Abstract

ABSTRACT Previous studies have extensively documented the yield‐enhancing effects of climate‐smart agricultural practices (CSAPs). However, empirical evidence on how CSAPs adoption affects commercialization remains largely unexplored. This study examines the impact of adopting CSAPs on smallholder maize commercialization, as measured by commercialization intensity and income. We also investigate the mechanisms through which CSAPs adoption affects these commercialization outcomes. We utilize survey data from 601 smallholder maize farmers across three major maize‐producing districts in Ethiopia. We employ an endogenous switching regression model to correct selection bias from both observed and unobserved heterogeneity, complemented by structural equation modeling to examine mediation pathways. Our empirical results show that the adoption of CSAPs is significantly associated with education level, family size, livestock holding, membership in farmer‐based organizations, access to market information, CSAPs‐focused trainings, proximity to extension services, and distance to the nearest market. Central to our findings, the analysis demonstrates that CSAPs adoption significantly enhances commercialization intensity by 60.79% and crop income by 19.33% per hectare. Robustness checks using propensity score matching and inverse probability weighted regression adjustment models consistently validate these results. Heterogeneity analysis shows significant variation in the treatment effects across study districts. Mediation analysis indicates that 27.6% of the total effect on commercialization intensity and 46.5% of the effect on maize income operate through the combined pathway of yield improvement and post‐harvest loss reduction. Our findings strongly suggest that policies aimed at enhancing smallholder commercialization should prioritize the adoption of CSAPs among smallholder farmers.

Key Points