Abstract

The adoption of conservation agriculture among small-scale farmers is still low despite the proven economic and environmental benefits of the technology. This study was conducted at Pandamatenga of Chobe District in northern Botswana. The main aim of the study was to determine the factors that influence the adoption of Conservation Agriculture (CA) in the study area. A structured questionnaire was used for the collection of the socio- economic and demographic characteristics of the sampled smallholder rainfed farmers. The socio - economic characteristics of the smallholder rainfed farmers included land holding size (ha), labour availability, livestock possession, education level, and farming experience. Demographic characteristics considered in the study included smallholder rainfed farmers’ age, marital status, gender, and average number of family members in the household. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and the logistic regression model. The results have shown that gender and farm size had a significant influence on smallholder rainfed farmers’ decision to adopt CA technologies in Pandamatenga. Smallholder rainfed farmers had a positive perception and a high level of acceptance of CA technologies that were tried in their area.

Highlights

  • The adoption of conservation agricultural technologies in developing countries including Botswana has attracted considerable attention because it can provide the basis for increasing production and income

  • It indicated that it was not one of the major factors that influenced smallholder rainfed farmers’ as far as decision to adopt Conservation Agriculture (CA) measures in the study area is concerned. This might be because there is a time in life of a farmer, when age would no longer matter as old age implies decreased interest in long term investment in farming

  • Ngombe et al [12] reported that age of household head was statistically significant and it implied that older household heads are often associated with long years of experience in farming

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Summary

Introduction

The adoption of conservation agricultural technologies in developing countries including Botswana has attracted considerable attention because it can provide the basis for increasing production and income. The Government of Botswana has placed high priority on the development of agriculture in Pandamatenga because of the area’s inherent potential to contribute to food security, poverty alleviation and socio – economic growth. Vertisols such as those found in the Pandamatenga region have a high crop

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