A, Love A H, Schwart R. 1994. Adoption of emerging technologies under output uncertainty. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 76, 386-846.

[24]Seo S N, Mendelsohn R. 2008. Measuring impacts and adaptations to climate change: A structural Ricardian model of African livestock management. Agricultural Economics, 38, 151-165.

[25]Seo S N, Mendelsohn, R, Munasinghe M. 2005. Climate change and agriculture in Sri Lanka: a Ricardian valuation. Environment and Development Economics, 10, 581-596

[26]Shen C, Wang W, Hao Z, Gong W. 2007. Exceptional drought events over eastern China during the last five centuries. Climatic Change, 85, 453-471

[27]Thomas D S G, Twyman C, Osbahr H, Hewitson B. 2007. Adaptation to climate change and variability: Farmer responses to intra-seasonal precipitation trends in South Africa. Climatic Change, 83, 301-322

[28]Wang J X, Huang J K, Rozelle S. 2010. Climate Change and China’s Agricultural Sector: An Overview of Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation. ICTSD-IPC Platform on Climate Change, Agriculture and Trade, Issue Brief No.5, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, Geneva, Switzerland and International Food & Agricultural Trade Policy Council, Washington, D.C, USA.

[29]Wang J, Mendelsohn R, Dinar A, Huang J. 2008. How China’s farmers adapt to climate change? In: World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4758. The World Bank, Washington, D.C. World Bank. 2006. Enhancing Agricultural Innovation: How to Go Beyond the Strengthening of Research Systems. The World Bank, Washington, D.C.

[30]World Bank. 2010. Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change: Synthesis Report. The World Bank, Washington, D.C.

[31]Wozniak G D. 1987. Human capital, information, and the early adoption of new technology. The Journal of Human Resources, 22, 101-112

[32]Wozniak G D. 1984. The adoption of interrelated innovations: A human capital approach. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 66, 70-79

[33]Yaron J. 1992. Rural finance in developing countries. In: Policy Research Working Papers. The World Bank Washington, D.C. Ye T, Shi P, Wang J, Liu L, Fan Y, Hu J. 2012. China’s drought disaster risk management: Perspective of severe droughts in 2009-2010 International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 3, 84-97.
[1] Dili Lai, Md. Nurul Huda, Yawen Xiao, Tanzim Jahan, Wei Li, Yuqi He, Kaixuan Zhang, Jianping Cheng, Jingjun Ruan, Meiliang Zhou. Evolutionary and expression analysis of sugar transporters from Tartary buckwheat revealed the potential function of FtERD23 in drought stress[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(9): 3334-3350.
[2] Qing Li, Zhuangzhuang Sun, Zihan Jing, Xiao Wang, Chuan Zhong, Wenliang Wan, Maguje Masa Malko, Linfeng Xu, Zhaofeng Li, Qin Zhou, Jian Cai, Yingxin Zhong, Mei Huang, Dong Jiang. Time-course transcriptomic information reveals the mechanisms of improved drought tolerance by drought priming in wheat[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(8): 2902-2919.
[3] Liulong Li, Zhiqiang Mao, Pei Wang, Jian Cai, Qin Zhou, Yingxin Zhong, Dong Jiang, Xiao Wang. Drought priming enhances wheat grain starch and protein quality under drought stress during grain filling[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(8): 2888-2901.
[4] Xuehao Zhang, Qiuling Zheng, Yongjiang Hao, Yingying Zhang, Weijie Gu, Zhihao Deng, Penghui Zhou, Yulin Fang, Keqin Chen, Kekun Zhang. Physiology and transcriptome profiling reveal the drought tolerance of five grape varieties under high temperatures[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(8): 3055-3072.
[5] Yang Chen, Xuyu Feng, Xiao Zhao, Xinmei Hao, Ling Tong, Sufen Wang, Risheng Ding, Shaozhong Kang. Biochar application enhances soil quality by improving soil physical structure under particular water and salt conditions in arid region of Northwest China[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(8): 3242-3263.
[6] Xianhong Zhang, Zhiling Wang, Danmei Gao, Yaping Duan, Xin Li, Xingang Zhou. Wheat cover crop accelerates the decomposition of cucumber root litter by altering the soil microbial community[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(7): 2857-2868.
[7] He Yan, Shuang Chen, Jingkun Zhao, Zhibing Zhang, Lunlun Chen, Renmei Huang, Yongmin Liu, Xiaojun Shi, Yuting Zhang. Dynamic changes in weed abundance and biodiversity following different green manure establishment[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(7): 2704-2718.
[8] Mohammad Nauman Khan, Yusheng Li, Yixue Mu, Haider Sultan, Amanullah Baloch, Ismail Din, Chengcheng Fu, Jiaqi Li, Zaid Khan, Sunjeet Kumar, Honghong Wu, Renato Grillo, Lixiao Nie. Recent advances in nano-enabled plant salt tolerance: Methods of application, risk assessment, opportunities and future prospects[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(5): 1611-1630.
[9] Zhian Dai, Rongwei Yuan, Xiangxia Yang, Hanxiao Xi, Ma Zhuo, Mi Wei. Salinity-responsive key endophytic bacteria in the propagules of Kandelia obovata enhance salt tolerance in rice[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(5): 1738-1753.
[10] Xiaoli Zhang, Daolin Ye, Xueling Wen, Xinling Liu, Lijin Lin, Xiulan Lü, Jin Wang, Qunxian Deng, Hui Xia, Dong Liang. Genome-wide analysis of RAD23 gene family and a functional characterization of AcRAD23D1 in drought resistance in Actinidia[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(5): 1831-1843.
[11] Zhechao Dou, Jing Ma, Kunguang Wang, Qiaofang Lu, Zhiguang Chi, Dongming Cui, Chang Pan, Zhuchi He, Yuanmei Zuo. Use of soil nematodes as indicators of soil and plant health in continuous cropping systems: A case study in dragon fruit[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(5): 1987-2001.
[12] Jing Tian, Rong Tian, Juanyan Wu, Liying Huang, Jianguo Zhang. Gas production characteristics of oats and tritical silages and techniques for reducing gas emissions[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(4): 1246-1258.
[13] Mengyan Cao, Shaoping Ye, Cheng Jin, Junkang Cheng, Yao Xiang, Yu Song, Guorong Xin, Chuntao He. The communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi established by different winter green manures in paddy fields promote post-cropping rice production[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(4): 1588-1605.
[14] Yuxin Wang, Huan Zhang, Shaopei Gao, Hong Zhai, Shaozhen He, Ning Zhao, Qingchang Liu. The ABA-inducible gene IbTSJT1 positively regulates drought tolerance in transgenic sweetpotato[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(4): 1390-1402.
[15] Yu Li, Shikui Dong, Qingzhu Gao, Yong Zhang, Hasbagan Ganjurjav, Guozheng Hu, Xuexia Wang, Yulong Yan, Fengcai He, Fangyan Cheng. Large herbivores increase the proportion of palatable species rather than unpalatable species in the plant community[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(3): 859-870.
No Suggested Reading articles found!