Files
Abstract
Where land is an extremely limiting factor, production is increased through intensive
cultivation with two or more crops in a year. We found that 82 per cent of the operating crop
land is under 2 or more crops. Soil fertility depletion is one of the main biophysical limiting
factors for sustaining per capita food production for smallholder farmers in this system. The
adoption of conservation agricultural practices, as a way to tackle this challenge, has become
an important issue in the development policy agenda for smallholder agriculture. This paper
examines the adoption decisions for conservation tillage, using recent primary data collected
from 606 farming households practising diverse cropping systems in three different districts
where on-farm participatory trials were being carried out. The paper employs classical tests to
identify variations in adoption and yield between participatory and non-participatory farmers
as well as variation between cropping patterns and locations. A double hurdle model was
employed to explain the factors influencing adoption decisions by farm households. The
analysis reveals that several factors contribute to probability and intensity of adoption.
Diversities exist between locations, cropping systems, and seasons. Policies that target
conservation as a measure of sustainable agriculture must consider diversities for wider
diffusion of technology.