Understanding the Process of Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change: Analysis of Climate-Induced Innovation in Rice Based Cropping System of Nepal

Using Nepal’s district level time-series data (1991/92 and 2002/03), this research examines the extent to which technological innovations have provided farmers with options to substitute for climatic constraints in order to enhance rice productivity in climatically diverse regions of the country. The findings from both empirical and qualitative assessments indicate that Nepal’s research establishment is engaged in and committed to the development of location-specific technologies that address the constraints of climate. The outcome of such commitment has been a series of technological innovations and changes in policies in agriculture. Together, this may have been responsible for higher yields among districts with marginal climate, which have subsequently led to convergence of the rice productivity growth rate in the country. If the current trend in limiting the deleterious effects of climate in agriculture through appropriate technological as well as institutional changes continues then the prospect of adapting to future climate is more plausible in Nepal.