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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0PLOS Climate

How much climate-smart agriculture is enough? A dose-response analysis of technology adoption effects on farmer welfare in Ghana

  • Stephen Prah1
  • John N. Ng’ombe2
  • Bright Owusu Asante3
  • Jonathan Masasi4
4 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
  2. 2Department of Economics, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, North Carolina, United States of America
  3. 3Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
  4. 4Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, North Carolina, United States of America
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Abstract

Climate-smart agricultural technologies (CSAT) are promoted to enhance agricultural productivity and strengthen resilience to climate change. However, limited empirical evidence exists on the effects of adoption intensity, particularly when farmers adopt multiple technologies simultaneously. This study examines the effects of CSAT adoption intensity on maize yield and household asset accumulation in Ghana using survey data from 2,151 maize farmers. A dose–response model with Heckman selection is applied to address potential selection bias and estimate the causal effects of varying adoption levels. The findings show that farmers’ education, access to credit, extension services, and perceived drought significantly influence both the likelihood and intensity of CSAT adoption. Results reveal a U-shaped relationship between CSAT adoption intensity and maize yield, where yields initially decline but increase as adoption intensity rises. On average, higher CSAT adoption is associated with a 21% increase in maize yield. Similarly, CSAT intensity shows a nonlinear positive relationship with household asset accumulation, with an average 19.5% increase in assets. The results also indicate heterogeneous effects across farmers. Overall, higher CSAT adoption improves agricultural productivity and long-term household welfare, highlighting the need to strengthen extension services, expand credit access, and raise climate risk awareness to promote sustainable agricultural development.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{prah2026much,
  title = {{How much climate-smart agriculture is enough? A dose-response analysis of technology adoption effects on farmer welfare in Ghana}},
  author = {Stephen Prah and John N. Ng’ombe and Bright Owusu Asante and Jonathan Masasi},
  journal = {PLOS Climate},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pclm.0000886},
  url = {https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000886},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - How much climate-smart agriculture is enough? A dose-response analysis of technology adoption effects on farmer welfare in Ghana
AU  - Stephen Prah
AU  - John N. Ng’ombe
AU  - Bright Owusu Asante
AU  - Jonathan Masasi
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/12
JO  - PLOS Climate
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000886
UR  - https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000886
AB  - Climate-smart agricultural technologies (CSAT) are promoted to enhance agricultural productivity and strengthen resilience to climate change. However, limited empirical evidence exists on the effects of adoption intensity, particularly when farmers adopt multiple technologies simultaneously. This study examines the effects of CSAT adoption intensity on maize yield and household asset accumulation in Ghana using survey data from 2,151 maize farmers. A dose–response model with Heckman selection is applied to address potential selection bias and estimate the causal effects of varying adoption levels. The findings show that farmers’ education, access to credit, extension services, and perceived drought significantly influence both the likelihood and intensity of CSAT adoption. Results reveal a U-shaped relationship between CSAT adoption intensity and maize yield, where yields initially decline but increase as adoption intensity rises. On average, higher CSAT adoption is associated with a 21% increase in maize yield. Similarly, CSAT intensity shows a nonlinear positive relationship with household asset accumulation, with an average 19.5% increase in assets. The results also indicate heterogeneous effects across farmers. Overall, higher CSAT adoption improves agricultural productivity and long-term household welfare, highlighting the need to strengthen extension services, expand credit access, and raise climate risk awareness to promote sustainable agricultural development.
SN  - 2767-3200
ER  -