Poverty, climate change, and smallholder agriculture. Insights from cross-country micro-data.

Summary

The thesis explores the intersection of climate change, poverty, and smallholder agriculture. Despite global progress, over 700 million people remain in extreme poverty, concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Climate change disproportionately affects these regions and especially poorer households. Conversely, raising the incomes of the poor could increase greenhouse gas emissions and exacerbate global warming. Agriculture is a key factor in this dynamic, contributing to climate change while also being affected by it. The sector is also central to incomes of many of the world’s extreme poor households. The thesis uses cross-country survey data to explore first the economic growth needed to end extreme poverty and the emissions consequences of this growth. It then turns to agriculture, examining the trend in smallholder productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa in the past 15 years, the significant impact of climatic shocks on crop production, and the yield and resilience benefits of intercropping for smallholder farmers.