Adoption of Conservation Agriculture Technologies by Smallholder Farmers in the Shamva District of Zimbabwe: A Tobit application

Brian Chiputwa, Augustine S. Langyintuo and Patrick Wall

No 98851, 2011 Annual Meeting, February 5-8, 2011, Corpus Christi, Texas from Southern Agricultural Economics Association

Abstract: Conventional agricultural practices such as the use of the moldboard plough are no longer sustainable due to their extensive soil degradation effects. As a panacea, several Conservation Agriculture (CA) technologies have been promoted to improve soil structure and water conservation. However, adoption of these technologies has been resisted by smallholder farmers and identifying causes of the low adoption rates to facilitate intervention strategies remains a challenge to development practitioners. Using data from 100 farmers, this paper uses a Tobit application to assess the underlying factors important in determining farmers’ adoption of zero-tillage, crop rotation and contour ridging technologies. Empirical results suggest that adoption and use intensity of each of these technologies is affected by a set of distinct household factors. There is also evidence to show complementarities in adoption and use of these technologies, suggesting the need to tailor awareness and promotional strategies depending on the technology in question and socio-economic background of target farmers.

Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Farm Management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 28
Date: 2010-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr and nep-agr
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:saea11:98851

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.98851

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