Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices, Farm Productivity, and Food Security among Smallholder Cocoa Farmers in Southwestern Nigeria: An Endogenous Switching Regression Approach

Climate change threatens cocoa production, rural livelihoods, and food security in Nigeria, making climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAPs) essential for resilience and sustainable productivity. This study examined the effects of CSAPs on farm productivity and household food security among smallholder cocoa farmers in Southwestern Nigeria using an Endogenous Switching Regression (ESR) approach. Specifically, it identified adopted CSAPs, examined adoption determinants, assessed effects on cocoa productivity and household food security, and estimated actual and counterfactual gains. Primary data were collected from 320 smallholder cocoa farmers using multistage sampling. Descriptive statistics summarized characteristics and adoption patterns, while ESR corrected for selection bias and unobserved heterogeneity. The most widely adopted practices were agroforestry (74.7%), mulching (71.9%), improved cocoa varieties (69.1%), organic manure application (66.6%), integrated pest management (63.8%), and cover cropping (58.4%). The ESR selection equation showed that education (β = 0.428; p < 0.01), extension contact (β = 0.517; p < 0.01), access to credit (β = 0.396; p < 0.05), cooperative membership (β = 0.351; p < 0.05), climate information (β = 0.474; p < 0.01), farm size (β = 0.283; p < 0.05), and farming experience (β = 0.261; p < 0.10) significantly increased CSAP adoption. Report the non-adopter yield and the ATT with its statistical significance (e.g., p-value) to allow readers to gauge the practical importance of the 21.3% gain. Report the actual HDDS values for adopters and counterfactual, and explicitly state that lower HFIAS indicates improved food security while higher HDDS indicates improved dietary diversity.Define HFIAS (Household Food Insecurity Access Scale) and HDDS (Household Dietary Diversity Score) and provide the actual HDDS values for adopters and counterfactual, along with the percentage change. The study concludes that CSAPs substantially improve cocoa productivity and household food security. It recommends strengthening extension services, affordable credit, climate information, farmer cooperatives, and investment in climate-resilient cocoa technologies to promote sustainable cocoa production, rural livelihoods, and food security in Nigeria.