The role of knowledge,attitudes and perceptions in the uptake of agricultural and agroforestry innovations among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa

Despite the great potential of agricultural innovations, the uptake by smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa seems to be slow. We reviewed existing theories and frameworks for the uptake of agricultural innovations and found that these tend to emphasize the role of extrinsic factors such as the characteristics of the adopter and the external environment in the decision-making process. In this paper, we argue that intrinsic factors such as the knowledge, perceptions and attitudes of the potential adopter towards the innovation play a key role, but this has been less studied. We present an analytical framework that combines both extrinsic and intrinsic factors in farmers' decisions to adopt new agricultural technologies and apply the framework to agroforestry adoption as a case study. We review the literature on agroforestry adoption in sub-Saharan Africa and identify the extrinsic and intrinsic variables affecting the uptake of agroforestry technologies. We conclude that the uptake of agricultural technologies is a complex process influenced by both extrinsic and intrinsic variables, and recommend that future studies aiming to understand the adoption process of agricultural innovations take into account both sets of variables. A mechanistic understanding of how intrinsic and extrinsic factors interact and drive adoption can help in targeting technologies appropriately to ensure sustainability.     

Understanding and facilitating sustainable agricultural practice: A comprehensive analysis of adoption behaviour among Malaysian paddy farmers

With the increased stress on sustainability and food security, in addition, the need toward halting environmental deprivation has focused attention on Individual farmers subjectively perceive the attributes of SAP and their subsequent benefits. Qualifying this knowledge is important, but past efforts have largely been unsystematic. This research paradigm purpose is to observe the influence of Malaysian paddy farmer’s adoption intention towards sustainable agriculture.This systematic study assesses the structure of perceived Awareness of sustainable agricultural practices. A convenient sampling technique was used to select the sample. A total of 132 questionnaires was distributed to Malaysian Paddy farmers, around the Malaysian state which was used for data analysis. The result from the structural analysis suggests that the results of confirmatory factor analysis indicate that the most robust. Moreover, technology-aided communication described as moderates the relationships between Attitude, subjective Norm, Perceived behavioral control and intention.Overall, findings of this study extend the understanding, to link noneconomic benefits to profitability to the attribute of relative advantage. Our work represents a guide to assist change agents to evaluate farmer perceptions at different locations systematically. This structured method will help effectively to design and promote sustainable agriculture and other green agricultural innovations. Discussions and implications for Malaysian paddy farmers, limitations, and suggestions for future research are also delivered in the line of this research study.     

Determinants of climate change adaptation strategies and its impact on the net farm income of rice farmers in south-west Nigeria

A multivariate probit (MVP) model was used to analyse the determinants of strategies adopted for adapting to climate change in a sample of smallholder rice farmers in south-west Nigeria. An efficient endogenous switching regression model (ESRM) was used to estimate the impact of climate change adaptation strategy on the net income of rice farmers. The MVP results show that the socio-economic factors, the institutional factors, and locational variables of some households statistically influenced the choice of climate change adaptation strategies employed. Complementarities among all the adaptation strategies used by the farmers were revealed by the positive pair-wise correlation matrix of the MVP model. The study also indicated that farmers affected by prolonged drought and incidences of flood were more likely to adopt adaptation strategies on their farmlands. The ESRM treatment effect indicated that the average net income per rice farm of those who adopted the strategies was significantly higher than that of those who did not. Thus, the government, stakeholders, and donor agencies must provide capacity-building innovations related to agricultural extension systems and climate change education through information and communication technologies. This investment in education is essential for development and would encourage farmers to adopt appropriate climate change adaptation strategies.     

What carbon farming activities are farmers likely to adopt? A best–worst scaling survey

Transferring carbon from the atmosphere into terrestrial sinks through carbon sequestration practices (so-called ‘carbon farming’) has been proposed as an important component in Australia’s efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. We use a Best–worst scaling survey to determine which carbon sequestration practices farmers would be most and least likely to adopt, and what factors were most important in any potential adoption decision. The survey was distributed to dryland cropping and mixed crop-livestock farmers in Western Australia. Farmers ranked improved soil quality and reduced soil erosion as the most important potential co-benefits of carbon farming. Factors discouraging farmers from participating in carbon farming contracts were policy and carbon price uncertainty and the uncertain impact of carbon farming practices on productivity and profitability. Farmers had strong preferences for stubble retention and no-till cropping practices as carbon farming strategies. The practices that farmers preferred least were applying biochar and planting trees. Farm and farmer characteristics, including (lack of) awareness of carbon farming policies and opinions about climate change, influence the potential willingness to adopt different carbon farming practices. Given recent policy uncertainty and farmer preferences revealed in this study, it is important to communicate potential co-benefits (rather than opportunities to earn compensation or carbon credits) to increase farmers’ engagement in carbon sequestration activities.     

Gender and agricultural productivity: implications of the Farm Input Subsidy Program in Malawi

Alleviating gender differences in agricultural productivity is vital for poverty reduction. While numerous studies suggest that gender differences in agricultural productivity are a result of female farmers having limited access to resources, few studies investigate the role of agricultural interventions in alleviating the constraints to input use and subsequently the gender gap in productivity. This study investigates whether there are gendered gains in agricultural productivity from participating in an input subsidy program and if these gains help reduce the gender gap. Using nationally representative data that is disaggregated at the plot level, this study analyzes the large‐scale voucher‐based Farm Input Subsidy Program in Malawi. Focusing on the total value of output per hectare, relationships are identified using weighted estimators, where the weights are constructed from propensity scores, and spatial fixed effects, to address the unobservable factors that may confound the relationship between program participation and productivity. The findings suggest that participation in the program improves agricultural productivity for both male and female farmers but it does not provide disproportionate help to female famers to overcome gender disparities in agricultural productivity. This suggests that female farmers face additional constraints to productivity apart from nonlabor input use.     

Key socio-economic factors influencing sustainable land management investments in the West Usambara Highlands,Tanzania

Low investments in sustainable land management (SLM) limit agricultural production in the East African Highlands, leading to increased soil erosion, low productivity of land and food insecurity. Recent studies in the region show that different socio-economic factors influence SLM investments by farmers, but knowledge on which of these are most influential and how to foster SLM is often lacking. This research fills this gap for the West Usambara Highlands, and determines key socio-economic factors influencing investments in SLM. Data for this research was collected from 196 randomly selected farm households in the Lushoto district, and Factor Analysis was used to reveal patterns of correlation between SLM investments and different household characteristics. Among the eight socioeconomic factors generated by Factor Analysis, four key factors were found to significantly influence SLM investments in upland (mainly rain-fed) agricultural fields: (1) the farmer’s access to support services; (2) the farmer’s experience with collaborative land management; (3) the household’s income from crop sales; and (4) the farmer’s forward driven attitude. The study concludes that a strategy to foster and scale-up SLM in the West Usambara Highlands should therefore improve the access of farmers to support services (especially micro-credits), trigger collaborative efforts in land management (e.g., farmer-to-farmer training) and promote investments in the rural area to create an enabling environment for SLM. A more active role of the Government, together with public and private sector partners, is therefore crucial.     

乡村旅游地农户亲环境行为采纳意愿及影响因素分析——以测土配方施肥为例

[目的]面对日益突出的农业面源污染及耕地质量下降问题,乡村旅游地的地域生态优势对于国家推进生态文明建设具有重要意义,积极引导农户采用亲环境行为已成为实现农业可持续发展的内在需求。[方法]文章基于江西省婺源县317份调研数据,采用多元线性回归模型,以农户采纳测土配方施肥亲环境行为的意愿作为研究主体,并分析意愿的影响因素。[结果](1)农户对测土配方施肥采纳意愿较高。(2)农户个体特征中农户年龄;家庭禀赋中家庭总人口变量;认知特征中推行必要性、风险认知、技术认知变量;社会网络中种植大户、乡村精英及合作社变量;外部环境因素中政府技术支持、市场价格及游客交流均对农户测土配方施肥采纳意愿有显著影响。[结论]应积极推动乡村旅游地农民专业合作社发展,对农户进行技能培训,积极培育年轻一代农户对提高农户亲环境行为采纳意愿具有重要意义。     

Technology adoption under seed access constraints and the economic impacts of improved pigeonpea varieties in Tanzania

Dry‐land legumes, well adapted to drought‐prone areas, have largely been neglected in the past despite the good opportunities they offer for income growth and food (and nutritional) security for the poor. This study evaluated the adoption and impact of two farmer and market‐preferred and disease‐resistant pigeonpea varieties that were developed and promoted in semi‐arid Tanzania. The new varieties were resistant to fusarium wilt, a fungal disease devastating the crop. However, farmers wanting to adopt new varieties did not adopt due to seed access constraints and under‐developed seed delivery systems. Adoption of new varieties is therefore analyzed using an augmented double hurdle model that allows estimating variety adoption conditional on seed access thresholds accounting for the additional information on sample separation. The study identifies the crucial role of seed access (local supply), extension, education, participatory decision making, capital, and household assets in determining adoption. The social economic benefits of the technology and policies for improved seed access were further analyzed using the extended economic surplus method (DREAM model). Even under restrictive assumptions, overall discounted benefits were found to be quite attractive, indicating the need for additional efforts to scale‐up the success story. Analysis of changes in research benefits from relaxing the seed access constraint showed that net gains would increase by up to 30% if farmer access to improved seeds can be assured. Smallholder farmers are the major beneficiaries along with consumers and rural net‐buyers who gain from productivity‐induced lower market prices.     

可行能力视角下农户参与农地整理规划的意愿与影响检验——基于安徽寿县4个典型镇的实证分析

[目的]提升农户参与的意愿与探寻有效参与机制。[方法]文章以安徽省寿县4个典型镇的147户农户与4个项目为调查对象,从农户的可行能力视角出发,运用Logistic模型研究农户参与农地整理规划意愿的驱动因素,运用ArcGIS10.0的空间分析功能检验农户参与对规划的影响。[结果]非农业收入比例、农地整理政策了解度、排灌沟渠布局、田间道路密度及公众参与机制等5类因素有显著推动作用;对规划的影响表现在较大程度优化了规划方案,提高了农地生产率等,但耕作田块扩大效应不显著、排灌沟渠存在空间集聚现象、偏好生产路建设及轻视田间林网工程建设等弊端制约了农业规模化经营、忽视规划全局性与环境效应等。[结论]可通过强化农地整理政策宣传力度、完善引导农户式的公众参与机制及基于农户可行能力视角构建农地整理规划效果的衡量尺度以提升农户参与的意愿与探寻有效参与机制。     

Enhancing farmers’ capacity for botanical pesticide innovation through video-mediated learning in Bangladesh

Despite the general success of farmer-capacity-building methods such as Farmer Field School in promoting pest management innovations, only those farmers directly involved benefit. How can agricultural extension enable farmer-to-farmer learning about botanical pesticides beyond such schools? We wanted to know how different learning methods, such as video shows and workshops, change farmers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices about botanical pesticides. This paper explains how video engages men and women farmers in spreading botanical pesticides across 12 villages in Bogra District, north-western Bangladesh. We conducted ex ante and ex post surveys among farmers from November 2009 to September 2010. For data analysis, we used t-test and McNemer and Wilcoxon sign rank tests. Our findings suggest that video improves the ability of both male and female farmers to communicate about pest management among themselves and with other stakeholders, as ‘intricate ethno-agricultural practices’. Video-mediated learning sessions are more effective than conventional workshop training in enhancing farmers’ knowledge about botanical pesticides, changing their attitude and finally taking a decision to adopt these methods. In other words, video is capable of communicating complex issues such as the biological and physical processes that underlie pest management innovations. From our case, we conclude that agricultural extension is more effective with the use of facilitated video learning and that this process clarifies complex agro-ecological principles, bias and normative perceptions of the learners. Also, video-mediated learning is not only transferable across villages, but also works well in combination with other media, such as radio, television and mobile phones.     

浅析国家自然科学基金申报立项经验和对策建议 ——以2010～2017年中国农业科学院植物保护研究所获资助项目情况为例

[目的]探寻农户参与农地整治项目规划设计阶段的参与程度及其影响因素,以期为促进农户有效参与农地整治项目规划设计提供借鉴.[方法]文章通过构建农户和地方政府的完全信息动态合作博弈模型,基于有序Probit模型,对农地整治项目规划设计阶段的农户参与度及其影响因素进行分析.[结果]户主年龄、户主受教育水平在<0.05的水平上是显著的,且回归系数为正;农业收入占家庭总收入的比重、家庭人均耕地面积、地块面积以及地块数量等4个因素中仅有农业收入占家庭总收入的比重表现出对参与意愿的显著影响,以1%的显著性水平通过检验,且回归系数为正;农户对已实施农地整治项目的满意程度对农户参与程度具有正向影响,其影响程度在1%的显著水平上是显著的,说明农户对已实施农地整治项目的满意程度会显著影响农户的参与程度;农村是否成立农村合作组织和地方政府部门鼓励农户参与农地整治项目的程度等因素对农户的参与意愿具有显著的正向影响, 2个因素均以1%的显著水平通过检验,说明成立农村合作组织能有效促进农户参与规划设计阶段的程度.[结论]农户参与农地整治规划设计阶段的参与程度普遍较低,主要与户主年龄、户主受教育程度、农业收入占家庭总收入、农户对已实施农地整治项目的满意程度、村庄是否成立农民合作组织以及地方政府部门是否鼓励农户参与农地整治项目等因素呈显著正相关关系.     

Understanding the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies among smallholder farmers: Evidence from land reform beneficiaries in South Africa

Climatic change has a negative impact on people’s livelihoods, agriculture, freshwater supply and other natural resources that are important for human survival. Therefore, understanding how rural smallholder farmers perceive climate change, climate variability, and factors that influence their choices would facilitate a better understanding of how these farmers adapt to the negative impacts of climate change. A Zero-inflated double hurdle model was employed to estimate the factors influencing farmers’ adoption of adaptation strategies and intensity of adoption at the household level in South Africa. Different socioeconomic factors such as gender, age, and experience in crop farming, institutional factors like access to extension services, and access to climate change information significantly influenced the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies among beneficiaries of land reform in South Africa. Concerning intensity of adoption, age, educational level, farming experience, on-farm training, off-farm income, access to information through ICT and locational variables are the significant determinants of intensity of adaptation strategies. Thus, education attainment, non-farm employment, farming experience are significant incentives to enhance smallholder farmers' adaptive capacity through the adoption of many adaptation approaches. This study therefore concluded that farm-level policy efforts that aim to improve rural development should focus on farmers’ education, on-farm demonstration and non-farm employment opportunities that seek to engage the farmers, particularly during the off-cropping season. The income from non-farm employment can be plough-back into farm operations such as the adoption of soil and water conservation, use of improved planting varieties, insurance, among others to mitigate climate variability and subsequently increase productivity. Policies and investment strategies of the government should be geared towards supporting education, providing on-farm demonstration trainings, and disseminating information about climate change adaptation strategies, particularly for smallholder farmers in the country. Thus, the government, stakeholders, and donor agencies must provide capacity-building innovations around the agricultural extension system and education on climate change using information and communication technologies.     

农地禀赋、行为能力对农户经营收入的影响

基于广东省部分农户的问卷调查数据,采用有序多分类Logistic模型,实证分析农户农地禀赋、处置能力、交易能力对其农业经营收入的影响,结果显示,农户所在村庄地形地势、承包耕地的面积、肥力与交通条件、农户家庭务农人数、参加农业培训次数、技术服务满意度、雇工人数与农机设备价值、农户家庭在村级事务中发挥作用程度、运销加工服务能力等对其经营收入有显著正向影响;农户承包耕地的块数对其经营收入有显著负向影响;而农户耕地灌溉条件、农户间相互帮助、农资购买服务、农业生产服务以及农户是否加入合作组织对其经营收入的影响未能通过显著性检验。为此,要增加农户经营收入,应建立健全农地流转机制,推进农地有序流转,引导农户实现适度规模经营;同时,要继续加大对农业基础设施的投入力度,不断提高农业技术服务水平,增强农产品加工能力,并持续强化农业中介服务能力。     

Smallholders download and share videos from the Internet to learn about sustainable agriculture

Of 1,211 farmers and their representatives registered on www.accessagriculture.org, 142 participated in an on-line survey in November 2017, designed to learn farmer’s opinions of Access Agriculture, an NGO which hosts a digital platform where anyone can watch or download videos and other information for free. These farmer learning videos all convey practical information on sustainable agricultural innovations, to encourage farmer experiments. Previous experience showed that smallholders liked having their own copy of videos (e.g. on DVD), but this study showed that farmers are now starting to find their own way to the internet to pro-actively search for information. Although some farmers learn about on-line videos by social contacts, most of the farmers found the videos on www.accessagriculture.org by surfing the web. This suggests that limitations of reaching farmers with traditional forms of video distribution (e.g. DVDs and village screenings) will be partly overcome by the Internet. Youth have become the new information brokers for communities, as elders may lack the digital technology skills needed to use the Internet to get agricultural information. To share videos with other community members, youth will benefit from additional tools, such as an app, to allow easy download and sharing with limited data consumption.     

Do farmers really like farming? Indian farmers in transition

Few studies of agrarian transition examine what farmers themselves feel about farming. Are they cultivating out of choice or a lack of options? What distinguishes farmers who like farming from those who do not: their personal/household characteristics and endowments? The local ecology and regional economy? Or a mix of these and other factors? Understanding farmer satisfaction is important not only for assessing citizen wellbeing but also for agricultural productivity, since occupational satisfaction can affect a farmer’s incentive to invest and reveal production constraints. Using a unique all-India data-set which asked farmers, ‘Do you like farming?’ this paper provides answers and policy pointers, contributing a little-studied dimension to debates on the smallholder’s future and subjective wellbeing.     

A stall-feeding management for improved cattle in semiarid central Tanzania: factors influencing adoption

This study's objectives were to determine factors influencing smallholder farmers' adoption of a stall-feeding management system for improved dairy cattle in semiarid Tanzania and other related technology packages, Heckman's two-stage procedure was used to determine factors influencing participation in the project and the adoption of recommended management practices. Stall-feeding technology is Jocularly attractive to those households with fewer resources particularly those that are female headed. Wealthier farmers, as measured by area of land cultivated, are less likely to adopt the stall-feeding technology. Household labour is found to be important in determining the degree to Which the technology and associated management practices were adopted. Age of the household head has a positive impact on the size of the Intensive feed gardens. Different measures of extension-related contact are significant in influencing the potential lor adopting stall-fed technology, the number of stall-fed cattle kept, the probability of growing water melons, and the size of intensive feed gardens. The implications are that research and extension messages with reference to the stall-feeding management system need to be targeted to specific types of households (e.g., female farmers, those with children to provide labor, and limited resource farms). This supports the notion that technology development and dissemination need to be sensitive not only to the characteristics of the biophysical environment but also to the socioeconomic environment, which is often neglected. The study also demonstrates that in the poorer parts of the world where land is very limited, a strategy for improving ecological sustainability can be linked closely to one for increasing agricultural productivity.     

农户安全农产品生产意识研究——以海南省为例

近几年来,各种农用药剂的超标、违规使用,成为农产品质量安全问题的根源。本文基于对海南省649户冬季瓜菜种植农户的一手调研数据,建立结构方程模型（SEM）,对农户的农产品安全生产意识及其若干影响因素进行了实证分析。研究结果表明农户禀赋和政府服务与规制是影响衣户安全农产品生产意识的主要原因,两者不仅直接影响衣户的安全衣产品生产意识,更可以通过间接影响农户已有的用药习惯和农户认知产生进一步的作用。同时,农户认知和衣户已有的用药习惯作为影响农户安全生产意识的第三和第四大因素,不仅不仅受到农户禀赋的影响,也受到政府服务与规制的制约。进一步完善政府的服务与规制是提高农户安全生产意识的重要途径。     

河南农民收入的影响因素分析及增收策略研究

河南省作为我国的农业大省,农业人口数量在全省占有相当大的比重,河南省农民的收入水平在一定程度上影响着河南省的整体收入水平,所以增加河南省农民的收入对河南省的整体经济水平有着提升性的作用,但目前河南省农民的收入水平在全国处于较低的水平。文章就河南省农民增收影响因素进行分析,对河南省农民人均纯收入及增长百分比进行统计和计算,并将其与经济较为发达的省份相比较,发现河南省农民收入增长不稳定,且与经济发达地区差距较大。对河南省农民收入构成进行剖析得知,影响河南省农民收入增长的因素主要是家庭经营性收入、工资性收入、财产性收入和转移性收入。并针对这些影响因素提出了完善农村基础设施建设、加快适销对路农产品的生产、促进农业产业化经营、加强对农民的科学素养教育、加强乡镇企业吸纳农民就业、农业发展公司化等一系列有助于河南省农民增收的策略。     

玉米秸秆还田的受偿意愿分析——基于河北、山东两省的农户调查数据

秸秆还田作为目前秸秆资源化利用的主要方式之一,它有增加土壤有机质、改善土壤质量、提升作物产量等作用,同时还有保护生态环境、减少农业面源污染等功效。但秸秆还田所带来的成本增加,在某种程度上影响了农户秸秆还田的积极性,因此,给予农户一定补贴等激励措施势在必行。文章以玉米秸秆还田为例,基于河北、山东两省的农户调查数据,分析两个地区农户玉米秸秆的利用状况,在此基础上研究农户秸秆直接还田受偿意愿的影响因素。结果表明,农户受访者年龄、秸秆还田是否增加成本、秸秆还田增加的费用是否由政府承担、秸秆焚烧查处力度是否强、与秸秆不还田相比秸秆还田增加的费用这5个因素对农户秸秆还田受偿意愿有着显著的正向影响,而受访者是否是村干部和秸秆还田是否改善土壤质量这两个因素对农户秸秆还田受偿意愿有着显著的负向影响。     

农民专业合作社农户合作意愿分析 —基于杨凌现代农业示范园的实证研究

通过对杨凌示范区现代农业示范园42家农民专业合作社的实地调研,运用二元Logistic模型对调研数据开展分析,从农户个体特征、农户心理特征、合作社特征和政府公共服务等探究影响农民合作意愿的主要因素。结果显示,农民的合作意愿主要源于现代农业发展的需要,尤其是面临现代农业经营中难题时,农户更迫切需求合作组织的帮助。同时发现地方政府对农民的合作意愿影响很大。基于这些实证研究,提出了一些政策建议。