Labour not land constrains agricultural production and food self-sufficiency in maize-based smallholder farming systems in Mozambique

Leonardo, Wilson; Ven, G.W.J. van de; Udo, H.M.J.; Kanellopoulos, Argyris; Sitoe, Almeida; Giller, Ken E.

doi:10.1007/s12571-015-0480-7

Cited by 43 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…intensification (Erenstein, 2006). Our previous study (Leonardo et al, 2015) on agricultural production in central Mozambique showed differences in land and labour productivities among different types of smallholder farms with yields only a fraction of the potential. Expansion to farm larger areas was constrained by labour availability, especially during the weeding periods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Due to the relatively better bio-physical conditions (soils and water), crop yields are higher in Dombe than in Zembe (Leonardo et al, 2015).…”

Section: Farming On Manica Plateaumentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study we focus on the large farms (1) and the small farms hiring out labour (4) ( Table 3.1) as they represent both sides of the spectrum. Our previous study (Leonardo et al, 2015) indicated that the farming systems in both posts were largely based on production of local maize varieties in relay-intercropping with an improved sunflower variety in Zembe and with a local sesame variety in Dombe. Only on the large farms in Dombe an improved sesame variety was cultivated as a sole crop, preferably in newly-opened fields.…”

Section: Farming On Manica Plateaumentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In both posts, all farmers fallowed 25 % of their land on average. Soil analysis showed that in both posts nitrogen was the most limiting nutrient for crop production (Leonardo et al, 2015). Livestock, dominated by village poultry, was a source of cash for basic household expenditures, such as transport and school fees.…”

Section: Farming On Manica Plateaumentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring opportunities for rural livelihoods and food security in Central Mozambique

Leonardo

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Growing awareness of widespread hunger and poverty in many countries in the SSA is spurring a focus on productivity increase in smallholder farming systems. The rationale is that with current production systems many SSA countries are not keeping pace with population growth and changing of peoples' lifestyles. To respond to this challenge the Government of Mozambique developed its Strategic Plan for Agricultural Development (PEDSA) aiming to improve agricultural productivity of the majority of smallholder farmers who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Smallholder farmers are diverse in terms of resources and aspirations. The main objectives of this study are first to understand the diversity among maize-based smallholder farms and their current constraints in improving agricultural productivity in the Manica Plateau, Central Mozambique, and second, building on that understanding to explore options for biomass production either for food, cash or biofuel at farm level and contributions to maize availability in the region. The study was conducted in the Dombe and Zembe Administrative Posts. Farmers in the two posts cultivate both food and cash crops using the same resources, however, distances to the urban market differ, with Zembe close and Dombe far away from the markets. In addition, the agroecological conditions for crop production are more favourable in Dombe compared with Zembe. Using farm surveys, direct observations and on-farm measurements, followed by Principal Components Analysis (PCA) I identified land and labour as the variables that can best explain the variability found among smallholder farms (Chapter 2). Based on these variables I categorised farms into four Farm Types (FT): FT1. Large farms (4.4 ha in Dombe and 2.2 ha in Zembe), hiring in labour; FT2. Intermediate sized farms (1.9-1.2 ha), hiring in and out labour; FT3a. Small farms (1.1-0.9 ha), sharing labour; and FT3b. Small farms (1.0-0.7 ha), hiring out labour. The maize yield and maize labour productivities were higher on large farms (2.3 t ha -1 in Dombe and 2.0 t ha -1 in Zembe; 2.5×10 -3 t h -1 in Dombe and 2.6 ×10 -3 t h -1 in Zembe) compared with small farms (1.5 t ha -1 in Dombe and 1.1 t ha -1 in Zembe;1.4×10 -3 t h -1 in Dombe and 0.9×10 -3 t h -1 in Zembe). The hiring in labour from small farms allowed large farms to timely weed their fields. Small farms were resource constrained and viii hired out labour (mutrakita) for cash or food to the detriment of weeding their own fields, resulting in poor crop yields. Excessive alcohol consumption by small farms also raised concerns on labour quality. Chapter 3 explored options aiming at addressing farmers' objectives of being maize self-sufficient and increased gross margin and the contribution to national objective of producing food. A bio-economic farm model was used to investigate two pathways to increase agricultural production: (i) extensification, expanding the current cultivated area; and (ii) intensification, increasing input use and output per unit of land...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Due to the relatively better bio-physical conditions (soils and water), crop yields are higher in Dombe than in Zembe (Leonardo et al, 2015).…”

Section: Farming On Manica Plateaumentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Farming On Manica Plateaumentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Farming On Manica Plateaumentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring opportunities for rural livelihoods and food security in Central Mozambique

Leonardo

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“…According to Leonardo et al (2015), labour is the most limiting factor for improved productivity in Mozambique; others disagree and find that productivity is constrained by Table 3. main constraints on improving the viability of land.…”

Section: Barriers To Improving Productivity and Profitabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Irrigation and crop diversification in the 25 de Setembro irrigation scheme, Mozambique

Sousa

Ducrot

Munguambe

et al. 2017

International Journal of Water Resources Development

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b cIraD-umr G-eau/research unit on Water management, actors and uses, montpellier, france; c school of commerce, university of south australia, adelaide, australia ABSTRACTCrop diversification is one way of improving the profitability of smallscale irrigation schemes. The 25 de Setembro scheme is an ideal site to analyze diversification, as it is influenced by the markets in Maputo and South Africa. This study uses information gathered from observations, discussions with irrigators and an irrigator survey. Results identified seven irrigator types with different crop diversification strategies predominantly influenced by resource constraints. Most irrigators produce traditional crops, although there are opportunities for growing crops that are more profitable. Improved extension services, to identify cropping strategies that better align with market demand, would improve profitability.

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Willingness to pay for agricultural mechanization services by smallholder farmers in Malawi

Tufa,

Alene,

Ngoma

et al. 2023

Agribusiness

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One of the main barriers to adopting smallholder agricultural mechanization in developing countries is the mismatch between the economies of scale of machines and farm size. Private sector‐led mechanization services hold a promise to address this challenge, but there is a lack of evidence on demand for smallholder mechanization services. This study estimates the farmers' willingness to pay for mechanization services using the double‐bounded contingent valuation method and data from 1512 households. Results show that, on average, farmers are willing to pay 11%, 33%, and 5% more than prevailing market rates for land preparation, maize shelling, and transportation services, respectively. The amounts farmers are willing to pay for the mechanization services vary by sex, age group, size of cultivated land, the value of farmer assets, market access, and agroecology. Men are willing to pay 26%, 25%, and 11% more than women for land preparation, maize shelling, and transportation services. Moreover, 40% of female and 90% of male farmers are willing to pay more than or equal to the prevailing market rate for land preparation services. The high demand for mechanization services among smallholder farmers points to the need for making the machinery available to rural communities through mechanization service providers or machinery hiring centers run by the private sector. The paper concludes by discussing the contextual factors and policy options for promoting smallholder mechanization in Malawi. [EconLit Citations: O33, Q11, Q13, Q16].

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Labour not land constrains agricultural production and food self-sufficiency in maize-based smallholder farming systems in Mozambique

Cited by 43 publications

References 32 publications

Exploring opportunities for rural livelihoods and food security in Central Mozambique

Exploring opportunities for rural livelihoods and food security in Central Mozambique

Irrigation and crop diversification in the 25 de Setembro irrigation scheme, Mozambique

Willingness to pay for agricultural mechanization services by smallholder farmers in Malawi

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