Abstract
Conservation agriculture technologies are promoted in sub-Saharan Africa to conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase farmer household well-being and crop yields, and achieve food security. However, conservation agriculture adoption rates by smallholder farmers in this region remain relatively slow. This paper examines the factors influencing adoption of two important conservation agriculture components in Lesotho—minimum soil disturbance and crop residue retention—and the effects these technologies have on input demand, maize (Zea mays L.) production, and farm profit of farmers. Using survey data of 432 households, we find that adoption of these practices is related to a number of household, farm, and farmer characteristics, and ongoing extension efforts in the surveyed region. Farmers were not responsive to maize prices or fertilizer costs, suggesting that input allocation decisions for maize production may not be oriented towards short-term profit maximization objectives. Further research focusing on the influence of nongovernment organizations (NGOs), the provision of fertilizers by groups promoting conservation agriculture in the region, and the use of in-kind labor exchange among farmer working groups, government extension services, and nongovernment efforts promoting minimal tillage crop residue retention adoption in Lesotho is warranted to understand the interface between prices, input allocation, and the incentives that would sustain the long-term adoption of these soil conservation practices by smallholder farmers.
- © 2016 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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