Adoption of Small-Scale Irrigation Farming as a Climate-Smart Agriculture Practice and Its Influence on Household Income in the Chinyanja Triangle, Southern Africa
This article is concerned with the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming as a climate-smart agriculture practice and its influence on household income in the Chinyanja Triangle. Chinyanja Triangle is a region that is increasingly experiencing mid-season dry spells and an increase in occurrence...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2018-04-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/7/2/49 |
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| author | Nelson Mango Clifton Makate Lulseged Tamene Powell Mponela Gift Ndengu |
| author_facet | Nelson Mango Clifton Makate Lulseged Tamene Powell Mponela Gift Ndengu |
| author_sort | Nelson Mango |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article is concerned with the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming as a climate-smart agriculture practice and its influence on household income in the Chinyanja Triangle. Chinyanja Triangle is a region that is increasingly experiencing mid-season dry spells and an increase in occurrence of drought, which is attributed largely to climate variability and change. This poses high agricultural production risks, which aggravate poverty and food insecurity. For this region, adoption of small-scale irrigation farming as a climate-smart agriculture practice is very important. Through a binary logistic and ordinary least squares regression, this article determines factors that influence the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming as a climate-smart agriculture practice and its influence on income among smallholder farmers. The results show that off-farm employment, access to irrigation equipment, access to reliable water sources and awareness of water conservation practices, such as rainwater harvesting, have a significant influence on the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming. On the other hand, the farmer’s age, distance travelled to the nearest market and nature of employment negatively influence the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming decisions. Ordinary least squares regression results showed that the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming as a climate-smart agriculture practice has a significant positive influence on agricultural income. We therefore conclude that to empower smallholder farmers to respond quickly to climate variability and change, practices that will enhance the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming in the Chinyanja Triangle are critical, as this will significantly affect agricultural income. In terms of policy, we recommend that the governments of Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, which cover the Chinyanja Triangle, formulate policies that will enhance the adoption of sustainable small scale-irrigation farming as a climate-smart agriculture practice. This will go a long way in mitigating the adverse effects that accompany climate variability and change in the region. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T13:42:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6808cc2d30064a0ba9eca9433b591ce2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T13:42:58Z |
| publishDate | 2018-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-6808cc2d30064a0ba9eca9433b591ce22022-12-22T03:30:47ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2018-04-01724910.3390/land7020049land7020049Adoption of Small-Scale Irrigation Farming as a Climate-Smart Agriculture Practice and Its Influence on Household Income in the Chinyanja Triangle, Southern AfricaNelson Mango0Clifton Makate1Lulseged Tamene2Powell Mponela3Gift Ndengu4International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), P.O. Box MP 228 Mt. Pleasant, Harare, ZimbabweInternational Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), P.O. Box MP 228 Mt. Pleasant, Harare, ZimbabweInternational Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), c/o Chitedze Agricultural Research Station, P.O. Box 158 Lilongwe, MalawiInternational Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), c/o Chitedze Agricultural Research Station, P.O. Box 158 Lilongwe, MalawiInternational Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), c/o Chitedze Agricultural Research Station, P.O. Box 158 Lilongwe, MalawiThis article is concerned with the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming as a climate-smart agriculture practice and its influence on household income in the Chinyanja Triangle. Chinyanja Triangle is a region that is increasingly experiencing mid-season dry spells and an increase in occurrence of drought, which is attributed largely to climate variability and change. This poses high agricultural production risks, which aggravate poverty and food insecurity. For this region, adoption of small-scale irrigation farming as a climate-smart agriculture practice is very important. Through a binary logistic and ordinary least squares regression, this article determines factors that influence the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming as a climate-smart agriculture practice and its influence on income among smallholder farmers. The results show that off-farm employment, access to irrigation equipment, access to reliable water sources and awareness of water conservation practices, such as rainwater harvesting, have a significant influence on the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming. On the other hand, the farmer’s age, distance travelled to the nearest market and nature of employment negatively influence the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming decisions. Ordinary least squares regression results showed that the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming as a climate-smart agriculture practice has a significant positive influence on agricultural income. We therefore conclude that to empower smallholder farmers to respond quickly to climate variability and change, practices that will enhance the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming in the Chinyanja Triangle are critical, as this will significantly affect agricultural income. In terms of policy, we recommend that the governments of Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, which cover the Chinyanja Triangle, formulate policies that will enhance the adoption of sustainable small scale-irrigation farming as a climate-smart agriculture practice. This will go a long way in mitigating the adverse effects that accompany climate variability and change in the region.http://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/7/2/49climate-smart agricultureadoptionsmall-scale irrigation farminghousehold incomeChinyanja TriangleSouthern Africa |
| spellingShingle | Nelson Mango Clifton Makate Lulseged Tamene Powell Mponela Gift Ndengu Adoption of Small-Scale Irrigation Farming as a Climate-Smart Agriculture Practice and Its Influence on Household Income in the Chinyanja Triangle, Southern Africa Land climate-smart agriculture adoption small-scale irrigation farming household income Chinyanja Triangle Southern Africa |
| title | Adoption of Small-Scale Irrigation Farming as a Climate-Smart Agriculture Practice and Its Influence on Household Income in the Chinyanja Triangle, Southern Africa |
| title_full | Adoption of Small-Scale Irrigation Farming as a Climate-Smart Agriculture Practice and Its Influence on Household Income in the Chinyanja Triangle, Southern Africa |
| title_fullStr | Adoption of Small-Scale Irrigation Farming as a Climate-Smart Agriculture Practice and Its Influence on Household Income in the Chinyanja Triangle, Southern Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adoption of Small-Scale Irrigation Farming as a Climate-Smart Agriculture Practice and Its Influence on Household Income in the Chinyanja Triangle, Southern Africa |
| title_short | Adoption of Small-Scale Irrigation Farming as a Climate-Smart Agriculture Practice and Its Influence on Household Income in the Chinyanja Triangle, Southern Africa |
| title_sort | adoption of small scale irrigation farming as a climate smart agriculture practice and its influence on household income in the chinyanja triangle southern africa |
| topic | climate-smart agriculture adoption small-scale irrigation farming household income Chinyanja Triangle Southern Africa |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/7/2/49 |
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