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This paper examines the distribution of
climate change impacts across the 16 agro-ecological zones
in Africa using data from the Food and Agriculture
Organization combined with economic survey data from a
Global Environment Facility/World Bank project. Net revenue
per hectare of cropland is regressed on a set of climate,
soil, and socio-economic variables using different
econometric specifications "with" and
"without" country fixed effects. Country fixed
effects slightly reduce predicted future climate related
damage to agriculture. With a mild climate scenario, African
farmers gain income from climate change; with a more severe
scenario, they lose income. Some locations are more
affected than others. The analysis of agro-ecological zones
implies that the effects of climate change will vary across
Africa. For example, currently productive areas such as
dry/moist savannah are more vulnerable to climate change
while currently less productive agricultural zones such as
humid forest or sub-humid zones become more productive in
the future. The agro-ecological zone classification can
help explain the variation of impacts across the landscape.
