The conundrum of conservation agriculture and livelihoods in Southern Africa

Nkala, Peter; Mango, Nelson; Corbeels, Marc; Veldwisch, Gert Jan; Huising, E.J.

doi:10.5897/ajar10.030

Cited by 11 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…These studies established correlations between adoption of SLM and a range of smallholder farmers' socio-economic characteristics and institutional factors that include age, gender, education, wealth, farming experience, household size, farmer training, membership in local community organizations, and agricultural extension [40][41][42][43][44][45]. The most prevalent institutional factors reported were market access, infrastructure, and land tenure [25,40,46,47].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Awareness and Use of Sustainable Land Management Practices in Smallholder Farming Systems

Bwalya,

Mutandwa,

Chiluba

2023

Sustainability

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Sustainable land management (SLM) practices are often touted as a vehicle for simultaneously increasing agricultural productivity and food security in rural areas. In Eastern Zambia, numerous initiatives such as the Zambia Integrated Forest Landscape Project (ZIFLP) have been implemented. Yet, empirical data suggest relatively low levels of SLM uptake in the smallholder farming sector. Therefore, the broad objective of this study was to estimate the relationship between smallholder farmer awareness of SLM technologies and land allocated to SLM at the farm level. We hypothesized the following: H1: Increased farmer awareness of SLM practices leads to more land allocated to SLM activities in Zambia’s Eastern Province; and H2: Adoption of specific SLM practices influences the extent of land allocated to SLM. Using an intra-household cross-sectional survey, data were collected from 761 randomly selected households from 11 chiefdoms of the Eastern Province. The Heckman selection procedure was used to analyze the study’s overarching hypothesis. Findings showed that farmers were generally conversant with SLM as a construct (>90%), with choices being influenced by gender. Conservation agriculture in the form of crop rotations, use of manure, mixed cropping, tree planting, and minimum tillage methods were the most commonly known SLM technologies among farmers. Findings also indicated that awareness is an important antecedent in the use of SLM practices (χ2 = 76.6, p = 0.00), with greater access to extension being positively associated with farmer awareness (p < 0.05). The land allotted to SLM hinged on crop diversity, ownership of different types of livestock, and access to agricultural extension. These findings suggest that long-term commitments to training farmers in SLM is critical. This will be achieved when there is coherence in the information on SLM being given to farmers by all the actors working in the region.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Awareness and Use of Sustainable Land Management Practices in Smallholder Farming Systems

Bwalya,

Mutandwa,

Chiluba

2023

Sustainability

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“…According to [7], global warming of the atmosphere and oceans, changes in rainfall patterns, and an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events have already been seen. Oceans and seas are becoming more saline and acidic, influencing aquatic species' physiological and behavioral habits as well as productivity, habitats, and migration patterns [8]. The rising sea level, combined with stronger storms, has posed a serious threat to coastal communities and ecosystems [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review between Climate Smart Agriculture Technology Objectives’ Synergies and Tradeoffs

Chavula¹

2021

IJFSA

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Climate variability and extremes are now a part of everyday life around the planet. Climate change has a significant impact on the poor and vulnerable in various parts of the world. Climate variability and change have exacerbated the miseries of the impoverished in various parts of the world, including the well-to-do. As a result, several stakeholders around the world have created and executed climate change adaptation and mitigation programs. These projects and/or programs seek to mitigate the effects of climate change on the environment, specifically on humans. Projects have mostly targeted the least developed countries (LDCs) and disadvantaged households who are affected by climate change variability (smallholder farmers). Farmers in smallholdings have been encouraged to implement these projects on their land. Furthermore, some governments have implemented policies aimed at accomplishing the aims of climate smart agriculture. There are synergies and trade-offs between these actions for accomplishing climate smart agriculture's goals (e.g. rotational grazing system for cattle, agroforestry adoption, integrated-cattle soybean production, and biotechnology promotion has showed higher food production and lower greenhouse gas emission). Lack of interest, inadequate policies, and a scarcity of land for rotation grazing, reduced productivity, and worse financial returns are only a few of the trade-offs of these interventions. As a result, via the development of appropriate strategies and regulations, climate smart agriculture aims to eliminate trade-offs and increase synergies. For higher production and guaranteed sustainability, these policies should attempt to promote synergies in crop production, animal production systems, forests, fisheries, and aquaculture. Climate-smart agriculture is not a brand-new farming method or collection of activities.

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Dynamics of Conservation Agriculture: a societal perspective

Chatterjee

Acharya

2021

Biodivers Conserv

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The conundrum of conservation agriculture and livelihoods in Southern Africa

Cited by 11 publications

References 22 publications

Awareness and Use of Sustainable Land Management Practices in Smallholder Farming Systems

Awareness and Use of Sustainable Land Management Practices in Smallholder Farming Systems

A Review between Climate Smart Agriculture Technology Objectives’ Synergies and Tradeoffs

Dynamics of Conservation Agriculture: a societal perspective

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