Land Tenure Security and Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in Togo

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-2587883/v1

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Land Tenure Security and Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in Togo

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2587883/v1

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The main objective of this paper is to analyze the effect of land tenure security on the adaptation strategies of agricultural households to climate change in Togo. By applying the multinomial logit model to data from the Harmonized Household Living Conditions Survey conducted by INSEED in 2018–2019, the results show that land tenure security positively and significantly affects the adaptation strategies of agricultural households in Togo. This result remains valid even if we apply ordinary least squares to the coping strategy index constructed from the principal component analysis. The study suggests policies to formally secure agricultural plots in Togo.

Agricultural Economics & Policy

Land Security

adaptation strategies

agricultural households

multinomial logit model

Togo

One of the major problems for farmers in general and those in African countries remains, with some consistency, the negative effects of climate change (Karimi et al., 2018). Togolese farmers are not spared. However, better adaptation to climate change relies largely on the capacity of farmers. The ability of farmers to adapt effectively and efficiently to climate change impacts is largely influenced by access to resources, including land and water, among others (Trinh et al., 2018). Indeed, the land is an integral component of farmers' adaptation decisions. Theoretically, land security provides an incentive for the farmer to invest more, in the medium and long term, to reap all the profits that could be derived from the good management of that plot (Deininger et al., 2003). The adoption of a better coping strategy requires secure land rights beforehand. This ultimately improves and increases agricultural productivity.

Although the role of adaptation as a practical option to reduce the negative impacts of climate change and climate variability has been highlighted in the literature (IPCC, 2014; Pilo et al., 2021)However, the likely implications of land security for climate change adaptation have received little attention. Moreover, studies on climate change and secure land use systems tend to focus on the agricultural impacts of climate change (Jawid, 2020; Wheeler & Von Braun, 2013).

Finally, the empirical evidence on the existence of a relationship between land security and agricultural coping strategies or agricultural investments remains mixed. Thus, authors such as Deininger et al, (2011); Gebremedhin & Swinton, (2003) and Lovo, (2016) have found in their studies the existence of a positive relationship between land tenure security and investment in coping strategies. However, for some previous empirical work, this theoretical relationship is questioned. This is the case of Brasselle et al (2002); Place & Hazell (1993) who have shown the existence of a non-systematic influence of land security on investment in adaptation strategies.

Despite the importance of land as a productive asset and a factor favouring the adoption of the best strategy, its fair and secure access remains a major problem for Togolese farmers. 13.92% in 2015 compared to 12.4% in 2011 hold a land title on the plots they own (QUIBB, 2015). These land titles are still largely held on ploughed land. Furthermore, 5.88% of households owning plots of the land report having managed conflicts in the management of their plots in 2014. Consequently, land tenure arrangements need to be explicitly examined to facilitate adaptation planning by producers, especially in West African countries where land is often controlled by complex tenure arrangements (Fenske, 2011).

Furthermore, increased peri-urbanization and marketization, which have led to more intense competing uses of land, reinforce the importance of formal land ownership for livelihoods (Yaro, 2010). Thus, in Togo, since 2018, efforts have been made to improve access to and security of land, including the adoption of the new land tenure code. A national climate change adaptation plan for the period 2017–2021 has also been developed. In this context, we ask ourselves whether land security affects the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies in Togo. To answer this question, the general objective of this paper is to analyze the effect of land security on the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies in Togo.

To achieve this objective, we used data from the Harmonised Survey on Household Living Conditions (EHCVM, 2018–2019) conducted by INSEED in Togo to which we applied a multinomial logit model. The results show that land tenure security has a positive and significant effect on climate change adaptation strategies in Togo. This result remains the same even if we use the Ordinary Least Squares regression on the synthetic index of adaptation strategies constructed from the principal component analysis.

The rest of the paper is organized into four sections. Section one discusses theoretical and empirical foundations. Section two presents the methodology of the study. Section three deals with and discusses the results of the econometric estimations. Policy implications followed by a conclusion will conclude our analysis.

The Literature Review

In this sub-section, the empirical basis for the link between land tenure security and the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies is presented. According to property rights theory, formal certification of farmers' land plots provides farmers with the opportunity to access a bank loan. Credit institutions consider the land title as a guarantee. The effects of land security include collateral and investment. The granting of land titles to farmers on exploited plots of land allows them to have access to a bank loan. Farmers will use the funds acquired to invest not only in the purchase of modern production equipment (long-term investments) and the purchase of variable inputs but also in the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies (the practice of irrigated agriculture, etc.). The literature linking land security and the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies is quite extensive, but we will focus on recent work in the economic literature.

The analysis of the determinants of smallholder farmers' adaptation strategies to the effects of climate change in Northern Uganda was the subject of the study by (Atube et al., 2021). The authors identified the three most common adaptation strategies in northern Uganda as planting different crop varieties, planting drought-resistant varieties and following. The authors used a database collected from 395 randomly selected smallholder households in two districts, using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results from binary logit regression model estimations revealed that the marital status of the household head, access to credit, access to extension services and farm income influenced farmers' adoption of planting drought-resistant varieties as a coping strategy, while access to credit, annual farm income and time to market influenced the adoption of planting improved seeds. Socio-demographic characteristics such as gender of household head and farm income positively influenced farmers' adoption of fertilizer and pesticide use. Farming experience, farm income, access to extension services and credit influenced farmers' adoption of tree planting. Household size, farming experience and time to market positively influenced the use of fallow, while cropland size significantly influenced farmers' planting of different crop varieties as a coping strategy.

Phiri et al (2020) focused on the effect of land security on the adoption of change adaptation strategies in Malawi. The ultimate objective of this study was to highlight evidence of the importance of land tenure considerations in the design, development and implementation of climate change programmes. It did this by analyzing how land tenure affects the use of adaptation strategies in Malawi. Using secondary data from the Integrated Household Survey (IHS4), a multinomial logit model was fitted to analyze the determinants of the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies. It was shown that land tenure significantly affects the adoption of the technologies in question. Uncertain arrangements such as borrowing and leasing of land tend to discourage adoption. The proliferation of borrowed or leased land in Malawi's agricultural sector requires intervention to encourage adaptation on these farms to avoid land degradation.

Lovo, (2016) in Malawi, analyses the relationship between land tenure insecurity and investment in soil conservation. The author argues that land tenure insecurity can have important consequences for the conservation of natural resources such as soils and forests. This paper focuses exclusively on two main sources of land tenure insecurity, informal short-term tenancy agreements and customary gender-based inheritance practices. Using a large plot-level dataset in Malawi, the analysis uses a linear probability model with household fixed effects and finds that both sources of insecurity have a negative effect on land conservation investments. These results suggest that future land reforms should address the informality of the land rental market and bridge the gap between land users and owners created by existing customary practices.

The research work of Gbetibouo et al, (2010) examines the climate adaptation strategies of farmers in the Limpopo Basin of South Africa. Survey results show that while many farmers have noticed long-term changes in temperature and rainfall, most have not been able to take corrective action. Lack of access to credit and water were cited as the main factors inhibiting adaptation. The most common adaptation measures were crop diversification, changing varieties and planting dates, using irrigation and providing supplementary feed for livestock. Multinomial logit analysis of climate adaptation responses suggests that access to water, credit, extension services, off-farm income and employment opportunities, tenure security, farmer assets and farming experience are critical to improving farmers' adaptive capacity. This implies that appropriate government interventions to improve farmers' access to these factors are needed to reduce farmers' vulnerability to climate adversities in these dry lands.

The analysis of the relationship between land tenure security and investment incentives in the sector was the subject of the study by Brasselle et al, (2002). For these authors, the common sense logic associating greater land tenure security and better investment incentives has recently been questioned in the case of agriculture in developing countries in general and African countries in particular. To be meaningful, empirical tests must be carefully designed to take into account the possible endogeneity of the land rights variable. The results of the econometric estimations cast doubt on the existence of a systematic influence of land tenure security on investment either in the purchase of modern production equipment, or in the purchase of variable inputs (improved seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, Plant protection products), or in the adoption of other climate change adaptation strategies (the practice of irrigated agriculture, the practice of drought-resistant crops, etc.).

The previous section has given us an idea of the work already done on the subject and the different analysis models. The following section will develop our research methodology.

The methodology of this paper is divided into three parts: the first part discusses the theoretical framework underlying our research. The second section highlights the empirical specification of the model. Finally, section three discusses the study data.

2.1 The theoretical framework of the model

The analysis of the effect of land security on households' climate change adaptation strategies is based on the theoretical framework of the farm household utility model. Indeed, the choice of farm households to use or not to use a climate change adaptation option could fall within the general framework of utility and profit maximization (Adesina & Baidu-Forson, 1995). Consider a rational farmer who seeks to maximize the present value of expected benefits over a given time horizon, and chooses from a set of $J$ adaptation options. The farmer $i$ decides to use the adaptation option $J$ if the perceived benefit of option $J$ (${U}_{ij}$) is greater than the utility of the other options $k$ (${U}_{ik}$):

$${U}_{ij}>{U}_{ik} avec k\ne j \left(1\right)$$

The decision to adopt a strategy depends on the degree of security of the farmer's plot and its socio-economic characteristics. Thus, the ${U}_{ij}$ and ${U}_{ik}$ are modelled as follows:

$${U}_{ij}= {B}_{j}^{{\prime }}{X}_{j}+{\epsilon }_{j}$$

$${U}_{ik}={B}_{k}^{{\prime }}{X}_{k}+{\epsilon }_{k} \left(3\right)$$

The ${U}_{ij}$ and ${U}_{ik}$ are latent, so it is the probabilities of the observed decision (adoption of a given strategy) that are modelled (Thinda et al., 2020).

3.2 Empirical model specification

The objective of this chapter is to analyze the effect of land tenure security on climate change adoption strategies. Thus, referring to equations 2 and 3, the model estimated in this chapter is as follows:

$${SA}_{i}= {\alpha }_{0}+{\alpha }_{i}{LS}_{i}+{\alpha }_{i}{Z}_{i} +{\mu }_{i} \left(4\right)$$

With ${SA}_{i}$ coping strategies, ${LS}_{i}$ the status of land security, ${Z}_{i}$ other household and farm plot characteristics, ${\mu }_{i}$ the error term.

To estimate the parameters of Eq. 4, a particular choice of the disturbance distribution is necessary. Thus, as in the case of the binary choice, two models are generally considered, the logit and the probit. Due to the need to evaluate multiple integrals of the normal distribution, the probit model has found rather limited use in such a context (Greene, 2012). Following this logic, Eq. 4 was estimated using a multinomial logit model given the nature of the dependent variable (a categorical variable) and the fact that it has more than two terms (Rose & Charlton, 2002). The multinomial logit model generally captures how the variable 'land security' and other household characteristics affect the likelihood of a sampled household adopting a strategy while referring to households that have not adopted any coping strategy. In a multinomial logit, the alternatives are unordered; this requires a test of independence of irrelevant alternatives -IIA- (Bourbonnais, 2018)(Bourbonnais, 2015). In the context of this study, the IIA test implies that the chances of choosing a climate change adaptation strategy are not affected by the existence of other adaptation modalities (j = 1, 2, 3). In other words, by taking households that have not adopted any adaptation strategy as a reference, the estimated parameters remain unchanged.

Referring to the work of Etwire et al, (2013); Ibrahim et al, (2012); Hosmer et al, (2013) and Ogundari, (2017) The multinomial logit model with the j alternatives (j = 0...3) in this paper is as follows

$${p}_{ij}=pr\left({SA}_{ij}=j|{LS}_{i},{Z}_{i}\right), \forall j=\text{0,1}, 2, \dots \dots \dots j \left(5\right)$$

$${p}_{ij}=\frac{1}{1+\sum _{1}^{k}exp({\alpha }_{i}{LS}_{i},{\alpha }_{i}{Z}_{i})},if j=0 \left(6\right)$$

$${p}_{ij}=\frac{exp\left({\beta }_{i}{x}_{i}\right)}{1+\sum _{1}^{k}exp({\alpha }_{i}{LS}_{i},{\alpha }_{i}{Z}_{i})},if j=\text{1,2},3 \left(7\right)$$

Where ${p}_{ij}$ is the probability of adopting a strategy in the j climate change adaptation strategies. Thus, j = 0 for households adopting no strategy, j = 1 for using compost, j = 2 for adopting improved seeds and j = 3 if the farmer adopts modern equipment.

2.2 Data source and description of model variables

The source of the data and the definition of the variables in the model are the subjects of this section.

2.2.1 Presentation of the data source.

To measure the effect of land tenure security on household adaptation strategies to climate change in Togo, we used data from the Harmonised Household Living Conditions Survey (HHCS) conducted in 2018. This is a regional project included in the UEMOA Regional Statistics Programme (PSR) 2015–2020. The fieldwork was conducted in two waves. The first wave took place from 25 September to 20 December 2018 and the second wave from 05 April to 03 July 2019. This survey is conducted with the technical support of the World Bank and other partners, including AFRISTAT.

The EHCVM collected data from 6,171 households selected at random throughout the country. The information concerns households and their members, notably on the socio-demographic characteristics of household members, education, general health, individual jobs, non-agricultural enterprises, household assets, transfers, shocks and survival strategies, safety nets, agriculture, livestock, agricultural equipment, fishing and subjective poverty. This information covers both farm and non-farm households. Given the objective of this paper, only data for agricultural households are used.

2.2.2 Description of model variables

The main variables of the model are presented in Table 1.

Table 1

Summary table
Categories	Variables	Description
Farmers' strategies	Coping strategies	0 = other strategies, 1 = chemical fertilizers, 2 = crop diversity, 3 = Plant protection products
Farmers' strategies	Synthetic index	Index taking into account all strategies adopted (author's construction with PCA)
Socio-demographic characteristics	Age	Age of the head of household
	Gender	Gender of the head of household, 1 = Female, 0 = Male
	Education	Measures the number of years of education of the head of the household
	Household size	Number of persons in the household
	Environment	1 = urban, 0 = rural
	Share capital	1 = member of a self-help association, 0 otherwise
	Rich	1 = rich household, 0 = poor
Land security	Land security	1 = owner and legally recognized paper, 0 if not
Information features	Internet	1 = internet access, 0 = if not
	Telephone	1 = possession of phone, 0 = if not
Characteristics of the plot	Credit	1 = access to credit, 0 = if not
Characteristics of the plot	Log (area)	The logarithm of the farmer's area
Climatic variables	Climate shocks	1 = exposed to climatic shocks, 0 = if not
Source: Author based on EHCVM, 2018–2019

In this section, we will first present the descriptive statistics and then the adaptation strategies of agricultural households to prevent climate change. Finally, the effects of land security on adaptation strategies will be analyzed.

3.1 Statistical analysis of the effects of land tenure security on coping strategies

This section discusses the descriptive statistics of the variables selected for this study. Table 2 shows that secure farmers were better at adopting all three strategy groups. This means that being land secure would encourage the adoption of the strategies. However, only 4.74% of the farmers are secure.

Table 2

Descriptive statistics of model variables
Variables	Total (%)	Land tenure insecurity (%)	Land security (%)
Set	100	95,26	4,74
Chemical fertilizers	31,31	27,83	28,88
Crop diversification	34,48	22,30	35,37
Plant protection products	11,96	8,77	14,22
Other	22,25	32,98	35,65
Urban	36,24	35,94	36,46
Rural	63,76	64,06	63,55
Gender: male	72,76	71,78	73,45
Woman	27,24	28,22	26,55
Association member: yes	13,97	9,31	17,38
No	86,03	90,69	82,62
Rich	12,59	19,92	7,41
Poor	87,41	80,08	92,59
Internet access: yes	21,56	79,50	77,70
No	78,44	20,50	22,30
Portable possession: yes	73,79	73,69	73,85
No	26,21	26,31	26,15
Credit access: yes	2,58	2,70	2,49
No	97,42	97,30	97,51
Climate shock: yes	50,26	54,43	47,30
No	49,74	45,57	52,70
Size (a)	4,36 (2,38)	4,68 (2,20)	4,14 (2,47)
Synthetic index (a)	0,56 (1,22)	0,03 (1,07)	0,24 (1,32)
Education (a)	6,30 (5,23)	7,13 (4,99)	5,72 (,32)
Age (a)	50,56 (16,58)	53,41 (18,54)	48,55 (14,73)
Area (a)	108 (346)	86,52 (328,91)	124,71 (357,68)
Source: Author based on EHCVM, 2018–2019; (a) refers to means and standard deviations

3.2 Typology of climate change adaptation strategies.

In Togo, farm households adopt several strategies to cope with climate change (Fig. 1). The diversity of climate change adaptation strategies of farm households is also identified in several previous studies in agriculture with small cultivable areas. These include the work of Thinda et al, (2020) in South Africa Etwire et al, (2013) in Ghana and Ali, (2021) in northern Togo.

We identified a total of 8 climate change adaptation strategies among farm households in Togo. It was found that the most adopted strategies in Togo were crop diversification and the use of chemical fertilizers. In Togo, 34.48% of farmers have adopted crop diversification against 31.31% who have adopted the use of chemical fertilizers. On the other hand, about 12% of them use Plant protection products such as herbicides, insecticides, fungicides etc. Organic fertilizers (3.04%) such as rubbish and animal waste are also strategies that farmers have adopted in Togo. Irrigation remains a marginalized coping strategy in Togo at 1.26%. In addition, about 5% of farmers have practiced urban migration as an adaptation strategy. This latter strategy remains an option of last resort and is generally practiced in larger households. Finally, 6.91% of farmers grow off-season crops.

3.3 Econometric analysis of the effects of land security on climate change adaptation strategies in Togo.

3.3.1 Preliminary

To conduct an econometric analysis of the effects of land security and characteristics on climate change adaptation strategies, we grouped the strategies adopted into four modalities. Thus, the use of chemical fertilizers, crop diversification and the use of Plant protection products are defined as independent strategies. On the other hand, off-season cultivation, migration to urban cities, irrigation, use of organic fertilizers and other strategies are incorporated into the other strategies modality. This grouping is due to the low statistics for the other variables. In addition, we constructed a composite indicator of coping strategies from principal component analysis (PCA) taking into account all the strategies identified in the study. The objective is to see if the effect of the variable 'land security' remains the same even if we take all the coping strategies.

3.3.2 Testing the validity of the model

Before analyzing the effects of land tenure security and other household characteristics on climate change adaptation strategies in our study, it is important to consider whether the data used satisfy the assumption of independence of the irrelevant alternative (IIA) for the multinomial logit model. Similar to the work of Hausman and McFadden (1984), this study uses the Hausman-McFadden test under the assumption of no systematic change in the coefficients when one of the alternatives in the model is excluded. The results of the IIA test are reported in Table 4. From this table, it can be seen that there is no evidence that the IIA test hypothesis has been violated since all probabilities are insignificant.

The results of the multinomial logit regression were used to predict the effect of land tenure on the adoption of climate change adaptation technologies with other strategies as the reference category. The model fits the data well: the Wald test indicates that $X$²= 905 and P-value = 0.00. This implies that the null hypothesis that all regression coefficients are jointly equal to zero is rejected.

Table 3

IIA hypothesis test
Food security status.	Chi2	Probability	IIA test
Other strategies	24,796	0,417	Accepted
Chemical fertilizers	11,670	0,983	Accepted
Crop diversification	25,079	0,401	Accepted
Plant protection products	25,249	0,392	Accepted
Source: Author based on EHCVM, 2018–2019

3.3.3 Interpretation and discussion of results

The results of the multinomial model showing the effects of land security and other socio-economic and demographic household characteristics on household coping strategies are presented in Table 4.

Land security

Land variables have a positive effect on climate change adaptation strategies, regardless of the strategy considered. Indeed, when the farmer owns his plot and has legal paper (being in land security), this significantly increases his capacity to use Plant protection products (herbicides, pesticides, fungicides) etc., crop diversity and the use of chemical fertilizers as an adaptation strategy to climate change. This result can be explained by the fact that land security would be a guarantee for farmers to be sure that they will not be reversed overnight. As a result, they invest in buying chemical fertilizers and plant protection products. Another channel of explanation supported by the theory is that these land papers are used as collateral to access agricultural credit. However, this hypothesis remains dubious in the Togolese context where the majority of farmers do not have a bank account and barely 3% have access to credit.

The result is consistent with land rights theory, which argues that land tenure security plays a crucial role in agricultural investment. It is also consistent with empirical work by Besley, (1995) in Ghana. On the other hand, this result is in contradiction with the work of Thinda et al, (2020) who found no significant effect of land tenure security on whether or not climate change adaptation strategies are adopted in South Africa.

Other characteristics of the plot

Plot size was also found to significantly affect climate change adoption. As the size of the farmland increases, the probability of adoption of adaptation strategies increases especially for the adoption of plant protection products in Togo. This means that when the area cultivated by the farmer increases by one hectare, the farmer increases the use of plant protection products by 0.14 points. This result can be explained in the current context in Togo by the lack of agricultural labour, which remains the reality in the field, and farmers with a large size make more investments in Plant protection products as a ploughing method. This result seems to confirm several studies Bryan et al, (2013) and Ojo & Baiyegunhi, (2020) in Nigeria and Tesso et al, (2012) in Ethiopia.

Table 4

Estimation results with multinomial logit
	(2)	(3)	(4)
Variables	Chemical fertilizers	Crop diversification	Plant protection products
Land security	0.3836***	0.3429**	0.2724***
	(0.3811)	(0.2882)	(0.1011)
Age	-0.0531***	0.0123	0.0013
	(0.0088)	(0.0092)	(0.0033)
Education	0.1917***	0.0389	-0.0123
	(0.0281)	(0.0293)	(0.0096)
Gender	-0.3397	0.4817*	0.0858
	(0.2576)	(0.2687)	(0.1071)
Size	0.0231	0.0398	0.0110
	(0.0694)	(0.0628)	(0.0235)
Environment	0.1396	0.1548	0.0614
	(0.2468)	(0.3561)	(0.1139)
Share capital	0.5541**	-0.5400	0.2762*
	(0.2346)	(0.3511)	(0.1540)
Rich	0.6732	0.2067	0.4622***
	(0.4249)	(0.4616)	(0.1613)
Internet	-0.1816	0.3196	0.0114
	(0.2911)	(0.4094)	(0.1334)
Telephone	-0.0835	-0.4034	0.0435
	(0.2476)	(0.3082)	(0.1163)
Agricultural credit	-1.4240	-0.1973	-0.2141
	(1.1467)	(0.7829)	(0.3084)
Log (area)	-0.0591	-0.0160	0.1478***
	(0.0448)	(0.0728)	(0.0227)
Climate shocks	0.1667	0.0591	0.0397
	(0.2006)	(0.2695)	(0.0930)
Constant	-2.9116***	-4.3376***	-2.3171***
	(1.0964)	(1.2509)	(0.4681)
Comments	2533	2533	2533
Source: Author based on EHCVM, 2018

Socio-demographic and economic characteristics

Regarding the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of households, the results show, firstly, that age reduces the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies. The results also show that the level of education has a positive effect on the adoption of adaptation strategies. This result is easily justified insofar as the level of education makes it possible to take into account the risk factor constituted by climate change and the strategies to be adopted (Deressa et al., 2011). The result also shows that women are more likely to adopt crop association as an adaptation strategy in Togo. This result can be explained by the feminization of poverty in Togo. Furthermore, when the farmer is a member of an association, he prefers the use of fertilizers more than Plant protection products. Finally, we note that farmers who feel that they are rich use more Plant protection products.

3.3.4 Robustness testing of adaptation strategies.

As noted above, we constructed an indicator from principal component analysis (PCA) that takes into account all strategies adopted by farmers. We also estimated the effects of land tenure security and other characteristics on this synthetic indicator with OLS and the results are reported in Table 5. The results reveal that land tenure security has a positive and significant effect at the 5% level on climate change adaptation strategies in Togo. This result is identical to the result in Table 5 regarding the effect of land tenure security. This confirms the robustness of our previous results.

A key contribution of this indicator is that it highlights the importance of other variables such as access to agricultural credit as a key factor in the adoption of coping strategies. It also highlights the important role of education, social capital, and gender and farm size in the adoption of coping strategies. In contrast, the size of the farmer's household is a blockage.

Table 5

Result of the OLS estimates (synthetic index of strategies)
Variables	Synthetic index
Land security	0.1120**
	(0.0509)
Age	0.0178***
	(0.0016)
Education	0.0141***
	(0.0048)
Gender	0.1195**
	(0.0539)
Size	-0.0238**
	(0.0116)
Environment	0.0591
	(0.0565)
Share capital	0.4851***
	(0.0716)
Rich	0.0516
	(0.0746)
Internet	0.0332
	(0.0661)
Telephone	0.0142
	(0.0579)
Agricultural credit	0.2908*
	(0.1512)
Log (area)	0.1336***
	(0.0117)
Climate shocks	-0.0144
	(0.0466)
Constant	-2.2174***
	(0.2283)
Comments	2533
Source: Author based on EHCVM, 2018

This paper highlights the importance of land tenure considerations in the design, development and implementation of investment programmes and projects. This was done by analyzing how land security and other determinants affect the adoption of climate adaptation strategies in Togo. Our definition of climate change adaptation strategies was based on the use of plant protection products, chemical fertilizer, crop diversity and other strategies. The use of the multinomial logit method based on the Harmonized Household Living Conditions Survey (HHCS, 2018–2019), adapted only to farmers, allows us to draw robust results.

The results show that land tenure security increases the probability of using climate change adaptation strategies in Togo. The robustness of this result is confirmed by the regression of land tenure security on a composite indicator constructed from principal component analysis (PCA). The results also show that being a member of an agricultural cooperative is a factor favouring the use of new climate change adaptation strategies. It is important to place special emphasis on securing land tenure for farm households in Togo while encouraging farmers' participation or membership in agricultural cooperatives.

Data available

The data that support the findings of this study are available at https://phmecv.uemoa.int/nada/index.php/catalog/50/related-materials

Ethics approval

Not applicable

Conflict of interest

The authors declared that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding Statement

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

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Land Tenure Security and Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in Togo

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