Impacts of Climate Adaptation Strategies on Farm Households Resilience: Evidence from Northeastern Ethiopia

Abstract

Although smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are adopting various climate adaptation strategies to cope with increasing climate variability, rigorous evidence on the effects of these strategies on household resilience remains limited. This study provides quantitative evidence on how different bundles of adaptation practices are associated with farm households' resilience to climate change in the Borkena watershed, Northeastern Ethiopia. Using cross-sectional survey data from 385 sample farm households, a multidimensional resilience index based on the FAO Self-evaluation and Holistic Assessment of Climate Resilience of Farmers and Pastoralists (SHARP+) tool was constructed. To address potential selection bias and strengthen causal inference, the Inverse Probability Weighted Regression Adjustment (IPWRA) estimator was applied. The results show that all adaptation strategy bundles are positively associated with resilience compared to non-adopters. Integrated strategies showed the greatest estimated gains: the fully integrated bundle of crop varieties and management, livelihood diversification, and soil and water management (C+L+S) was associated with a 19.1% higher resilience index, while crop varieties and management combined with soil and water management (C+S) was associated with an 18.7% higher resilience index. By contrast, the combination of crop varieties and management with livelihood diversification (C+L) generated a smaller estimated gain of 12.5%, suggesting possible trade-offs in resource allocation. Adoption of improved crop varieties and management (C) alone was associated with a 17.7% higher resilience index. These findings highlight that resilience is associated not merely with the fact of adoption but with the synergistic integration of practices that simultaneously strengthen agronomic, ecological, and socioeconomic capacities. Policy and development programs should prioritize bundled, context-specific strategies rather than single interventions, particularly those aligning crop varieties and management with soil and water management, to enhance climate resilience in smallholder farming systems.