Abstract
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.
Highlights
The rural poor in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) earn their livelihoods mostly from climate-sensitive rainfed agriculture
This often makes economies in the region (SSA) vulnerable to climatic variability and change [3,4,5]. It requires that African governments assist the smallholder farming sector to transform and adapt to the various challenges it faces, including climate variability and change
The principal goal of climate-smart agriculture is identified as food security and development [8,9], while productivity, adaptation, and mitigation are identified as the three interlinked pillars necessary for achieving this goal
Summary
The rural poor in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) earn their livelihoods mostly from climate-sensitive rainfed agriculture Their production is typically limited to a 3–6-month rainy season and crops. Dependence of smallholder farmers in SSA on such climate sensitive, seasonal staple production systems often leads them into multiple-scale poverty traps [2] This often makes economies in the region (SSA) vulnerable to climatic variability and change [3,4,5]. The most commonly used definition is provided by the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), which defines climate-smart agriculture as “agriculture that sustainably increases productivity, enhances resilience (adaptation), reduces/removes greenhouse gases (mitigation) where possible, and enhances achievement of national food security and development goals”. The principal goal of climate-smart agriculture is identified as food security and development [8,9], while productivity, adaptation, and mitigation are identified as the three interlinked pillars necessary for achieving this goal
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