scholarly journals Sustainable Land Management Practices and Technical and Environmental Efficiency among Smallholder Farmers in Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gazali Issahaku ◽  
Awudu Abdulai
Keyword(s):  
Land Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Environmental Efficiency ◽  
Sustainable Land Management ◽  
Stochastic Production Frontier ◽  
Access To Credit ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Level Data

AbstractThe study examines the effects of adoption of sustainable land management practices on farm households’ technical efficiency (TE) and environmental efficiency, using household-level data from Ghana. We employ selectivity biased-corrected stochastic production frontier to account for potential bias from both observed and unobserved factors. The empirical results show that adopters exhibit higher levels of TE and output, compared with the nonadopters. However, the results reveal that adopters are found to use excess herbicides that could have adverse environmental consequences. The results also reveal that extension services and access to credit positively and significantly correlate with TE.

scholarly journals Does Information Acquisition Influence the Adoption of Sustainable Land Management Practices? Evidence From Mpumalanga Province South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluwaseun Samuel Oduniyi ◽  
Sibongile Sylvia Tekana
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Information Acquisition ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Sustainable Land Management ◽  
Bivariate Probit ◽  
Mpumalanga Province

Agricultural information plays a vital role in adopting agricultural technology. The study explored if information acquisition is related to the adoption of sustainable land management practices (SLMP) and jointly decided in Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. Primary data were collected through face-to-face interviews, using a proportionate random sampling technique to get 250 smallholder farmers to participate in the survey. A seemingly unrelated bivariate probit (SUBP) model and a recursive bivariate probit (RBP) model were adopted to examine the objective. The statistical estimation of the SUBP showed that there is a relationship, an empirical association between information acquisition and SLMP; while RBP estimation showed that information acquisition was exogenous in the adoption model; thus, the decision to acquire information and adopt SLMP was not jointly decided. Therefore, the study presents the determinants of information acquisition alongside with the adoption of SLPM. The result from the SUBP model, indicated that the years spent in school; agricultural extension service; the number of extension visits and the years of farming, influenced both information acquisition and the adoption of SLMP. The cost attached positively influenced the adoption of SLMP; while gender, marital status and age only influenced the information acquisition.

scholarly journals Droughts and floods in Malawi: impacts on crop production and the performance of sustainable land management practices under weather extremes

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy McCarthy ◽  
Talip Kilic ◽  
Josh Brubaker ◽  
Siobhan Murray ◽  
Alejandro de la Fuente
Keyword(s):  
Land Management ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Sustainable Land Management ◽  
Weather Extremes ◽  
Floods And Droughts ◽  
Production Losses

Abstract Climate change is predicted to increase the frequency of extreme weather events, increasing the vulnerability of smallholder farmers dependent on rain-fed agriculture. We evaluate the extent to which farmers in Malawi suffer crop production losses due to extreme weather, and whether sustainable land management (SLM) practices help shield crop production losses from extreme events. We use a three period panel dataset where widespread floods and droughts occurred in separate periods, offering a unique opportunity to evaluate impacts using data collected immediately following these events. Results show that crop production outcomes were severely hit by both floods and droughts, with average losses ranging between 32–48 per cent. Legume intercropping provided protection against both floods and droughts, while green belts provided protection against floods. However, we find limited evidence that SLM adoption decisions are driven by exposure to weather shocks; rather, farmers with more productive assets are more likely to adopt.

scholarly journals Impacts of Socio-Psychological Factors on Actual Adoption of Sustainable Land Management Practices in Dryland and Water Stressed Areas

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 2963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Woldegebrial Zeweld ◽  
Guido Van Huylenbroeck ◽  
Girmay Tesfay ◽  
Hossein Azadi ◽  
Stijn Speelman
Keyword(s):  
Land Management ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Probit Model ◽  
Ordered Probit ◽  
Risk Attitudes ◽  
Relational Capital ◽  
Sustainable Land Management

Despite the presence of several studies on technology adoption, there are limited empirical studies on how socio-psychological factors affect the adoption of sustainable agriculture. Therefore, this paper investigates how socio-psychological factors-such as social capital, information, attitudes, efficacy, and aversion-affect smallholder farmers’ decisions to adopt sustainable land management practices, such as agroforestry systems, organic compost, and crop rotation with legumes. Cross-sectional data are collected from 350 randomly selected farm households using a pre-tested and structured questionnaire. A multivariate probit model is used to investigate factors that influence the probability of adopting these practices. The ordered probit model is also applied to identify and analyze the determinants of the number (intensity) of land management practices adopted. The findings indicate that nearly half of the farmers have adopted these land management practices to improve soil fertility, enhance water retention capacity, and increase productivity. It is also found that attitudes, information, education, group membership, relational capital, risk attitudes, and labor supply significantly affect the probability of adopting these agricultural practices. The estimates of the ordered probit model also indicate that extension services, risk attitudes, group membership, relational capital, education and labor supply are major determinants of the number of land management practices used. However, financial resources, biophysical factors and some demographic factors are found to have an insignificant effect on sustainable agriculture adoption. This implies that when it is necessary to promote sustainable land management practices and to stimulate smallholder farmers to adopt such practices in isolation or combination, specific strategies should be designed to improve awareness, build positive attitudes, reduce risk aversion, strengthen formal organizations, and empower endogenous groups (or informal institutions).

scholarly journals Exploring Drivers of Livelihood Diversification and Its Effect on Adoption of Sustainable Land Management Practices in the Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Misganaw Teshager Abeje ◽  
Atsushi Tsunekawa ◽  
Enyew Adgo ◽  
Nigussie Haregeweyn ◽  
Zerihun Nigussie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Probit Model ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Livelihood Strategies ◽  
Livelihood Diversification ◽  
Sustainable Land Management ◽  
Extension Services ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Adoption Intensity

Land degradation poses a major threat to agricultural production and food security in Ethiopia, and sustainable land management (SLM) is key in dealing with its adverse impacts. This paper examines the covariates that shape rural livelihood diversification and examines their effects on the intensity of adoption of SLM practices. Household-level data were collected in 2017 from 270 households in three drought-prone watersheds located in northwestern Ethiopia. We used the Herfindahl–Simpson diversity index to explore the extent of livelihood diversification. A stochastic dominance ordering was also employed to identify remunerative livelihood activities. A multivariate probit model was employed to estimate the probability of choosing simultaneous livelihood strategies, and an ordered probit model was estimated to examine the effect of livelihood diversification on the adoption intensity of SLM practices. In addition to mixed cropping and livestock production, the production of emerging cash crops (e.g., Acacia decurrens for charcoal, and khat) dominated the overall income generation of the majority of farmers. Stress/shock experience, extent of agricultural intensification, and agro-ecology significantly affected the probability of choosing certain livelihood strategies. Livelihood diversification at the household level was significantly associated with the dependency ratio, market distance, credit access, extension services, membership in community organizations, level of income, and livestock ownership. A greater extent of livelihood diversification had a significant negative effect on adopting a greater number of SLM practices, whereas it had a positive effect on lower SLM adoption intensity. Overall, we found evidence that having greater livelihood diversification could prompt households not to adopt more SLM practices. Livelihood initiatives that focus on increasing shock resilience, access to financial support mechanisms, improving livestock production, and providing quality extension services, while also considering agro-ecological differences, are needed. In addition, development planners should take into account the livelihood portfolios of rural households when trying to implement SLM policies and programs.

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