Relationship Between Climate Factors and Agricultural Productivity in South Asia

The productivity of agriculture is highly dependent on a complex interplay of numerous factors, with climatic conditions playing a prominent role. CO 2 , temperature, and rainfall patterns have a significant impact on the growth cycles and yield potential of crops. Hence, this article examines the impact of three climate factors on agricultural productivity in South Asian countries during the period of 1990–2020. We apply second-generation and heterogeneity panel techniques to analyze the long-run and short-run relations. The results reveal that the CO 2 has a positive impact on agricultural productivity in these countries in the short run; however, it is negatively affecting it in the long run. It means a 1% increase in CO 2 emissions leads to a 0.59% reduction in agricultural productivity in the long run. However, temperature reduces agricultural productivity in both the short run and long run by 0.45% and 0.34%, respectively. Rainfall has a positive and significant relationship with agricultural productivity in the short run and long run by 0.43% and 0.23%. The result also revealed that education has positively affected agricultural productivity in these countries. The study suggests that the government should encourage investing more in irrigation and spreading awareness among the citizens of climate change-related issues, particularly agricultural productivity, in order to achieve sustainable agricultural production in the South Asian countries.