The intensity of adoption of conservation agriculture by smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe

This article assesses the intensity of technology adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) techniques by smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. It seeks to understand the drivers of CA adoption intensity in terms of the number of practices implemented using count data analysis. On average, the farmers in our sample adopt five out of eight possible CA practices while only 7.4% use all eight practices in any one year. Practices such as digging planting basins (81.9%), applying manure (73.2%) and timely post-planting weeding (70.1%) are relatively popular, while adoption of crop rotation (22.8%) is comparatively rare. Productivity is positively correlated to the number of techniques used. Farmers adopting all the CA practices are the most productive, with an estimated maize yield of 2.50 tons/ha, compared with a yield of less than 1 tons/ha for those using three techniques or fewer. Results from a Poisson regression indicate that education, agro-ecology, non-governmental input support and extension support have a significant impact on adoption intensity. Subsidised inputs increase the number of components used, although access to those inputs was uneven across regions of Zimbabwe. Further, the number of CA components used in the previous season positively impacts current season adoption intensity, implying that promotions of CA technologies do have a persistent effect, even after those promotions end.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ragr202016-12-31hb201

Government Assisted And Market- Driven Land Reform: Evaluating Public and Private Land Markets in Redistributing Land in Zimbabwe

Upon independence in 1980, Zimbabwe inherited a dual economy characterized by skewed land ownership and white minority control of land. For a decade following independence, government made headway in redistributing land to the black majority population through state-assisted land reform, but these efforts had substantially stalled by the late 1980s. A joint government-donor initiative in 1998 sought to re-energize Zimbabwe's land reform programme using improved government- and market-assisted approaches) but this initiative by 2000 had become displaced by the Fast Track programme. What is less known is that two other mechanisms - the private land market (deeds transfers), and public leasing of state lands - have also been active in redistributing land. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role and potential of these two mechanisms in future land reform debate. It was found that while government-assisted land resettlement averaged ± 85 000 ha/year over the period 1984-2001, the private land market redistributed between 25 000 and 80 000 ha per year to "black" farmers between 1996 and 1999. Unfortunately, beginning in 2000 with the Fast Track programme, the private land market for both "black" and "white" farmers has collapsed, as have land valuations and mortgage financing. Meanwhile, the public leasing market in the late 1990s accelerated as government began to unload its properties on the public leasing market. Neither process - financial distress in the rural sector or government ownership and leasing of land - provides the foundations for a productive agricultural sector. This paper concludes with concrete recommendations for both public leasing and private land markets that would improve delivery of land to the black majority, both men and women

Government assisted and market-driven land reform : evaluating public and private land markets in redistributing land in Zimbabwe

39 p., Conference pape

Land transaction monitoring and evaluation of public and private land markets in redistributing land to diasadvantaged people, 1980 to 1996 : Scope of Work

6 p

The Intensity of adoption of Conservation agriculture by smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe

This article assesses the intensity of technology adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) techniques by smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. It seeks to understand the drivers of CA adoption intensity in terms of the number of practices implemented using count data analysis. On average, the farmers in our sample adopt five out of eight possible CA practices while only 7.4% use all eight practices in any one year. Practices such as digging planting basins (81.9%), applying manure (73.2%) and timely post-planting weeding (70.1%) are relatively popular, while adoption of crop rotation (22.8%) is comparatively rare. Productivity is positively correlated to the number of techniques used. Farmers adopting all the CA practices are the most productive, with an estimated maize yield of 2.50 tons/ha, compared with a yield of less than 1 tons/ha for those using three techniques or fewer. Results from a Poisson regression indicate that education, agro-ecology, non-governmental input support and extension support have a significant impact on adoption intensity. Subsidised inputs increase the number of components used, although access to those inputs was uneven across regions of Zimbabwe. Further, the number of CA components used in the previous season positively impacts current season adoption intensity, implying that promotions of CA technologies do have a persistent effect, even after those promotions end

Factors Affecting Profitability of Smallholder Vegetable Farmers in the Shiselweni Region, Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland)

Agriculture is the main anchor of the Eswatini economy and profitability in this sector still remains vital for sustainable development of the economy. This study investigated the factors affecting profitability of smallholder vegetable farmers in the Shiselweni region. Primary data was obtained using a structured questionnaire and personal interviews from 60 vegetable farmers. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, enterprise budget, profitability ratios and multiple linear regression models. The SPSS software was used. The results showed that the mean age of the vegetable farmers was found to be 50.5 years, the mean household size was 8 people, mean farming experience was 3 years, mean farm size was 3 hectares and the majority of the farmers had high school education. The net income of smallholder vegetable farmers was E5810.30. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis revealed that land size, gender, household size, had a direct relationship with profitability of vegetable production while age, education, experience, income and labour had a negative relationship. Farmers requested that the subsidized farm inputs should arrive on time, new engines be bought for them and dams be constructed to generate irrigation water in winte