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Determinants of conservation agriculture adoption among Zambian smallholder farmers 2016

Executive Summary

Conservation Agriculture (CA) has been actively promoted actively since the early 1990s  among Zambian smallholder farmers as a practice that helps improve crop productivity,  improve soil fertility, and mitigate against low and/or variable rainfall. However, nationwide  survey data show that adoption rates by Zambian smallholder farmers have remained low, while dis-adoption is widespread despite years of promotion. Several empirical studies have investigated the determinants of adoption, dis-adoption, and non-adoption of CA with the focus being on human capital assets, farm assets, institutional factors, risks and economic factors, and climatic conditions. However, a household’s decision to adopt CA and any other farm practice is influenced not only by these factors but may largely be driven by household social, cultural and traditional beliefs that are normally difficult to capture in household surveys. Differences in culture may explain differences in perceptions, approaches towards adoption, and diffusion of new technologies. This study attempts to further explore the relationship between household beliefs, community endowments and services, and CA adoption in Zambia.