Impact of climate change: an empirical investigation of Malaysian rice production

This paper examines the possible impact of climate change on Malaysian rice production. Using the Ricardian Method and farm household data, we have examined the effects on rice producers focusing on sharecropper adaptations and ecological causes. The principle goal of this research paper is to investigate the impact of climate variables such as temperature, rainfall and precipitation on rice production during main and off seasons, in Kedah, Malaysia. The main purpose of this paper is to examine how climate change affects the net income of paddy farmers in the study area. The statistically significant results show that temperature, rainfall, farm size, educational knowledge, land area and value of labour input have an impact on rice production per hectare revealing potential impacts of climate vulnerability on Malaysian agriculture. The results showed that net revenue increased by Ringgit Malaysia (RM 1= $0.3277) 4.78 per hectare throughout the main seasons as a result of minimal increase in the temperature while there is a decrease of RM 3.02 in the net revenue per hectare during off seasons. During the off season, rainfall increased revenue per hectare by RM 1.32 and during the main season it reduced revenue per hectare by RM 1.01. The evidence from this study may be useful for Malaysian policymakers to facilitate greater Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change DOI 10.1007/s11027-012-9441-z M. M. Masud (*) :M. S. Rahman :A. Q. Al-Amin : F. Kari Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] M. S. Rahman e-mail: [email protected] A. Q. Al-Amin e-mail: [email protected] F. Kari e-mail: [email protected] W. L. Filho Centre for International Business and Sustainability LMBS, London Metropolitan University, Holloway Road, London N7 8DB, UK e-mail: [email protected] Author's personal copy