ADOPTION OF INTEGRATED SOIL FERTILITY MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES AND ITS EFFECT ON MAIZE PRODUCTIVITY: A CASE OF THE LEGUME BEST BETS PROJECT IN MKANAKHOTI EXTENSION PLANNING AREA OF KASUNGU DISTRICT IN CENTRAL MALAWI

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to identify and analyse determinants that influence adoption and productivity effects of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) technologies in maize-based farming systems in Central Malawi. Data used in the analysis were collected from 200 randomly selected households from Mkanakhoti Extension Planning Area in Kasungu District. A multivariate probit model was used to analyse farmers multiple and joint adoption decisions while the Poisson regression model was used to analyse factors influencing the extent of adoption of ISFM technologies. An endogenous switching regression model was used to estimate the effect of adoption of ISFM technologies on maize productivity whilst accounting for unobservable selection bias. The results show that adoption of some components of ISFM technology package are substitutable while others are complimentary in nature. Significant factors for both adoption and sustainability by smallholders include access to legume seed, access to extension, secure land tenure, group membership and landholding size. For instance, access to extension was positive and significantly correlated with adoption of inorganic fertilizer and maize-legume intercropping while secure land tenure positively and significantly influenced adoption of legume-maize rotation system. Access to market, access to legume seed, and frequency of extension contacts, and household assets, all had positive and significant effect on both adoption and extent of adoption of ISFM technologies. Further, results also indicate that adoption of ISFM technologies had a positive and significant effect on maize yields with 10.52% increase from average among the ISFM adopters while non adopters would have increased their maize yield by16.2% had they adopted the ISFM technologies. The policy implications of the study findings are as follows: (i) Increasing farmers’ access to improved legume seed at affordable prices is critical for both adoption and upscaling of ISFM technologies. (ii) ISFM technology package in maize-based cropping systems that include use of inorganic fertilizer should be promoted together with complementary interventions such as maize-legume intercropping and improved seed. (iii) The need for policies to foster collective action where extension messages that emphasize the complementarities in adoption of ISFM technologies should emphasized. (iv) Promoting access to output markets for grain legumes such as pigeon peas is crucial to incentivise adoption of legume integration in maize-based farming system, and (v) Intensification of ISFM technologies should focus on those farmers with secure land tenure and boost female farmers access to productive resources.