Adaptation Strategies under Climate Change for Sustainable Agricultural Productivity in Cambodia

Abstract

Since the Cambodian economy is largely dependent on agricultural production, it is important to understand the effects of climate change on rice production, the primary staple crop of Cambodia. This study assessed the economic impacts of climate change in Cambodia to provide an appropriate set of policy suggestions that could lead to sustainable agricultural productivity and economic growth. The results from the GLAM-Rice crop model and various climate models indicate that Cambodia will be severely affected by climate change, which will lead to lower rice production and economic growth. The changes in rice yield under the RCP 8.5 and RCP 4.5 baseline scenarios reduced the GDP by 8.16% and 10.57%, respectively. By employing an investment model based on a real options framework, the economic effects and feasibility of adaptation strategies such as irrigation and adjustment of planting dates are identified. The analysis indicates that irrigation is a feasible option and the most efficacious strategy to reduce the negative impacts of climate change for the agricultural sector. The index of economic feasibility for irrigation, defined by the ratio of the current realized agriculture value-added to the identified threshold, is 0.6343 and 0.8803 under the RCP 8.5 and RCP 4.5 baseline scenarios, respectively. The results suggest that the priority choice for adaptation measure be in order of irrigation, 20-day later adjustment, and 20-day earlier adjustment.

Refining the Spatial Scale for Maize Crop Agro-Climatological Suitability Conditions in a Region with Complex Topography towards a Smart and Sustainable Agriculture. Case Study: Central Romania (Cluj County)

“…Even more importantly, this study could serve as a good starting point for a model developed for much larger regions affected by climate change as part of their adaptation strategy towards a smarter and more sustainable agriculture [80][81][82]. As expert-knowledge analysis was identified as the major limitation of the models [83], we consider that our results could greatly contribute to adapting an existing agro-climatic suitability model or to developing a new one at a better spatial resolution, especially for other regions with complex topography, by including a large variety of climatic (precipitation, evapotranspiration) and non-climatic (soil type, slope gradient and aspect) parameters (overlapping more layers), in order to avoid growing season constraints and to determine phenophase-specific climate sensitivities [28,[84][85][86][87], as well as to achieve realistic site-specific results and a higher efficiency of resource use in agricultural ecosystems [88,89].…”

Agricultural Productivity Growth and Its Determinants in South and Southeast Asian Countries

“…The importance of agricultural sustainable development is particularly high in south Asia and southeast Asia. Agriculture has long occupied a particularly important position in the economic and social development of south and southeast Asian countries, which has exclusively contributed to providing employment, improving food security, and reducing poverty in these two regions [6][7][8]. Over recent decades, south Asia and southeast Asia have undergone rapid economic growth and extensive structural changes.…”

Three-stage quantitative approach of understanding household adaptation decisions in rural Cambodia

“…Cambodia is anticipated to be severely affected by climate change, as agriculture is a major pillar of its economy. A decrease of 10-20 per cent in rice yields for the 2020s is projected without adaptation under climate change scenarios (Kim et al, 2018). In this study, fieldwork was undertaken in 15 villages in three communes in Cambodia: Takaen in Kampot Province, Sangkae Satob in Kampong Speu Province and Tum Ring in Kampong Thom Province (Figure 1), which were initially selected in 2008 for the studies of the Poverty Environment Network (PEN, 2007).…”