Impacts of climate variability and climate-smart agricultural practices on crop production in UNESCO designated cultural landscapes of Konso, Ethiopia

Climate variability negatively affected Sub-Saharan Africa’s agricultural production. Due to drastic change in climate conditions and its adverse impacts on crop production, climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is considered as a technological and policy solution to mitigate the impact of climate variability on crop production. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is the sustainable form of agriculture that aims to increase productivity, improve adaptation, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. This study assesses the impacts of climate variability and CSA practices on crop production in Konso cultural landscapes, Ethiopia. The study employed multiple linear regression models to examine the effects of climate variability on crop production and an endogenous switching regression model to assess the impact of CSA practices on crop production. The findings show that climate variability explains 37.4–47.5% of the annual variation in crop production. During the study period (1983–2016), the seasonal production variability range was much wider (10–67%) for three crops: sorghum, maize, and teff (Eragrostis tef). The results also reveal that application of CSA practices such as crop diversification, terracing, manure, irrigation, and rainwater harvesting have positive impacts on crop production. Households that use CSA practices show a significant (p < 0.01) increase in crop production compared to non-users. The high variability in rainfall and warming temperatures results in a decreasing trend in crop yield. On the other hand, the application of CSA practices results in a significant increase in crop productivity in the face of climate variability. In terms of broader policy implications, the culturally intertwined CSA practices in Konso could be used as a learning platform to plan and scale out by integrating them with innovative conservation technologies to achieve widespread adoption in other parts of Ethiopia and elsewhere.