Crop Diversification and Specialization: Drivers, Impacts on Climate Change Mitigation and Food Security of Small Holder Farmers in Ethiopia

Abstract

Crop diversification and among smallholders is incompatible with maintaining or improving household food security specifically when cash crops (specialization) are included in the new crop mix. To address this problem, review the effects of crop diversification and specialization on climate change and food security of the small holder farmers.. A lot of findings suggested that crop specialization has significant negative effect on the food security, climate change mitigation and environmental maintenance   of smallholder farmers, while the few findings concluded that it has positive effect due to mechanization and commercialization or market orientation which targets on high value crops while the crop diversification positive effect on food security, climate change mitigation and economic benefit of the small holder farmers  Reports included preconditions for choice of production systems like the availability of farm size, agro ecology, climatic condition, food security status and overall economy the farmers. Thus, extension approach should have to consider those preconditions to indicate appropriate crop production system whether  Crop specialization and Diversification is very important to the particular area, to improve food security of smallholder farmers and to mitigate the climate change.