More frequent and extreme weather events have captured much attention from researchers. Prof. HUANG Jikun and his team, from Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences, explored how rice farmers adjust their farm management practices in response to extreme weather events and determine whether their adjustments affect the mean, risk, and downside risk of rice yield.

Based on a survey of 1,653 rice farmers in China, researchers’ analyses show that the severity of drought and flood in the study areas significantly increases the risk and downside risk of rice yield. The applied farm management measures respond to severe drought and flood and can be considered as adaptation to climate change, an issue often ignored in previous studies.

“We model adaptation and its impact on rice yield for adapters and non-adapters. Utilizing a moment-based approach, we show that adaptation through farm management measures significantly increases rice yield and reduces the risk and downside risk of rice yield,” said Prof. HUANG.

The survey results show that more farmers adjust their farm management practices in severe drought and flood years than in normal years. The econometric analysis confirms that the applied farm management measures respond to severe drought and flood and can be considered an adaptation to climate change.

The extent of applying farm management measures is closely correlated with crop input levels and varies across households with differences in the characteristics of both farmers and their farms. Existing farm management measures can help farmers adapt to extreme weather events, and adjusting farm management helps increase the mean rice yield and reduces risks, including the variance and downside risk of rice yield.