Farm Management Practices and Health Outcomes in Kourtheye District, Niger: A Focus on Climate Variability Impacts

Abstract

Climate change is becoming a major issue for agriculture and the well-being of farmers. The objective of this article is to identify and analyze the production factors that may influence the competitiveness level of agricultural operations, as well as to establish a structural and functional typology of these farms. Using Principal component analysis (PCA) combined with hierarchical ascending classification (HAC) on 250 farmers, the study was able to set farms typology. Furthermore, variance analysis and econometric models (linear et quadratic) were also used for in-depth analysis. The results show the existence of three groups of farm (G A , G B , G C ): G A (19.7%), G B (65.3%), and G C (15%). Drought spells and flood are the main climatic risks affecting rain-fed farm operations. For irrigated crops such as rice, the major constraints remain bird attacks, the invasion of pests and nematodes. Climate variability significantly increases the prevalence of morbidities in the region by raising the number of inactive individuals. This significantly and differentially affects the outcomes of these assets. Health expenditures represent a significant share (G B : 12% and G C : 11%) and a non-negligible share (G A : 8.4%). However, larger participations (G C ) show better economic performance due to economies of scale, but all categories would benefit from adopting appropriate strategies to reduce losses and increase their resilience.