Smallholder farmers expand production area of the perennial crop enset as a climate coping strategy in a drought-prone indigenous agrisystem

Societal Impact Statement Climate resilient crops will become increasingly important, especially in regions where smallholder farmers are vulnerable to climate extremes. Enset, a multipurpose perennial staple crop consumed by over 20 million people in Ethiopia, purportedly provides food security during periods of drought. Here, we find evidence that frequent severe drought events led to an increase in enset production area. This is consistent with a broader pattern whereby farmers preferentially cultivate perennial and storable crops after long-term drought events, providing an example of adaptation to fluctuations in climate through crop choice in indigenous agrisystems. Smallholder farms in the semiarid and subhumid tropics are particularly vulnerable to increased climate variability. Indigenous agrisystems that have co-evolved with climate variability may have developed resilience strategies. In the Southwest Ethiopian Highlands, agrisystems are dominated by the multipurpose perennial staple enset (Ensete ventricosum), characterised by flexible harvest timing, high yield, long storage, and putative drought tolerance, earning it the name 'the tree against hunger'. We tested three hypotheses using crop production area and climate data. First, that enset production area is greatest in the most drought-prone locations. Second, that farmers respond to drought events by increasing enset production area. And third, that drought encourages shifts in agrisystem composition more widely towards perennial or storable crops. We found that regions with a higher severe drought frequency are associated with significantly higher proportion of enset production. Similarly, the Standardised Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index of the previous 3 years is significantly negatively correlated with enset production area time series, suggesting that prior drier conditions led farmers to increase the land under enset production. Regarding other crops, storage crops roots and tubers were also preferentially selected after long-term drought over annual crops, indicating their capacity for longer-term resilience. Promoting the production of crops such as perennials, which have more extensive and established root systems, may be a strategy to ensure food security during drought or climate variability. These results indicate the potential of farmer's resilience strategies to improve food security in a changing climate.

Automated summary

Climate resilient crops, such as enset in Ethiopia, play an increasingly important role in ensuring food security for smallholder farmers in regions prone to climate extremes. This study shows that frequent severe drought events have led to an increase in enset production area, highlighting the adaptive capacity of indigenous agrisystems. The findings suggest that promoting the cultivation of perennial and storable crops can contribute to improving food security and resilience in the face of climate variability.