Determinants of adoption of bundled sustainable agriculture practices among small-scale maize farmers in Mvomero and Kilosa districts, Tanzania
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Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Journal of Economic Review
Abstract
The study, using data set from the adoption pathway survey and utility maximization theory
examined the determinants of adoption of bundled sustainable agriculture practices (SAPs)
among smallholder maize farmers in Tanzania. The SAPs considered include crop rotation,
intercropping, manure, improved seeds, and crop residual. Using the Multivariate probit
model, data collected from 470 farming households from Kilosa and Mvomero districts
through a multi-stage sampling procedure were analyzed. Before data analysis, validity and
reliability tests were performed and deemed satisfactory. The empirical results show that
age, gender, family size, education level, farm size, livestock ownership, access to extension
services, production shocks, and distance from the market had a significant impact on the
adoption of multiple SAPs. In addition, the results show that six pairwise correlation
coefficients among SAPs were statistically significant, implying that smallholder maize
farmers adopt SAPs concurrently. These findings implore policymakers and agricultural
development organizations to take these significant factors into account when planning,
advocating for, and supporting the adoption of multiple SAPs. Furthermore, the
simultaneous adoption of SAPs necessitates that each of the practices be viewed as a package
that contributes to the expansion of farmer’s options and the maximization of synergistic
effects between them. Thus, agricultural policymakers should focus on enhancing
smallholder farmers’ household characteristics by reviewing agriculture policies with the
inclusion of extension services to come up with a package that is tailored to the perceived
actual needs of farming households and designing farm management usage programme
based on the farmer’s household characteristics.
Description
Journal article
Keywords
Sustainable agriculture practices, Multiple adoptions, multi-variate probit model, Utility theory, Tanzania