Small-scale Vegetable Farmers Research Articles

Socioeconomic determinants of modern climate change adaptation of small-scale vegetable farmers in Bohlabela District, Mpumalanga Province

Climate change significantly impacts small-scale agriculture, with limited adaptation capabilities due to lack of access to advanced science and technology. Traditional methods are ideal, but modern adaptations require significant financial investment, affecting the smallholder under-resourced agricultural sector's economic activities. The study analyzed climate change adaptation drivers among small-scale vegetable farmers, using a representative sample of 244 farmers from four villages through face-to-face interviews and semi-structured questionnaires. Using the Logistic regression model, the results showed resources (extension services), institutional (association membership) and societal influence (farm produce theft, and animal trespassing in the farming plots) to be associated with the use of modern climate change adaptation measures in the study area. The study recommends expanding extension services, strengthening community policing, creating community grazing guidelines, and training farmers on climate change causes, social cohesion, and mitigation strategies to address farm produce theft and animal trespassing. The study contributes new knowledge to the discourse of climate change adaptation by providing empirical evidence pointing out the need to consider critical non-climate factors for farmers when making climate change adaptations interventions in the smallholder farming sector.

The Pull and Push Factors of Farm Income Diversification among Fluted Pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis Hook) Farmers in Akwa Ibom State, Southern Nigeria

The study examines the magnitude and factors influencing agricultural income diversification among small-scale fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis) farmers in Akwa Ibom State in the south-south region of Nigeria. The required information was collected from Telfairia farmers using a structured questionnaire. A regression analysis tool was used to analyse the specific objective. The finding revealed an average farm income diversification index of 2.29 suggesting that agricultural income diversification among small-scale Telfairia farmers is high and disturbing. The empirical results revealed that farmers' household size, hired labour, and educational qualification are the major “push factors” of agricultural income diversification. In contrast, “the pull factors” are farmers' age, extension visit, membership in a social group, land size, the quantity of fertilizer and manure, and household labour. To intensify farm income earnings among small-scale vegetable farmers, it is recommended that the government should encourage child spacing and family planning among fluted pumpkin farmers as these would reduce the household size and family burden always carried along with agricultural expenditures. Providing input subsidies to small-scale vegetable farmers is important to cushion the adverse effect of increased production costs. Agricultural extension services should be strengthened to render more effective services to vegetable farmers. The formation of social groups should be encouraged, primarily through cooperative farming. The government of Akwa Ibom State should set up tractor hiring centres in all the local government areas; these would help reduce the hard time vegetable farmers encounter hiring labour.

The Role of Private and Public Agricultural Sector Advisory Service Institutions in Linking Small-Scale Vegetable Farmers to Contract Farming

One of the fundamental challenges facing the South African government is expanding the smallholder farmer sector as part of its broader job creation strategy to ensure support services for productive activity on land once it is transferred to beneficiaries. There is insufficient information in the literature about the predisposition of private and public advisory services and the types of investments needed in extension services, which might improve small-scale vegetable farmers' productivity and participation in the supply chain. Qualitative methods were used to collect data from 55 small-scale vegetable farmers, 15 government extension officers and 16 agribusiness firm informants from Amathole District Municipality and Sarah Baartman (formerly Cacadu) District Municipality in Eastern Cape, South Africa. The respondents were selected using a non-purposive sampling technique, and data were collected using self-administered interviews and focus group discussions. The data were analysed using thematic content analysis. The findings indicate that even though the government has increased the budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector over the last two decades, these resources are skewed. Moreover, in most instances, the distribution favours a politically connected minority. Agribusinesses were found to focus more on capturing agricultural value chains by prioritising the production of high-value crops at the expense of small-scale farmers' livelihoods while failing to provide support services. It is recommended that both private and public advisory services should tailor support services provided to small-scale farmers based on the needs of the type of market targeted by these farmers.

Does Charco-Dam Technology Affect Production Efficiencies? Evidence from Small-Scale Vegetable Farmers in Nzega District, Tanzania

Abstract Water for irrigation is an essential and primary factor influencing crop productivity. However, there is limited information on how availability of irrigation water guarantees efficient use of inputs in farm production, especially for the rainwater harvesting technologies managed at household level. This study employed survey method to collect data from 528 small scale vegetable farmers, randomly selected from 5 wards and 5 villages, among the farmers 220 were adopters of Charco-Dam Technology (CDT) and 308 were non-adopters. Technical Efficiency Model was used to estimate production efficiencies of 528 small-scale vegetable producers, and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) Approach employed to evaluate the influence of adopting charco-dam technology on the production efficiencies of these farmers located in Nzega district, Tanzania. Results from the analysis present the essential intuitions about adoption of CDT and its effects on production efficiencies. It was observed that there was inefficient use of inputs (land-size, labour, quantity of improved seeds, amount of chemical used and amount of fertilizer used) among small-scale vegetable producers in the study area. The inefficiency was basically observed to be caused by household-size, cost of farm labour as well as growing cabbages and scarlet-eggplants. It is further observed that, farming experience, number of farm workers and radio listening behaviour reduced technical inefficiency (i.e., improve technical efficiency). Further analysis using PSM method, found that the adopters of charco-dam technology in the study area significantly increased the efficient use of inputs as compared to non-adopters, and hence realised high yields. This study recommends that, technologies like charco-dam should be encouraged, especially to small-scale farmers in arid and semi-arid areas. Furthermore, experienced farmers should share expertise on the use of inputs, with other less experienced farmers. In line with this, the role of agricultural information on improvement of production efficiency should not be undermined in improving efficient use of inputs. Hence, programmes and intervention that focus on encouraging farmers to listen to radio programmes related to agriculture, particularly those covering specific crop and location, are recommended.

Tarping Cover Crops Facilitates Organic No-till Cabbage Production and Suppresses Weeds

Small-scale vegetable farmers are interested in cover crops and reduced tillage, but scale-appropriate technology and equipment are necessary to expand these practices to the growing segment of small farms. We sought to determine the efficacy of tarps, an increasingly popular tool on small farms, to end overwintering cover crops and provide weed suppression for subsequent no-till cabbage production. In three fields over two seasons in Maine, we grew a winter rye (Secale cereale L.) and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa L.) cover crop, which we managed by a factorial combination of tillage (no-till, till) and tarping (tarp, no-tarp) in June, followed by a transplanted cabbage crop (Brassica oleracea L. var. Capitata) in July. Within each treatment, subplots were either weeded by hand or left unweeded. Cover crop biomass ranged from 2.8 to 4.5 Mg⋅ha−1. Mean cabbage weights in the novel no-till system (no-till/tarp) were greater than (year 1) or equal to (year 2) those in tillage-based systems (till/no-tarp and till/tarp). In year 1, the mean cabbage weight in weeded subplots was 48% greater in no-till/tarp than in till/no-tarp systems. In unweeded subplots, this difference was 270%, highlighting the efficacy of the no-till/tarp system to reduce the impact of weeds. In year 2, weed biomass was higher with all treatments than it was in year 1, and unweeded subplots failed to produce marketable heads (i.e., >300 g). The mean cabbage weight in weeded subplots was equal among no-till/tarp, till/tarp, and till/no-tarp systems. Tarping had a strong effect on weed biomass and weed community composition measured at the time of cabbage harvest in unweeded subplots. In year 1, weed biomass at the time of cabbage harvest with tarp treatments was less than half that with no-tarp treatments. Tarps effectively facilitated the cover crop mulch-based no-till system. We propose that this system is an adaptive strategy for farmers affected by climate change. However, both cover crop production and tarping shorten the growing season. We discuss tradeoffs and opportunity costs using the metric of growing degree days.

Pesticide residue levels in surface water, using a passive sampler and in the sediment along the littoral zone of Lake Ziway at selected sites

Diaion® HP-20 resin passive samplers deployed in water and sediment samples collected from Lake Ziway were analyzed for 30 organochlorine, organophosphorus, carboxamide, and pyrethroid pesticide residues. The samples were collected from purposely selected sampling stations in five sites on Lake Ziway. Levels of selected pesticides were determined by GC–MS/MS in all samples. p,p′DDE and boscalid residues were the only detected pesticides in sediment samples. Similarly, only metalaxyl and boscalid residues were recovered from HP-20 resins. The concentration of p,p′DDE and boscalid in sediment ranged from 0.66–7.23 and 0.1–15.26 ng g−1 dry weight respectively. The presence of p,p′DDE but no other metabolites of DDT in all sediment samples indicated that DDT residues in Ziway Lake were aged and probably originated from the weathered agricultural soils of the surrounding region. The highest level of boscalid was recorded at Site 2 (near the floriculture enterprises) both in sediment and in HP-20 resins with a mean concentration of 11.8 ng g−1 dw and 39.6 ng g−1 disk respectively. However, the concertation of metalaxyl was the highest in the HP-20 resins deployed at Site1 and Site 4 (near the intensive small-scale vegetable farm) with a mean concentration of 54.7 ng g−1 disk and 54.3 ng g−1 disk respectively. Generally, most sampling sites of p,p′DDE were found to have a moderate ecological risk based on levels specified in the sediment quality standards. Moreover, the relatively high boscalid and metalaxyl levels in HP-20 deployed in Lake Ziway would be the result of recent intensive pesticide use by floriculture enterprises and small-scale vegetable farmers in the region. A spatial variation on the accumulation of detected pesticides among the sampling sites depends on the anthropogenic activities, around the lake from the point and non-point sources. Although most of the analyzed pesticides were below the detectable limit, further studies and continued monitoring of currently used pesticide residues in the Lake are highly recommended.

Developing agriculture value chain inclusive for small-scale vegetable farmers in the highland of Bedugul, Bali

As a major global tourist destination, the demand for a large variety of fresh produce in Bali has developed following the country of origins of tourists and their eating habits. The varieties of fresh produce demanded by hotels and restaurants have increased since the 1970s. More than 100 types of vegetables (leafy and fruity vegetables, tubers, roots, shoots, immature flowers) and herbs are produced in the highland of Bedugul, Bali. As the market competition increases, the small-scale vegetable farmers have to be more value-oriented, efficient, and effective in production and postharvest handling. How is the competitiveness of the evolving value chain to meet the dynamic needs of institutional consumers and retail modern markets? Therefore, the aims of the study were to assess the competitiveness of the vegetables value chains and develop a model design of value chain inclusive for small scale farmers for improvement. This study was carried out through surveys and focus group discussions (FGD) involving actors in production and distribution channels. It was found that there were five groups of distribution channels,and most of them are less value-oriented. However, the emerging integrated value chains are shown, mainly to which derive from the institutional consumers (hotels and restaurants) and modern markets. A designed alternative model of value chain system inclusive for small-scale farmers has been developed, especially with the end on institutional consumers and modern markets.

The Agonies of Covid 19 on Vegetable Farmers Along the White Volta River Basin in the Upper East Region of Ghana

The emergence of COVID 19 coupled with the enforcement of its safety protocols, coincided with the peak of harvesting and saleof perishable vegetables in the 2020 dry season farming period in the Upper East Region of Ghana.Using a qualitative approach, this study investigates the effects of the pandemic on vegetable farmers along the White Volta River Basin in the Region. The findings are that there weredisrupted supply and demand in the production-consumption chain resulting in low sales; a shortage of hired labor; and high stigmatization. Farmers had few alternatives other than to leave their food stuff to rot on the farm, use the produce to feed livestock, or smuggleof the produce across borders. The implications are that the COVID 19 pandemic compounded the susceptibility of small-scale vegetable farmers in the region. Their resilience and household income levels are adversely affected.

The role of urban vegetable production in Jos (Nigeria) as a source of livelihood

Many cities of developing countries experience widespread poverty due to accelerated migration of people from rural to urban areas as well as high population growth rates. The city of Jos in Plateau State is experiencing rapid population growth as well, with the attendant problems of food insecurity, insufficient income, unemployment and environmental degradation. This study assessed the role that urban vegetable production plays in providing a source of livelihood to small-scale farmers in Jos. The farmers were registered with the third Fadama Project in Nigeria. Such projects derive their name from the native Hausa word ‘fadama’ which means irrigable lands on flood-prone and low-lying plains. Forty percent (40%) of urban vegetable farmers were randomly selected to have a sample size of 94 participants. A mixed method approach was used and this involved questionnaire-administered interviews. The primary data obtained were transcribed and subjected to ANOVA and t-test analysis. From the results obtained, most of the vegetables farm plots are located predominantly in the southern part of the study area. Results indicated that vegetable farming is playing an important role in providing 84% part-time and 5% full-time employment opportunities as well as reducing food insecurity among the study participants. In addition, most farmers achieved an income of more than the minimum wage of ₦30, 000 (US$ 72. 24) as approved by the Nigerian Government. The results also showed that lack of credit facilities, seasonal variations and the high cost of farm inputs and equipment are the most serious problems faced by participants. Other challenges associated with small-scale urban farming entailed the negative environmental impacts that may lead to the decline of environmental quality, thus undermining long term sustainability. Furthermore, there were no statistically significant differences among participants in terms of the relationship between the type of vegetables they produce, incomes generated, environmental impacts and their demographical attributes. These attributes are the age, gender, marital status, and educational background of participants. Based on these findings, and the socio-economic importance of vegetable farming in this study area, governments and financial institutions should establish better policies in order to solve the problems faced by small-scale vegetable farmers in urban areas.

Small-scale Farmer Pesticide Knowledge and Practice and Impacts on the Environment and Human Health in Ethiopia.

Background.Inappropriate use and application of pesticides in Ethiopia pose a major threat to the health of farmers and the environment.Objective.The present study aimed to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices of small-scale vegetable farmers towards the use of pesticides in Ethiopia along the Lake Ziway watershed.Methods.This was a cross-sectional study involving a total of 210 farmers randomly selected during a period of pesticide application from a purposively selected village located in the immediate vicinity of Lake Ziway, Ethiopia. Data were generated through structured in-depth interviews and on-site observations on farms. A Chi-square test was applied to evaluate whether the collected data and their probable associations were significant.Results.World Health Organization (WHO) class II pesticides (moderately toxic) were the most frequently used pesticides in the study area. There was no reported use of WHO classes 1a and 1b and banned or restricted pesticides such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and endosulfan. Most (92%) farmers reported indiscriminately disposing of empty containers in the field, while 86.7% applied the leftover pesticides to other crops. More than 90% of small-scale farmers did not use any personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling pesticides. About 95% of farmers had poor knowledge regarding pesticides. A significant association (p < 0.001) was observed between the knowledge of farmers and their practices related to pesticides.Conclusions.Generally, the knowledge of small-scale farmers on pesticides was poor. Moreover, the inappropriate disposal of pesticides and pesticide containers poses a risk to the environment. The findings of the present study underline the need to train farmers concerning the safe and proper use of pesticides to mitigate hazards to human health and the environment.Participant Consent.ObtainedEthics Approval.The study was granted an exemption from requiring ethics approval from the Hawassa University College of Natural and Computational Science, Research and Review Committee.Competing Interests.The authors declare no competing financial interests.

CONSTRAINTS OF ORGANIC FARMING TECHNOLOGY AMONG SMALL- SCALE VEGETABLE FARMERS IN SOUTH-SOUTH ZONE OF NIGERIA

The survey examined constraints of organic farming technologies among small-scale vegetable farmers in South-South zone of Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select the study location and respondents. Data were collected from 480 small-scale organic vegetable farmers using structured questionnaire. Data obtained was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results revealed that majority (93.00%) of organic fluted pumpkin farmers were challenged with inadequate finance, 92.80% were faced with shortage of organic materials, 86.10% with poor awareness, 72.40% faced poor market access and slightly more than half (51.10%) were constrained with poor willingness to pay for the material. It was concluded that the most serious constraints to organic fluted pumpkin production in the study area were inadequate finance, shortage of organic materials, poor awareness, poor market and poor willingness to pay for the material. The study therefore, recommended that cheap loans should be granted to organic fluted pumpkin farmers by the cooperative societies and bank of Agriculture (BOA) through adequate Government policy interventions to allow improvement in their productivity, profit, and ensure enterprise sustainability.

Efficiency of Small-scale Irrigation Farmers in Northern Ghana: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach

This study measures and explains technical efficiency (TE), economic efficiency and allocative efficiency of 110 small-scale vegetable farmers practicing various irrigation technologies for increased productivity. We employed the two-stage approach to estimate efficiency scores under constant returns to scale (CRS) and variable returns to scale (VRS) specifications. First, using a linear programming method, efficiency scores of the irrigated vegetable farmers were measured using the data envelopment analysis approach. The results show that about 27.3 per cent of the farmers currently operate on the production possibility frontier and are technically efficient, while 3.6 per cent were found to be both economically and allocatively efficient. The mean TE score for CRS was 50.6 per cent, compared with 78.1 per cent under the VRS. A Tobit regression at the second-stage analysis revealed that gender, experience, health and credit utilization have significant effects on TE. These results are valuable for stakeholders interested in promoting efficiency in smallholder irrigated production. JEL Classification: C14, C61, D24, D61, Q12

Risk management strategies adopted by small-scale vegetable farmers in Thaba Chweu Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province in South Africa

Agriculture is one of the sectors considered to be an extremely risky business. This has led to many farmers adopting different risk management strategies in order to deal with the prevailing risks. The objectives of the study were to identify the types of risk and risk management strategies; and to determine the level of risk management strategies adopted by small-scale vegetable farmers in Thaba Chweu Local Municipality. Descriptive statistics and the adoption index were employed to address these objectives. Purposive and snowball sampling procedures were used to select 40 small-scale vegetable farmers in Thaba Chweu Local Municipality. The study identified pest attacks and unfavorable weather conditions as the major risks faced by small scale vegetable farmers in the study area. Furthermore, the study revealed that majority of these farmers use pesticides, forward contracts and crop rotation as the risk management strategies.

Contractual agriculture: better partnerships between small farmers and the business sector in the sultanate of Oman

This study aims to elicit the preferences of Omani small-scale vegetable farmers towards contracting with different emerging and other potential business partners along with other contract terms. To accomplish this, a discrete choice experiment was adopted to elicit farmers' preferences towards different contract models. The choice data was analyzed using both latent classes as well as mixed logit models and as a result, three classes were found to best capture the preferences. Class 1 represents 45% of the respondents who are more likely to adopt the “multipartite contract” model. This segment is characterized by a high education level, older age, and smaller family size. The second class represents 31% of the sample and tends to adopt an “informal contract” model. This group has a low experience, larger farm size, and own their private land. The last class represents 23% of the observations and is in favour of the “centralized contract” model. The main characteristics of this class are the low education level, older age, and medium income. Realizing the farmers’ preferences and their characteristics are certainly important in improving farmers’ participation in the vegetables’ market and gearing the policies towards food security.

Characteristics and attitudes of small-scale vegetable farmers in Chile

ABSTRACT: An adequate supply of fresh, high quality and accessible vegetables is essential for a healthy food system. In Latin America, these are mostly produced by smallholder farmers. The objective of this research was to characterize the productive and commercial development of small-scale vegetable growers and to further understand and explain their attitudes on their business. A total of 335 farmers in Central Chile area were surveyed. The data was processed using descriptive and multivariate techniques. Results showed that farmers have a positive self-assessment of their technical performance, production quality and the contribution of farming to their household income. They express uncertainty about the future, as well as some disappointment with the prices they receive for their produce and their access to public support programs. There are significant differences between farmers within the sample; however, which allow two distinct clusters to be identified: “conformist” (69.05%) and “critical” (30.95%). These results suggested that these small-scale vegetable growers have certain generalizable attitudes and other divergent. The differences in attitudes coincide with differences in objective characteristics, including age, education, farm size and technology.

Vegetable Farming Practices in Cambodia: Case study of Small-scale Vegetable Farmers in Kandal, Kampong Chhnang and Battambang Provinces

Vegetable Farming Practices in Cambodia: Case study of Small-scale Vegetable Farmers in Kandal, Kampong Chhnang and Battambang Provinces

Drivers of Adoption of Integrated Pest Management among Small-scale Vegetable Farmers in Lubumbashi, DR Congo

Integrated Pest Management techniques (IPM) have been promoted last decade throughout a large Urban and Periurban Horticulture project (UPH) for a sustainable vegetable production in Congolese cities. However, the drivers of adoption of IPM techniques have not been either studied or identified. Data collected between April and June 2016 throughout field survey from 246 vegetable farmers were analyzed using a logistic regression model to determine the factors influencing the adoption of IPM techniques among vegetable farmers. Results showed that there were no significant differences between gender and the willingness to use IPM (p>0.05). However, a high portion of female (46.6%) reported that they would like to test new IPM techniques without any hesitation. Membership to a farmer’s group (Association) and previous agricultural training influenced positively and significantly the IPM adoption (p= 0.000) and increased highly the probability of adopting IPM respectively 4.2 and 7.7 times. Further, results also highlighted that farmers who previously perceived negative effects of pesticides were likely 5.2 times predisposed (p<0.05) to adopt alternative methods of pest control. Findings will allow an increased understanding of the process of IPM adoption and will help provide policy guidance to promote IPM diffusion with a purpose of reducing pesticide issues among farmers.

AGRIBUSINESS CHALLENGES TO EFFECTIVENESS OF CONTRACT FARMING IN COMMERCIALIZATION OF SMALL-SCALE VEGETABLE FARMERS IN EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA

The study investigated the key factors that influ- ence small-scale vegetable farmers’ participation in contract farming arrangements. A sample of 70 small-scale vegetable farmers and 15 key informants of agribusiness firms involved in contract farming production of vegetables were selected in Amathole and Sarah Baartman (formerly Cacadu) district municipalities in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were chosen as data collection tools to identify the factors that influence small-scale vegetable farmers’ participation in contract farm- ing arrangements with agribusiness firms. The data was ana- lyzed using open multi-stage coding with an inductive frame- work approach. Atlas.ti was used to sort and organize data. The findings indicated availability of farm assets, hydrologi- cal conditions, farming skills and distance of producer to the markets as key determinants of contract farming participation. The use of unmarketable cultivars, inappropriate agricultural practices and inconsistent supply in quality and quantity of vegetables were found to be bottlenecks to contract participa- tion. The study recommends a more meaningful state support and incentives for agribusiness firms; otherwise, growth of small-scale farmers in contract farming is unlikely because of the financial implications for private sector companies.

Challenges of contract farming among small-scale commercial vegetable farmers in Eastern Cape South Africa

This research investigated the effectiveness of contract farming in commercialisation of small-scale vegetable farmers. The broad objectives of the study were to investigate the agri-business challenges inherent in contract farming and the government incentives required by agribusiness firms to engage small-scale vegetable farmers in contract farming programmes. A sample of 47 small-scale farmers and 15 agribusiness firms involved in contract farming production of vegetables were selected in Sarah Baartman district municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were chosen as data collection tools to identify the agribusiness challenges inherent in contract farming relationships between the parties. Findings from the study revealed that the contract farming environment in the area surveyed was highly polarised and characterised by a fundamental conflict of interest between agribusiness and farmers. Among the divergent key factors inhibiting contract farming engagement were a lack in terms of quality seeds, trust, entrepreneurial skills and formal contract agreements. The study recommends a collaborative partnership between private firms and government, with state support through revised policies and development programmes. These amendments are crucial to enhancing the engagement of small-scale vegetable farmers in lucrative agri-food chains.Keywords: agribusiness, commercialisation, contract farming, small-scale farmers

Investigating tarps to facilitate organic no-till cabbage production with high-residue cover crops

AbstractHigh-residue cover crops can facilitate organic no-till vegetable production when cover crop biomass production is sufficient to suppress weeds (&gt;8000 kg ha−1), and cash crop growth is not limited by soil temperature, nutrient availability, or cover crop regrowth. In cool climates, however, both cover crop biomass production and soil temperature can be limiting for organic no-till. In addition, successful termination of cover crops can be a challenge, particularly when cover crops are grown as mixtures. We tested whether reusable plastic tarps, an increasingly popular tool for small-scale vegetable farmers, could be used to augment organic no-till cover crop termination and weed suppression. We no-till transplanted cabbage into a winter rye (Secale cereale L.)-hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) cover crop mulch that was terminated with either a roller-crimper alone or a roller-crimper plus black or clear tarps. Tarps were applied for durations of 2, 4 and 5 weeks. Across tarp durations, black tarps increased the mean cabbage head weight by 58% compared with the no tarp treatment. This was likely due to a combination of improved weed suppression and nutrient availability. Although soil nutrients and biological activity were not directly measured, remaining cover crop mulch in the black tarp treatments was reduced by more than 1100 kg ha−1 when tarps were removed compared with clear and no tarp treatments. We interpret this as an indirect measurement of biological activity perhaps accelerated by lower daily soil temperature fluctuations and more constant volumetric water content under black tarps. The edges of both tarp types were held down, rather than buried, but moisture losses from the clear tarps were greater and this may have affected the efficacy of clear tarps. Plastic tarps effectively killed the vetch cover crop, whereas it readily regrew in the crimped but uncovered plots. However, emergence of large and smooth crabgrass (Digitaria spp.) appeared to be enhanced in the clear tarp treatment. Although this experiment was limited to a single site-year in New Hampshire, it shows that use of black tarps can overcome some of the obstacles to implementing cover crop-based no-till vegetable productions in northern climates.