Impact of Minimum Tillage and Crop Rotation as Climate Change Adaptation Strategies on Farmer Welfare in Smallholder Farming Systems of Zambia

Kuntashula, Elias; Chabala, Lydia M.; Mulenga, Brian P.

doi:10.5539/jsd.v7n4p95

Cited by 37 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…For example, Kasanga and Daka (2013) suggest 41% MT adoption in the 16 districts. Kuntashula, Chabala, and Mulenga (2014) and , respectively, found 12% and 13% adoption in their study areas in agro ecological zones 1 and 2a.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…The second category focus on a sub-segment of MT adopters and how CA tillage systems offer maize yield advantages among a sub-segment of MT adopters (Haggblade et al 2011;Haggblade and Tembo 2003;Haggblade et al 2010;Kuntashula, Chabala, and Mulenga 2014;Shitumbanuma 2013;Umar et al 2011Umar et al , 2012. These studies typically use data drawn from case studies of selected areas where CA has been most promoted (Kuntashula 2014), and for one agricultural season. Some of these also focus on MT yield effects, grouping together ripping and planting basins rather than allowing these two fundamentally different tillage methods to have different effects on yields.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does minimum tillage with planting basins or ripping raise maize yields? Meso-panel data evidence from Zambia

Ngoma

Mason

Sitko

2015

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYRaising agricultural productivity to meet growing food demands while increasing the resilience of rain-fed farm systems to climate variability is one of the most pressing contemporary development challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Anchored on the three core principles of minimum tillage (MT), crop residue retention, and crop rotation; conservation agriculture (CA) technologies have been actively promoted over nearly the last two decades as potential solutions to raise farm productivity in the context of increased climate variability. Despite the long CA promotion histories in the region, there is a dearth of evidence of its yield impacts on smallholder farmers' plots and under typical smallholder management practices and conditions. In this paper, we examine the yield effects of CA under smallholder systems in Zambia. In particular, we assess the effects of MT on maize yields under smallholder conditions in Zambia. Maize is the most widely grown smallholder crop in Zambia, while MT is the most prevalent component of CA practiced by smallholders.Whether CA does indeed raise farm productivity under real smallholder farm conditions in SSA has been the subject of intense debates over the recent past. The intensity of these debates is, in large measure, the result of limited and at times contradictory empirical evidence. Indeed, the bulk of the evidence on CA is derived from experimental plots, based on small samples and relies on bivariate mean comparisons. This paper uses nationallyrepresentative survey data from nearly 48,000 smallholder maize plots from 2008-2011 to estimate the ceteris paribus effects of planting basins and ripping on maize yields in Zambia. These data are drawn from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the Central Statistical Office's crops forecast surveys and are panel at the standard enumeration area (SEA) level for the period under consideration. The large sample and meso-panel structure of the data 1 , respectively, allow the current analysis to benefit from asymptotic properties and thereby obviate the small sample biases, and to exploit panel data methods to control for higher order unobservables that may confound the results.After applying a pooled ordinary least squares-correlated random effects approach to control for time invariant unobserved heterogeneity at the enumeration area level, we find positive maize yield gains from minimum tillage over conventional tillage methods when tillage is done before the onset of the rains (holding other factors constant). When tillage is done before the rains, rip tillage confers average maize yield gains over conventional plow tillage of 577 kg/ha nation-wide, and 821 kg/ha in agro-ecological zones 1 and 2a (the two zones most suitable for CA). Planting basins also increase maize yields relative to conventional hand-hoe tillage when tillage is done before the onset of the rains, but the yield gains are smaller at an average of 191 kg/ha nation-wide, and 194 kg/ha in agro-ecological zones 1 and 2a. A caveat in interpr...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does minimum tillage with planting basins or ripping raise maize yields? Meso-panel data evidence from Zambia

Ngoma

Mason

Sitko

2015

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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“…Haggblade and Tembo () indicate that maize yields decline by 1–2% for each day delayed in planting after the first possible planting date. CA technology therefore ensures that these losses are reduced to a minimum and contribute to mitigating food and nutrition insecurity in SSA (Kuntashula et al., ).…”

Section: Ca Technology In Zambiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In evaluating the impact of a binary variable on a binary outcome like adoption on poverty headcount, other studies have employed Heckman two‐stage selection method to account for observed and unobserved heterogeneity between adopters and nonadopters (e.g., Kuntashula et al., ). This study uses an RBP model to jointly estimate adoption and impact of CA on poverty headcount (Amare et al., ).…”

Section: Empirical Specificationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of conservation agriculture technology on household welfare in Zambia

Abdulai

2016

Agricultural Economics

132

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This article examines the determinants and impact of conservation agriculture (CA) technology adoption on farm household welfare in Zambia. To account for selection bias from both observable and unobservable factors, an endogenous switching regression model is employed to estimate the impact of the technology on continuous outcomes like farm output, throughput accounting ratio (TAR), poverty gap, and severity of poverty. A recursive bivariate probit model is however used for the estimation of impact of adoption on a binary outcome like poverty headcount. The empirical findings demonstrate that the adoption of CA technology increases maize output, and farm TAR and reduces household poverty. Moreover, the results reveal that farmers' years of schooling, social networks, access to credit, extension services, and machinery as well as soil quality positively influence adoption of CA technology.JEL classifications: O13, O33, Q12, Q55

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“…For example, a countrywide study by Ngoma et al (2013) observed that only about 3.9% among Zambia's population of smallholder farmers practiced MT in 2012. Furthermore, a study by Kuntashula et al (2014) indicated an adoption rate of about 12% from six selected districts in Zambia's agro-ecological region (AER) II in 2012. Zambia has three AERs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Stochastic Frontier Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Maize Production Under Minimum Tillage in Zambia

Ng’ombe¹,

Kalinda²

2015

SAR

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Minimum tillage and other conservation agriculture practices are not only associated with income gains but are also claimed to be the panacea to the declining agricultural productivity and soil degradation problems in Africa and across the world. The few studies on technical efficiency related to the agricultural sector performance in Zambia have not attempted to determine how technically efficient smallholder farmers that produce maize under minimum tillage are. This study used stochastic frontier analysis based on both the half-normal and exponential model distributions on 2008 cross-sectional nationally representative data of 160 smallholder maize farm households that adopted minimum tillage in Zambia. Results indicate that maize farmers face increasing returns to scale (1.074) implying that there were opportunities for them to improve their technical efficiency as they were operating in stage I of their production functions. The half-normal and exponential model distributions indicate average technical efficiency scores of 60 and 71.7 percent, respectively. Their respective lowest efficiency scores were 9.3 and 8.5 percent. The highest efficiency scores for the half-normal and exponential model distributions were 89.3 and 90.9 percent. Maximum likelihood estimation results show that marital status, level of education of household head, square of household size, off farm income, agro-ecological region III, distance to vehicular road and access to loans are statistically significant factors that affect technical efficiency of smallholder maize farmers that practice minimum tillage in Zambia. The study calls for increased infrastructural development through construction of improved road network, schools and colleges in remote areas as a means to increasing accesss to knowledge and other agricultural services in order to enhance their technical efficiency levels. It also recommends promotion of minimum tillage practices in recommended agro-ecological regions to improve their technical efficiency. The study further acclaims for increased access to loans by smallholder maize farmers that practice minimum tillage as this would in one way induce them to invest in improved varieties and equipment that would help enhance their technical efficiency in Zambia.

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Impact of Minimum Tillage and Crop Rotation as Climate Change Adaptation Strategies on Farmer Welfare in Smallholder Farming Systems of Zambia

Cited by 37 publications

References 12 publications

Does minimum tillage with planting basins or ripping raise maize yields? Meso-panel data evidence from Zambia

Does minimum tillage with planting basins or ripping raise maize yields? Meso-panel data evidence from Zambia

Impact of conservation agriculture technology on household welfare in Zambia

A Stochastic Frontier Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Maize Production Under Minimum Tillage in Zambia

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