Econometric Analysis of the Factors that Affect Adoption of Conservation Farming Practices by Smallholder Farmers in Zambia

Abstract

Despite the efforts to promote adoption of conservation farming (CF) by public and private organizations, the adoption rate among Zambian smallholder farm households has been low. This study used nationally representative data to identify the factors that affect adoption of CF by smallholder farm households in Zambia. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) was employed to help match the adopters and non-adopters of CF based on the distribution of their similar observable characteristics upon which a separate logistic model was applied. The logistic regression analysis showed that age of the household head; access to loans; labour availability; in-kind income and location of the households in agro-ecological regions (AER) I and II significantly increases the odds of adoption of CF. Based on these findings, it is recommended that promotion of adoption of CF practices should be directed towards smallholder farm households in AER I and II and those in remote areas which are less accessible by roads. This could be complemented by improving the road infrastructure so that smallholder farmers in such areas would not only have access to agricultural loans but also be in contact with relevant extension organizations that promote CF.

Adoption and Impact of Conservation Agriculture on Smallholder Farmers’ Crop Productivity and Income in Luapula Province, Zambia

“…This means that older farmers are less likely to adopt CA than the younger ones. This is inconsistent with studies by Jera and Ajayi (2008) and Ng'ombe et al (2014) who found a positive correlation between age and CA adoption. Ownership of labour saving equipment such as rippers coupled with the prestige associated with owning such implements increased the likelihood of adopting CA.…”

“…The study found no evidence for the role of labour constraint, age, or education in the adoption decision. Ng'ombe et al (2014) found that age, marital status, access to loans and labour availability positively influenced the likelihood to adopt CA and that off-farm income, access to extension services and ownership of livestock had a negative influence on the likelihood to adopt CA in Zambia. AER in which a farmer is located and distances to vehicular road were found to be statistically significant to affecting adoption of CA in Zambia.…”

“…A number of empirical studies have been undertaken to analyze factors affecting CA adoption in Zambia (for example: Haggblade & Tembo, 2003;Chomba, 2004;Baudron et al, 2007;Haggblade, Kabwe, & Plerphoples, 2011;Nyanga, 2012;Arslan et al, 2013;Ng'ombe et al, 2014). Arslan et al (2013) argues that most of these studies have not effectively captured the multiple factors that affect farmers' decision to adopt the technology.…”

Understanding farmers' investments in sustainable land management in Burundi: A case‐study in the provinces of Gitega and Muyinga

“…The same notification came from research carried out recently in Ethiopia where farmers with higher financial capital (including credit) invested more in SLM as compared with farmers with lower financial capital (Adimassu & Kessler, ). Findings from Zambia confirmed that farmers' investments in land management are minimal due to their limited access to credit (Ngombe, Kalinda, Tembo, & Kuntashula, ). In addition, similar results were reported in Ethiopia, where credit access influenced positively and increased the probability of SLM adoption (Kirui, ).…”

“Are They Aware, and Why?” Bayesian Analysis of Predictors of Smallholder Farmers’ Awareness of Climate Change and Its Risks to Agriculture

“…A full description of the variables used in the analysis is presented in Table 1. The variables considered were selected based on a review of previous theoretical and empirical climate change related studies [10,15,36,[43][44][45][46][47][48]. The response variable is the expression of awareness of climate change and its risks to agriculture (alias climate change awareness), which equals 1 if the respondent replied "Yes" to the question: "Are you aware of climate change and its consequences on agriculture?…”