Assessment of factors influencing the adoption of improved crop management practices (ICMP) by smallholder farmers in the Boane district, Mozambique

Abstract

This paper seeks to assess the factors influencing the adoption of the improved crop management practices (ICMP) in Boane District in Mozambique. The study was carried out using a qualitative survey method with a semi-structured interview schedule. Regression analysis and Pearson correlations were used to analyse the factors, constraints, and opportunities influencing the adoption of the improved crop management practices. The study covered a sample of 50 households. The results of the study show that the majority of the farmers (68%) in the Boane District adopted the improved crop management practices, compared to those who did not adopt them (32%). According to the logistic regression analysis, two factors (age and access to credit) were significant (p<0.05) at the 5% level of significance with the adoption of ICMP, meaning that age and access to credit have an influence on the adoption of the improved crop management practices in the Boane District. The study recommended that the Agricultural Development Fund and the district development should solve the challenge of low financial investments, which is the major problem of most smallholder farmers, limiting their response to the production process, and to adopting the improved crop management practices in the Boane District.

Adoption Drivers of Improved Open-Pollinated (OPVs) Maize Varieties by Smallholder Farmers in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

“…Lack of finances was the challenge that made smallholder farmers not use OPVs as they were costly. This result is consistent with Da Encarnação Tomo and Zwane [3], who indicated that farmers do not use the OPVs to improve maize variety due to a lack of finance as they do not have financial support and rely on government securities to finance their farming. Farmers lack the finances to purchase maize seeds (OPVs) on the market.…”

“…This means that the control of agriculture as the primary source of food and job creation must be enhanced in developing countries as it is the only strategy to fight poverty and food insecurity [2]. Adopting improved maize varieties is seen as one of the approaches available to meet the worlds' consumption demand [3].…”

“…Maize (Zea mays) is also called corn and is the third most vital cereal crop after wheat and rice [2]. Maize is the most grown crop in many developing countries, especially Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), contributing immensely to the SSA economy [2,3]. This cereal crop is an essential staple crop produced by most smallholder farmers and produced under diverse SSA environments [4].…”

Predicting the adoption of improved cassava varieties in Sierra Leone

“…Regional specific variables that significantly influenced the adoption of improved cassava varieties were access to research outputs and activities, and contacts with extension agents in the eastern region. In the northern region, access to research outputs and activities, contacts with extension agents and access to markets significantly influenced the adoption of improved cassava varieties, while in the southern region, it was age, cassava as the main crop cultivated by the household, experience in growing cassava and access to markets (Hiko et al, 2020;Da Encarnação and Zwane, 2020;Filho et al, 2011).…”

“…Several studies on innovation and technology dissemination highlight important factors affecting adoption of new crops. Several notable factors include; marital status, the farm size, the type of farmer, the education level, the contact with extension services, the farming experience, the cropping systems, the volume of production, access to processing facilities, access to credit, presence of non-farm incomes, and the existence of a market for the sale of products (Da Encarnação and Zwane, 2020;Mende et al, 2015;Ojo and Ogunyemi, 2014;Prager and Posthumus, 2010;Prokopy et al, 2008).…”