449
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
B. R. Singh et al. (eds.), Climate Impacts on Agricultural and Natural Resource
Sustainability in Africa, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37537-9_26
Determinants of ISFM Technology
Adoption and Disadoption Among
Smallholder Maize Farmers in Central
Malawi
Joseph S. Kanyamuka, Charles B. L. Jumbe, Jacob Ricker-Gilbert,
Abdi- Khalil Edriss, and Wezi G. Mhango
Abstract This paper sought to address the following key research question: what
drives some smallholder farmers to adopt integrated soil fertility management
(ISFM) practices in a changing climate while others drop out? Data used in this
study were collected from 200 farming households during the 2015/2016 agricultural season in Kasungu District of Central Malawi. This paper applied multivariate
probit and bivariate probit model, respectively, to analyse the joint adoption and
disadoption decisions regarding ISFM technologies and/or practices. Significant
factors for both adoption and continued use of ISFM practices include access to
legume seed, access to extension, secure land tenure, group membership and landholding size. Interestingly, the same factors discourage disadoption of ISFM practices. For instance, access to legume seed and access to extension discourage
disadoption of maize-legume intercropping and rotation, while larger landholding
sizes encourage adoption of legume-maize rotation. In addition, the study found
that female farmers were more likely to continue the practice of maize-legume
intercropping. We therefore recommend that ISFM technology packages that
include the use of inorganic fertilizer should go along with other complementary
interventions such as maize-legume intercropping and rotation. In addition, efforts
in the promotion and scaling up of ISFM practices should focus on those households with secure land tenure rights, encourage access to extension and should place
emphasis on the complementarities that exist in the adoption of decisions regarding
ISFM technologies in maize-based farming systems.
J. S. Kanyamuka (*)
New Alliance Policy Acceleration Support (NAPAS:Malawi), Lilongwe, Malawi
C. B. L. Jumbe · A.-K. Edriss · W. G. Mhango
Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lilongwe, Malawi
J. Ricker-Gilbert
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
B. R. Singh et al. (eds.), Climate Impacts on Agricultural and Natural Resource
Sustainability in Africa, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37537-9_26
Determinants of ISFM Technology
Adoption and Disadoption Among
Smallholder Maize Farmers in Central
Malawi
Joseph S. Kanyamuka, Charles B. L. Jumbe, Jacob Ricker-Gilbert,
Abdi- Khalil Edriss, and Wezi G. Mhango
Abstract This paper sought to address the following key research question: what
drives some smallholder farmers to adopt integrated soil fertility management
(ISFM) practices in a changing climate while others drop out? Data used in this
study were collected from 200 farming households during the 2015/2016 agricultural season in Kasungu District of Central Malawi. This paper applied multivariate
probit and bivariate probit model, respectively, to analyse the joint adoption and
disadoption decisions regarding ISFM technologies and/or practices. Significant
factors for both adoption and continued use of ISFM practices include access to
legume seed, access to extension, secure land tenure, group membership and landholding size. Interestingly, the same factors discourage disadoption of ISFM practices. For instance, access to legume seed and access to extension discourage
disadoption of maize-legume intercropping and rotation, while larger landholding
sizes encourage adoption of legume-maize rotation. In addition, the study found
that female farmers were more likely to continue the practice of maize-legume
intercropping. We therefore recommend that ISFM technology packages that
include the use of inorganic fertilizer should go along with other complementary
interventions such as maize-legume intercropping and rotation. In addition, efforts
in the promotion and scaling up of ISFM practices should focus on those households with secure land tenure rights, encourage access to extension and should place
emphasis on the complementarities that exist in the adoption of decisions regarding
ISFM technologies in maize-based farming systems.
J. S. Kanyamuka (*)
New Alliance Policy Acceleration Support (NAPAS:Malawi), Lilongwe, Malawi
C. B. L. Jumbe · A.-K. Edriss · W. G. Mhango
Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lilongwe, Malawi
J. Ricker-Gilbert
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA