Factors Affecting the Adoption and Intensity Cultivation of High Value Crops: A case study of Agricultural Research Council's HVC Programme in the OR Tambo District.

Abstract

This study investigates factors influencing adoption and intensity cultivation of high value crops (HVC) in the OR Tambo district municipality. HVC programme is a collaborative effort between Agricultural Research Council and Is'Baya Development Trust. A multistage sampling procedure was employed and 151 respondents were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire in 3 local municipalities. A double hurdle model was used to separately assess the factors influencing adoption as well as intensity. The results of the probit regression (first hurdle) revealed that household characteristics such as gender, household size, off-farm income, employment status and access to water for irrigation are key influencers to adoption of HVC cultivation. The truncated regression (second hurdle) indicated that gender is also significant at intensity cultivation of HVC's along with land size and market participation. The study recommends that an increased effort to help households fully participate in the formal markets will be beneficial and will significantly improve food security and household incomes. Also, installing taps in and around the villages will allow households to irrigate regularly to meet the quantity and quality of produce needed to penetrate formal markets. Key words: Adoption, Intensity, High Value Crops, Double-hurdle model, Food security