Access to and Level of Climate Information Use: Implications for Adoption of Adaptation and CSA Practices

Climate information is important for agricultural decision-makings. On the supply-side, provision of climate information is crucial as it enhances information availability. However, decisions from the demand-side are equally important. If farmers do not make use of available climate information, its benefits may be limited. In the extant literature, level of use of climate information has been largely overlooked. In this paper, we examine the impact of not only access but also level of use of climate information on adoption intensity of sustainable practices. Based on a large sample data, we used double-hurdle model to account for not only the hurdle farmers need to grapple with to access climate information but also decisions on the actual use (level) of information to probe into the determinants of adoption. Using dose-response function moreover, we consider both access and intensity of use of climate information to estimate the impact on adoption intensity of adaptation and CSA practices. We found the presence of significant differences in the determinants of adoption intensity when accounting for not only access but also actual use of climate information. Specifically, labor endowments such as education and physical labor and sources of information and learning (extension and community groups) were positively correlated with higher adoption. Dose-response function results indicate that intensity of use of climate information increased adoption of CSA practices. Results imply that while interventions to improve access are useful, those that enhance farmers' level of use of climate information are vital for increasing adoption of sustainable practices.