Line thickness represents the amount of evidence available; three weights are used. Line color indicates the agreement in the available evidence, where green suggests general agreement and purple suggests some disagreement.

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is agriculture that increases productivity, improves resilience, and mitigates climate change. Smallholder adoption of farming technology is necessary to speed the transition to CSA. Here, we assessed the determinants of adoption of five technologies that can help achieve some of the CSA outcomes in smallholder farms in Tanzania. They included crop and livestock diversity, irrigation, application of chemical fertilizers, and agroforestry. Using data collected from 821 farming households, a multivariate probit model was employed to evaluate the determinants of adoption, allowing for examination of synergies and trade-offs between the technologies. Application of chemical fertilizers was fairly well adopted (34% of farmers), while irrigation was least adopted (26%). Some technologies, including crop diversity and irrigation as well as application of chemical fertilizer and agro-forestry, complemented each other. Trade-offs were observed between livestock diversity and irrigation. Female control of farm resources, farm location, and household resources were major determinants of adoption. We, therefore, recommend strategies that seeks to enhance building household resource as pathway for improved adoption of new technologies.

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Increasing communities’ adaptive capacity is crucial to enhancing the sustainability of livelihoods and landscapes in smallholder systems. This study evaluates the contributions of an asset-based community-driven local development project, which has an objective to enhance farmer livelihoods through context-specific agricultural and agroforestry training, in line with farmers’ identities, interests, and preferences. The project was implemented in two areas of the wider Nyando river basin: the Lower and Middle Nyando sites. The project effects on farmer livelihoods were evaluated by analyzing overall income enhancement through the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices via the computation of total values of harvest. Socioeconomic data from 183 households, half of which were involved in the project, were considered. The findings showed that locality played an important role in the adoption and success of good agricultural practices. Additional significant positive factors included project participation, size of land operated, horticulture farming, livestock ownership, ownership of a title deed, hours worked, and crop species richness. The number of years farmed had a significant negative correlation with the value of harvest. Considering the stark differences in livelihood effects in both sites, researchers conclude that external support for climate-smart agriculture uptake needs to be considerate of, and respond to, biophysical and socioeconomic context.

Long-term food production in developing countries is under threat due to soil nutrient mining resulting from unsustainable production practices. In this study, the sustainability of various cropping systems and organic input combinations were assessed through monitoring nutrient flows and balances at crop production level. The study was conducted in Katangi and Ikombe divisions of Kitui sub-county between October 2010 and August 2012. A randomised complete block design with a split plot arrangement was used. The main plots were three cropping systems: (i) Intercropping (Dolichos [Lablab