Unpacking the Determinants of Climate-Smart Agriculture Adoption by Smallholder Farmers in Ward 10, Zvimba District, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Zimbabwe is hard-hit by the negative effects of climate change. To employ Climate-smart agriculture in the smallholder farming sector, which bears the bulk of the country’s population, is the way to go. Based on Zvimba Ward 10 setting, the article analyses the factors influencing the adoption of CSA technologies. Using mixed methods, we collected quantitative and qualitative data from smallholder farmers using questionnaires and focus group discussions. Additional data was drawn from key informant interviews and field observation methods. A binary Logistic regression model was used to analyse the factors which influence the utilisation of CSA technologies. The use of drought-tolerant crops (20%), conservation agriculture (14%), planting of small grains (9%) and agroforestry (8%) are the major adopted technologies. They are mostly practiced on below 1 ha of land and for less than 5 years. Binary Logistic regression analysis showed that the adoption of CSA technologies was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) influenced by the club membership, gender of the head of household and land size. The barriers to adoption in the study area are the high cost of inputs, inadequate knowledge of CSA, inadequate agricultural inputs, lack of access to credit, lack of capital, unreliable rainfall, and water scarcity for irrigation, labour shortages, weak extension services and lack of government support. The study recommends a holistic approach that blends conventional climate education with indigenous knowledge by various agencies to address the factors which hinder the successful adoption of CSA technologies.