Does irrigation development mitigate weather extremes' impacts and reduce poverty? Evidence from rural Southeast Asia

Water is critical for agriculture in developing countries and climate change has created extreme weather events that push farmers into poverty. In this study, we first examine the role of yearround irrigation at village level in ensuring irrigation at household level and helping farmers to cope with weather shocks. We then investigate the effects of irrigation on crop farming efficiency, income, and poverty of rural households. We use a panel dataset of 1,681 households in Thailand and 1,699 households in Vietnam collected in 2010, 2013, and 2016 with a total number of 10,140 observations. Our results show that the availability of year-round irrigation at village level positively and significantly increases the share of irrigated land areas at household level. Besides, weather shocks significantly decrease crop farming efficiency and an improvement in irrigation has a positive effect on farming efficiency. Further, an increase in irrigated land share at household level increases crop income and total household income, and decreases poverty. Our results suggest that making irrigation water available throughout the year is needed for farmers to cope with extreme weather events and to escape from poverty. This should be done by developing infrastructure for ensuring year-round irrigation.