Abstract
To the majority of Zimbabweans, agriculture is a strong option for spurring growth, overcoming poverty, and enhancing food security. More than 90% of Zimbabwes rural populace depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Improving the productivity, profitability and sustainability of smallholder farming is therefore the main pathway out of poverty in using agriculture for development (WDR, 2008). The adoption of new technologies by the rural communities world over has been found to increase rural livelihoods and food quality. In rural Masvingo many technologies have been adopted in agricultural production, but the major question has remained, has this improved the welfare or it has been inadequately utilized and wrongly applied to an extent that no gain in welfare has been recorded? To estimate the impact of technological adoption on household welfare in Masvingo cross-sectional data of 2010 in 560 randomly selected households who responded to the questionnaire was utilised. Using propensity score matching (PSM) we found out that households that adopted new technologies had high consumption expenditures and agricultural income hence technology improves household welfare in Masvingo province.
Highlights
To the majority of Zimbabweans, agriculture is a strong option for spurring growth, overcoming poverty, and enhancing food security
This paper aims to contribute to the literature by providing a micro perspective on the impact of agricultural technology in rural Masvingo households
Assessing the impact of household technology adoption can assist with setting priorities, providing feedback to the government mechanisation programs, guiding government policy makers and those involved in technology transfer to have a better understanding how technological adoption help in reducing poverty in rural farming communities
Summary
To the majority of Zimbabweans, agriculture is a strong option for spurring growth, overcoming poverty, and enhancing food security. Agricultural growth and development is not possible without yield-enhancing technological options because merely increasing the number of individuals on the area under cultivation through land reform to meet the increasing food needs of growing populations is not sufficient. Agricultural technologies can help reduce poverty and improve household welfare through direct and indirect effects (Moyo et al 2007). There has been a longstanding interest in evaluating the impact of improved technologies on food security, poverty and welfare of rural communities of Masvingo. Assessing the impact of household technology adoption can assist with setting priorities, providing feedback to the government mechanisation programs, guiding government policy makers and those involved in technology transfer to have a better understanding how technological adoption help in reducing poverty in rural farming communities. Agriculture in Masvingo is mainly intensive farming the success of it relies on maximum land utilisation which requires improved seed varieties, fertilizers and mechanisation
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