An Evaluation of Financial Implications of Legume Technologies on Smallholder Cereal Farmers in Central Malawi

W. Hoffmann and S. Chanza

No 277337, 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia from International Association of Agricultural Economists

Abstract: Most Malawians directly depend on cereal production. Smallholder farmers in central Malawi are affected by declining soil fertility, especially because of Nitrogen depletion, due to crop harvest removals, soil erosion and leaching. The consequence is declining productivity and food insecurity. Legume intercropping is promoted in the tropics to replenish soil fertility. The importance of legumes include: the potential to improve soil fertility, improve nutrition to humans and income source for the smallholder farmers. This study evaluate the financial implications on smallholder farmers regarding the implementation of BNF (Biological Nitrogen Fixation) and inoculant technologies in current production systems. It focused on specific districts in Malawi: Ntcheu, Dedza, Mchinji, Salima and Kasungu. Gross margins increased for all the crops and all the districts after the adoption of the legume technologies. Intercropping system helps the farmers minimize risk against total crop failure and maximize cultivation per area. This lessens the challenges of small farms to some extent. The results indicate that farmers benefit financially from legume technologies. The gain from the inclusion of legume technology is, however, indicative of the low yield levels before the adoption. The legume technologies can contribute to productive and sustainable agricultural systems for the smallholder farmers in Malawi. Acknowledgement : We would like to acknowledge the Kellogs Foundation for financial support and the N2Africa project for information shared.

Keywords: Crop; Production/Industries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-dev
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:iaae18:277337

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.277337

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