华中师范大学教师主页沈雪 Examining the effects of adopting early maturing crop varieties on agricultural productivity, climate change adaptation, and mitigation Home

Examining the effects of adopting early maturing crop varieties on agricultural productivity, climate change adaptation, and mitigation

Release Time:2026-07-01

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Title of Paper:: Examining the effects of adopting early maturing crop varieties on agricultural productivity, climate change adaptation, and mitigation

Key Words:: economic productivity;climate change adaptation;climate change mitigation;early maturing crop varieties;climate-smart agriculture

Summary:: Climate-smart agriculture is guided by three main goals: increased productivity, enhanced resilience (climate change adaptation), and reduced emissions (climate change mitigation). Early mature crop varieties have been promoted to minimize the impact of climate change and extreme weather events on farming activities. This study examined the effects of adopting early mature rice varieties on agricultural productivity, climate change adaptation, and mitigation. Data came from a cross-sectional sample of 1396 rice farmers in Hubei, China. Productivity was measured via mean rice yield. Production risk (variance of yield) and downside risk (skewness of rice yield) were used as proxies for adaptation. Life cycle assessment was used to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions of rice production. Results indicated that adopting early maturing varieties significantly increased mean rice yield and reduced production risk, downside risk, and greenhouse gas emissions. Altogether, this study provided evidence that using early maturing varieties positively contributed to the three goals of climate-smart agriculture. Our findings provide insight into formulating future policies and programs promoting agricultural sustainability and climate resilience in China and other developing nations in the region.