Although there is increasing emphasis on targeting of improved technology towards poor and female farmers, few adoption studies assess the uptake of new practices by these groups in a comprehensive manner. In this study, community members used the wealth ranking method to identify the different wealth groups in their communities, to determine each household’s wealth status, and to assess the association of wealth and different types of households with the planting of improved tree fallows, a practice for improving crop yields. There were no significant differences between the proportions of women and men planting improved fallows nor were there differences between single women and female heads of households who were married. There was some evidence of association between planting improved fallows and wealth. That 22% of the ‘poor’ group and 16% of the ‘very poor’ group were planting them suggests that there are no barriers preventing low-income households from doing so. Moreover, the proportion of females, poor, and very poor people planting improved fallows varied considerably among villages, suggesting that opportunities exist for increasing their use of the technology. Whereas the use of mineral fertilizer is strongly associated with high-income, male farmers, improved fallows appear to be a gender-neutral and wealth-neutral technology. Poor farmers appreciate improved fallows because it permits them to substitute small amounts of land and labour for cash, their most scarce resource. Finally, the high degree of consistency among different key informants in classifying households among wealth groups confirmed the effectiveness and accuracy of the wealth ranking exercise.
Tag: Adoption
Adoption of agroforestry technology: The case of live hedges in the central plateau of Burkina Faso
Off-season farming activities contribute significantly to household income in the central plateau of Burkina Faso. Cattle and small ruminants are also important. The lack of rules regulating animal browsing during the dry season, unlike during the rainy season, has created competition for available land resources among the components of the land use sub-system. This study describes traditional practices utilized to protect home gardens from animals, how these practices have evolved over time and examines factors that affect the adoption of live hedges. Informal and formal surveys were undertaken in the study area in 1993. Five types of traditional method for protecting gardens from animals were identified. A logit model integrating technology profitability as an explanatory variable was used to study farmers’ decision processes to live hedges adoption. The results indicate that water availability and the profitability of the technology itself enhance the probability of adopting live hedges. The results provide an insight into conditions that should be taken into consideration when targeting farmers for this agroforestry technology.
Scaling Technology Adoption for Soil Health: A Focus on Africa
This paper explores the possibilities for collaboration and adoption of existing solutions and technologies to review soil health at scale, build stakeholders’ capabilities, highlight investment-worthy innovation opportunities and provide fresh perspectives at the global forefront of innovations crucial to soil health. Food security and closing yield gaps in Africa – and the contribution of soil health to both outcomes – are the vital concepts whose connections to one another have been analysed in the paper.
Ecosystem-Based Adaption Project PABE – Benin Consolidated Baseline Study
The objective of PABE project is to buffer communities against the effects of climate change by adapting agricultural livelihoods and investing in land stewardship. The project implements key EbA and climate-resilient agricultural interventions in the following seven municipalities of central and north Benin: Dassa, Tchaourou, Djougou, Ouaké, Cobly, Boukoumbé and Banikoara. As part of the overall Monitoring and Evaluation Framework of PABE, this report presents the consolidated baseline study conducted in Benin from September to December 2022 using the multi-year Learning-Oriented Real-Time Impact Assessment (LORTA) approach. the Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU) of the GCF started LORTA programme with the main goal of strengthening the capacities in assessing the impact of GCF intervention. The LORTA uses impact evaluation (IE) techniques to help understanding which activities are working, which are most efficient, and which approaches to scale up. Empirical evidence on impacts of climate-related projects is rather scarce.
Do farmers’ socioeconomic status determine the adoption of conservation agriculture? An empirical evidence from Eastern and Southern Regions of Cameroon
The African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Malabo Declaration recognize agricultural development as one of the most effective means of combating extreme poverty. Conservation Agriculture Practices (CAP) have been asserted to have the potential to boost agricultural output, improve livelihood and contribute to the conservation of natural resources. This study thus seeks to advance knowledge about Conversation Agriculture by assessing the factors determining the adoption and intensity of CAP among Cameroon’s smallholder farmers. Data collected from 351 farmers in the South and East regions of Cameroon were used to study the social, economic, ecological and biophysical factors that determine the adoption of CAP. The study considered agroforestry, intercropping, crop rotation, cover crop, mulching, and zero-tillage as the CAP under investigation. According to the multivariate probit analysis employed, the results showed that gender, age, family size, extension services, use of modern farm technology, distance from house to farm, livestock owned, and infertile soil all significantly influenced CAP adoption. Results on adoption intensity revealed that gender, distance from house to farm, and the number of livestock owned were critical drivers of CAP adoption intensity. Promoting the adoption of CAP, policymakers and concerned stakeholders should consider farmer, institutional, socio-economic, ecological, biophysical aspects as well as relational values. However, already existing extension services need to be improved upon.
Push-pull technology enhances resilience to climate change and prevents land degradation: Perceptions of adopters in western Kenya
Climate change and land degradation adversely affect food security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Smallholder farmers are the most affected. Therefore, it is imperative to identify technologies that boost resilience to climate change, and restore lands. Push-pull technology is among proposed solutions. This technology controls stem borers, fall armyworm, striga, mycotoxins; improves availability of nitrogen and phosphorus, and stores increased carbon in biomass and soils. Though much has been published about push-pull technology, there is a lean in publications about how this technology can help smallholder farmers to cope with climate change and variability. Here, we present perceptions of adopters of push-pull technology in western Kenya with regard to climate change and land degradation, and discuss reasons it should be adopted widely. We compared push-pull and other maize-based cropping systems in western Kenya, through interviews. Push-pull technology produces 0.3–1.1 t more maize ha−1 compared to maize-bean intercrop, and maize monocrop when the season is drier than normal. Additionally, push-pull provides 3.6–9.8 t more fodder during drought-stricken seasons. Push-pull technology covers 70% of the soil surface compared to 20% cover found in maize-bean intercrop and maize monocrop. In push-pull farms, 150–280 kg nitrogen, 13–24 kg phosphorus and 370–470 kg potassium can be recycled through biomass and this is five times greater than the potential for maize-bean intercrop and maize monocrop. There is need for wide adoption of push-pull technology to increase resilience of farmers to climate change and restore degraded lands.
How to increase cookstove adoption? Exploring cost-effective dissemination techniques in Central Mozambique
The adoption and usage of improved cookstoves have been promoted in the Global South to mitigate the adverse effects of relying on solid biomass for cooking. However, the uptake and continued use of improved cookstoves remain low. Several behavioral changing techniques have been used to increase the adoption of improved cooking stoves. Still, the monetary costs involved in the dissemination process are generally neglected, and few studies follow an experimental design to evaluate the impact of different stove dissemination approaches. Thus, we conducted an experiment to explore the cost-effectiveness of dissemination approaches and measure their effect on improved cookstoves adoption in Central Mozambique. Forty communities were randomly assigned to receive one of the following treatments: (1) individual video training, (2) on-site group training or (3) a combination of both. In total, 620 households we randomly selected from the 40 communities to participate in the study and 510 were included in the final analysis. The rates of adoption within each treatment were 53 % for individual video training, 21 % for on-site group training and 47 % for the combination of both. The monetary training costs were lower for individual video training, which stimulated the early and sustained adoption of improved cook stoves. Our findings provide strong evidence that the tool used for capacity building affects the adoption of improved cookstoves. Extension agencies should be aware of cost-effectiveness and adjust dissemination approaches to achieve the highest impact per unit of resource expenditure.
Factors affecting the adoption of climate-smart agriculture technologies in rice farming systems in Mali, West Africa
Rice is a major staple crop in Mali, yet it is very vulnerable to climate change. Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) has been proposed as a solution to simultaneously address the challenges of climate change adaptation, mitigation, and food security. However, there is limited understanding of the factors that influence farmers’ decisions to adopt CSA practices in Malian rice farming systems. This study aimed to identify CSA practices in rice farming systems and determine the factors that drive farmers’ adoption. We conducted interviews with 440 rice producers, 70% of which were women, and organized 16 focus group discussions (FGDs), including nine exclusively for women, in the Sikasso region of Mali. Data was collected through interviews, surveys, and FGDs. We conducted surveys using a questionnaire and the FGDs and interviews followed a standardized guide. Descriptive statistics were used to explore the data, and we analyzed the factors influencing the adoption of CSA technologies using a logistic regression model. The findings showed that crop diversification, improved rice varieties, crop rotation, tree planting, micro-doses of organic manure, and micro-doses of mineral fertilizer were highly adopted CSA practices in the study area. Key barriers to the successful adoption of CSA practices included limited input availability, lack of control over technologies, insufficient labor availability, insufficient availability and high cost of seedlings for reforestation, lack of information on developed technologies, and limited land access for women and youth. The adoption of CSA technologies was significantly influenced by social factors such as respondents’ age, education level, experience in rice production systems, gender, marital status, and membership in a rice producer cooperative. The results of this study are valuable for guiding extension services’ approach and implementation to scaling up the adoption of CSA technologies. These findings also underscore the benefit of policies and programs focused on disseminating rice farming system CSA practices.
Determinants in the Adoption of Conservation Agriculture in Eastern and Southern Cameroon
Giving more attention to the adoption of conservation agricultural practices (CAPs) will help in improving yields to ensure food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, we are prompted to ask questions on the factors determining the adoption and adoption intensity of CAPS among Cameroon’s smallholder farmers. Thus, data collected from 350 farmers in South and East Cameroon were used to study the factors that determine the adoption of CAPs amongst these farmers. The study considered agroforestry, intercropping, crop rotation, cover crop, mulching, and zero-tillage as the CAPs under investigation. The study adopted the multivariate and ordered probit models. According to the multivariate probit analysis, our multivariate probit model results showed that gender, age, family size, extension services, use of modern farm technology, distance from house to farm, livestock owned, and infertile soil all significantly influenced CAP adoption. Results on adoption intensity displayed that gender, distance from house to farm, and the number of livestock owned were critical drivers of CAP adoption intensity. According to this study’s findings, to promote the adoption of CAPs, policymakers and concerned stakeholders should consider farmer, institutional, and biophysical aspects when developing policies. However, already existing extension services need to be improved upon.
A meta-analysis of the adoption of agricultural technology in Sub-Saharan Africa
Both global poverty and hunger have increased in recent years, endangering progress towards accomplishing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1 and 2. The regression has been most pronounced in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Meeting the SDG targets requires achieving resilient farm productivity. Although many farm management technologies exist to improve yields, farmers in SSA largely have not adopted these approaches. A long-standing literature about technology adoption identifies multiple hypotheses as to why farmers may or may not adopt new agricultural technologies, culminating in numerous micro-econometric studies. We analyse a metadata set capturing the findings of 164 published studies specifically focusing on SSA and show that 20 out of 38, or 53%, of the determinants commonly believed to influence technology adoption lack empirical support. Eighteen determinants—primarily related to information access, wealth, group membership and social capital, and land tenure—consistently influence adoption across studies. Wealth remains a significant determinant of fertilizer adoption, despite long-running subsidies in most countries, although it is decoupled from the adoption of improved seeds and alternative crop and nutrient management technologies. We highlight the foundational determinants of adoption and offer guidance to design effective interventions that can decrease poverty and hunger towards 2030.