An Evaluation of Mechanisms for Adopting Climate Smart Agriculture to Ensure Sustainable Livelihoods in Zimbabwe

EasyChair Preprint 9357

Abstract

Agriculture remains the main livelihood in sub-Saharan Africa where climate variability and change continue to impact negatively on food security. This study evaluated prevailing mechanisms within the agriculture sector that influence the adoption of Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) to ensure sustainable livelihoods in Zimbabwe. The paper applied information gathered from 266 households through questionnaire surveys, interviews with key informants, and observations. Participants were selected using convenience sampling, based on geographical proximity, accessibility, availability at a given time, and willingness to participate while interview respondents were chosen purposively based on their experience and knowledge of delivering extension services. The questionnaire focussed on CSA mechanisms, and locally-specific factors that have a bearing on the adoption of CSA. Respondents were expected to indicate from a dichotomous "yes or no” to a given set of CSA mechanisms. Locally-specific factors that were evaluated included socio-economic, environmental, climatic, technical, and institutional. Descriptive statistics were applied to summarize locally-specific factors that were examined in contrast with CSA adoption mechanisms. An overwhelming majority of respondents (93%) indicated "yes" to practicing mixed farming. Smallholder farmers pointed out that they benefit from look-and-learn field tours and experimental learning practices that are communicated in their vernacular language. Rural-urban migration was highlighted as the main factor that reduces the labour force in rural communities and invariably reduces agricultural productivity. The study underscored the significance of understanding mechanisms for adopting CSA to improve resilience in rural and urban communities. It is envisaged that the results will contribute to the information bank for stakeholders and researchers who seek to undertake further research on sustainable livelihoods.

Keyphrases: Agricultural, Climate Smart Agriculture, Livelihoods, Productivity, Vulnerability

@booklet{EasyChair:9357,
  author    = {William Muzorewa and Munyaradzi Chitakira},
  title     = {An Evaluation of Mechanisms for Adopting Climate Smart Agriculture to Ensure Sustainable Livelihoods in Zimbabwe},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 9357},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2022}}