Evaluation of the adoption and impact of improved fallow technologies among selected cotton farmers in Zambia

The adoption of soil fertility improvement strategies through the use of agroforestry practices such as improved tree fallows has been less common in Zambia. Therefore, several studies have been commissioned to investigate factors affecting the uptake of improved fallows. The use of improved fallows on cash crops other than the staple maize has rarely been investigated. In order to increase the relevance of fallows, the adoption and impact of the technology on some cash crops widely grown within the agro-ecological systems of Zambia, where the technology is being promoted needs to be investigated. This study assessed the factors affecting the adoption of improved fallows among cotton farmers in these selected cotton growing provinces of Zambia, and the impact of this adoption on cotton yields and income. The selected provinces included in this study are Eastern, Central, Muchinga, and Southern provinces. This study used a sub sample (n=1206) of the 2014/15 Rural Agricultural Livelihoods Survey (RALS) data which was collected by the Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI) and Central Statistical Office (CSO). The factors of improved tree fallow adoption among the cotton farmers were examined by using the probit model. And the impact of the technology on cotton production and income was studied by using the propensity score matching and the endogenous switching regression models. The propensity score matching mainly served to provide a high quality sub sample of matched groups of adopters and non-adopters of the technology from which the impact was estimated using endogenous switching regression model. The study showed that the major factors that increase the farmer’s likelihood of adopting the improved tree fallows on cotton production include; membership to a cooperative, receiving improved tree fallow seedlings from the government projects and having information on agroforestry trees. An increase in the factors namely age of the household head, education level of the household head, productive assets per capita, area in ha for cotton field and distance to the market were also found to significantly increase the farmer’s likelihood of adopting the improved tree fallows. On the other hand, an increase in land size per capita was found to negatively affect the adoption of improved tree fallows among the cotton farmers. In terms of location, the results showed that farmers in Muchinga province were more likely to adopt the improved tree fallows than the farmers in all the other provinces in the study. Both the propensity score matching and endogenous switching regression estimates showed significant yield and income increases as a result of adopting improved tree fallows. The continuous provision of information on relatively new technologies such as the fallows preferably in farmer organized groups, and support towards the provision of the technology’s planting materials are some of the areas requiring attention. In addition, the study recommends that the farmers’ formal education level should be enhanced and that improved tree fallows should also be explicitly promoted on cash crops that have similar agronomic requirements to maize such as cotton. Keywords: Improved tree fallows, adoption, probit model, propensity score matching, Endogenous switching regression model, Zambia

Grantor dc:publisher

The University of Zambia

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Jama, Nandi

• Cotton production--Zambia

Language dc:language.iso

en

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

http://dspace.unza.zm/handle/123456789/6870

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.unza.zm:123456789/6870