Despite growing recognition of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) as a strategy for enhancing smallholder resilience, empirical evidence on its effectiveness, particularly in sweet potato production, remains limited. This study, conducted in Malawi, Salima district, evaluated the effects of sweet potato-legume intercropping systems on smallholder farmers’ adaptation and resilience to climate change. It also assessed farmers’ perceptions and the factors influencing acceptance of these systems. A mixed-methods approach was used, utilizing both primary and secondary data, with a sample of 1,410 households selected through systematic random sampling. This was complemented by seven focus group discussions (FGDs). Regression analysis assessed how sweet potato_soybean at 1:1 and 2:1 ratios, sweet potato_pigeon peas within the same row and sole cropping influence farmers’ capacity to adapt to climate change. The positive and statistically significant results of the sweet potato_soybean 1:1 and sweet potato_pigeon pea-row on sweet potato, soybean and pigeon pea yields suggest that the spatial arrangements can maximize intercropping benefits. Additionally, increases in maximum temperatures (drought) were positively associated with yield growth, highlighting the greater climatic resilience of intercropped systems compared to sole cropping. The Heckman probit model indicated that education and gender of the household head positively influenced perceptions of the intercropping systems. Further, results revealed that gender, household size, farming experience, credit access, education, and extension services as significant determinants of adaptation decisions. The findings suggest that sweet potato-legume intercropping enhances adaptation and resilience, recommending its scale-up through community structures like farmer groups for sustainability.

An in-depth analysis of the drivers of agricultural emissions at the farm-gate level is crucial for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. This study examines the short- and long-run effects of crop production on farm-gate emissions in the regional trading bloc (RTB) member states in Africa. Crop production was proxied by cereals, roots and tubers, vegetables, and fruits production, and emissions were split into methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. Data on these variables were collected from 30 RTB member states from 1990 to 2022 and were analyzed using the cross-sectionally augmented autoregressive distributive lag approach. The pooled mean group was used as a robustness check, and a sensitivity analysis was conducted to ensure the reliability of the study findings. The results revealed that cereal production increases farm-gate CH4 and N2O emissions in the short and long run. The average increase ranges from 1.0021 to 1.0033 kilotons CO2-eq yr-1 for CH4, and from 1.0024 to 1.0035 kilotons CO2-eq yr-1 for N2O. In addition, fruit production increases farm-gate CH4 emissions by an average of 1.0023 kiloton CO2-eq yr-1 in the long run. Thus, cereal production has a more adverse effect on N2O than CH4 emissions, while the opposite is true for fruit production in the RTB member states' Nationally Determined Contributions. With respect to mediation, cropland expansion (proxied by area harvested) plays a partial intermediary role in the impact of crop production on farm-gate CH4 and N2O emissions in the short run and CH4 emissions in the long run. However, it assumes a full mediation role in the long run and has an effect on crop production in farm-gate N2O emissions. Therefore, targeted use of nitrogen fertilizer and crop rotations to reduce cereal-related N2O and CH4 emissions, respectively, would be viable strategies. The use of a drip irrigation system in fruit production to reduce CH4 emissions and the scaling up of secured subsidies should also be explored. Finally, these recommendations should be incorporated into the Africa's RTB member states' Nationally Determined Contributions and the African Union's Agenda 2063.

Pegging warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius requires a considerable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions through technological advancement. However, the role played by technology in mitigating emissions has attracted less attention in the agricultural sector. This novel study examines the effect of agricultural spending on technology on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions in 29 selected regional trading bloc member states in Africa. We adapted the Kaya Identity model to the agricultural sector by equating technology to expenditure on capital goods and research and development. We collected secondary data from 1993 to 2022. We analyzed the adapted Kaya Identity model using the fully modified ordinary least squares method and the canonical co-integration regression technique for a robustness check. The results revealed that agricultural spending on capital goods plays a moderately significant role in mitigating agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. We recommend that the member states increase the budget for green agriculture and incentivize clean technology investments. At the regional trading bloc level, we recommend the crafting, implementation, or strengthening of the regional trading blocs' emissions control plans.

Addressing persistent food insecurity requires increased and sustained agricultural productivity in spite of compounding challenges of worsening climate shocks and soil degradation. However, despite numerous initiatives by stakeholders like the Malawian government, along with strong scientific evidence supporting Conservation Agriculture (CA), adoption rates in Malawi remain lower than expected. This study examined social capital as a catalyst for the adoption of CA. It used data from 1512 randomly selected smallholder farmers to investigate how different elements of social capital influenced farmers’ decisions to adopt CA practices. The study findings revealed that social capital elements, namely, group membership and relationships with leadership positively influenced CA adoption. Additionally, factors such as cultivated land size, access to extension services, livestock ownership, and credit availability contributed to the number of CA practices adopted. While the transition to full CA adoption remained limited compared to partial adoption, the study revealed promising trends toward greater uptake. Consequently, these findings highlight the need for agricultural policies that promote farmer organizations, community engagement, and training programs to strengthen social networks and enhance the adoption of CA practices in Malawi.

The pursuit of sustainable agricultural investment and the transformation of smallholder farming into commercially viable enterprises is gaining increasing traction, with land tenure security emerging as a critical factor in de-risking agricultural investment. This study examines the impact of land tenure security on farmers' investment decisions in irrigation and soil and water conservation (SWC) practices in Malawi, specifically vetiver grass, tree belts, water bunds, drainage ditches, and terraces. These practices are central to climate-resilient and productivity-enhancing agriculture. Using survey data from 1947 plots across 893 farmers, we apply a two-stage conditional maximum likelihood multivariate probit model to assess the impact of land tenure security on farmers' investment decisions, while explicitly addressing potential endogeneity and reverse causality. This study advances the literature on land tenure security by providing rigorous, context-specific evidence from Malawi on how community-based land demarcation (CBLD) influences smallholder farmers' adoption of resilience- and productivity-enhancing investments, while also shedding light on gender-differentiated investment patterns, synergies among soil and water conservation practices, and applying an innovative econometric framework that strengthens causal inference. The study results reveal that establishing well-defined land boundaries directly translates into increased investment in water bunds, drainage ditches, and irrigation, but not in vetiver grass, tree belts, or terraces. These findings underscore the important role of secure land rights in enabling on-farm investments essential for market-oriented smallholder farming transformation. We thus recommend strengthening grassroots land governance structures, such as customary land committees and land tribunals, and championing community-led efforts in boundary delineation.

This study examines the effect of agricultural commercialisation on household welfare using survey data from 2,400 households. To address potential selection bias arising from non-random participation and unobserved heterogeneity, three econometric approaches were employed: Propensity Score Matching (PSM), Endogenous Switching Regression Model (ESRM), and Inverse Probability Weighted Regression Adjustment (IPWRA), to estimate the causal treatment effects of participation in agricultural commercialisation among smallholder farmers. The results indicate that participation in agricultural commercialisation significantly increases per capita income, a finding that remains consistent across all three econometric models. Furthermore, agricultural commercialisation was found to have a positive and statistically significant effect on asset value and wealth index under the ESR model. However, the relationship between commercialisation and the wealth index was not statistically significant under the PSM and IPWRA models. The ESRM results reveal that access to credit and ownership of a radio significantly increase the likelihood of household participation in agricultural commercialisation. Conversely, access to public extension services was found to have a negative effect on commercialisation, suggesting that current public extension programmes may not adequately address the market-oriented needs of farmers. The study recommends targeted policies that address smallholder farmers' financial and informational needs to drive agricultural commercialisation. In addition, investment in infrastructure, market access, and farmer education, coupled with enhanced access to technology and media, is critical for fostering a more commercially viable agricultural sector, leading to wealth creation.

Abstract Although crop insurance is ideal to cushion challenges that are associated with climate change, adoption of the product by smallholder farmers remains low. Several researchers have investigated the challenges that affect the adoption of crop insurance. However, what remains unclear is whether the identified challenges have the same influence on adoption decisions. Likewise, it has not yet been determined which crop insurance attributes are considered important in crop insurance adoption decisions. The study used the Problem Confrontation Index (PCI) and the Relative Importance Index (RII) to rank the problems that hinder crop insurance adoption and crop insurance attributes in relation to adoption decisions. Lack of knowledge about crop insurance, inadequate access to credit, limited access to weather and climate information, and limited access to markets are found to be the main barriers to crop insurance adoption.

Goat keeping is a common practice among rural farmers due to the adaptability of goats to harsh environments, their efficient forage conversion and rapid growth, and their multiple benefits, including the production of manure and high-quality milk. However, limited research has been done on the direct effect of participation in goat keeping on food security in Malawi. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of participation in goat keeping on household food security in Dowa district in Malawi using the propensity score-matching technique. The results reveal a positive correlation between goat farming and household food security. This was evident from the significant average treatment effect on the treated (ATT), which indicated a lower value of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) for goat keepers compared to non-keepers. These findings highlight the potential of goat farming to enhance food security among rural households, emphasising the importance of promoting this type of farming at the household level.

Goat farms located in villages constitute an important sub-sector to buffer household livelihoods against climate shocks in absence of insurance markets, and thus the need to intensify production to meet the growing goat meat demand. There has been little attempt to quantify the efficiency of goat farms and the associated drivers. Potential initiatives to bolster goat farm incomes have not gone beyond production. Using the Bayesian Stochastic Frontier Approach and Malawi's national Integrated Household Panel Survey data from 2010 to 2019, we analyze the profit efficiency of goat farming and the priority drivers that influence inefficiencies across production plants. The findings reveal that farmers are operating below the profit frontier and 71% of the profit-loss is influenced by farm characteristics. The results further suggest that policies involving stirring commercializing and specialization are key to closing the efficiency gap. Finally, the study proposes new policy directions, namely, government provision of livestock extension services to farmers, incorporating goat farming into women's empowerment programs, and provision of access to tailor-made livestock microfinance loans.

Over the last two decades, most African governments have been implementing agricultural input subsidy programs (ISPs) aimed at increasing crop yields, and incomes, and reducing hunger, nutritional insecurity, and poverty. Although ISPs are popular policy interventions, it remains unknown whether they improve the productivity of nutrient-dense crops such as legumes, dietary quality, and child or adolescent nutrition. We address this gap by testing the hypothesis that subsidizing legume seeds (SLS) improves farm productivity, dietary quality, and child or adolescent nutrition. To do this, we use decade-long nationally representative panel data from Malawi and panel regression models with an instrumental variable approach to address endogeneity. We found that SLS increases area planted with legume crops, groundnut yield, gross value of crop production, along with production and consumption (dietary) diversity, calories, and micronutrient—vitamin A and zinc—consumption. We further found that SLS is positively correlated with child or adolescent weight-for-age Z-score but not height-for-age Z-score. These novel findings emphasize that SLS could be among the key policy interventions to address malnutrition in the Malawian small farm sector.

Farm input subsidies and integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) technologies are popular policy interventions in sub-Saharan Africa, often with the stated goals of increasing crop yields and incomes while reducing hunger and poverty. However, little is known about the combined adoption effects of input subsidies and ISFM technologies on farm productivity and household nutrition in developing countries. Using a decade of nationally representative panel data from Malawi, we analyse joint adoption effects of input subsidies and ISFM technologies on smallholder household welfare. We use multivariate probit, dynamic random effects probit, and multinomial endogenous treatment effects models to account for selection bias and endogeneity originating from both observed and unobserved heterogeneity. We find that participation in a farm input subsidy programme is strongly associated with a 15-29 percentage point increase in the probabilities of adoption of three ISFM technologies: conservation agriculture, soil and water conservation, and organic fertiliser. Furthermore, we find that the joint use of input subsidies and ISFM technologies increased crop income and micronutrient consumption by at least 12%. Our findings suggest that the joint use of input subsidies and ISFM technologies are among potential strategies to address low productivity and nutritional insecurity through improvements in soil health.

Using household data from Lilongwe districts, along with crop phenology, agronomic management and climatic data from Chitedze Research Station, the Target-MOTAD and DSSAT-CSM models examined the resource allocation decisions of smallholder farmers in maize farming systems under climate risk in Malawi. Specific aims were to evaluate the ability of DSSAT to predict and collate DTM and non-DTM yields under climatic risk and to use a bio-economic procedure developed using DSSAT and Target-MOTAD to explore the impact of climatic risk on allocation of resources to DTM and non-DTM production. The paper argues that higher average yields observed from DTM varieties make it the most optimal maize production plan, in maximizing household incomes, food security, and minimizing deviations from the mean while meeting the set target incomes of farmers compared to non-DTM varieties. The multidisciplinary nature of this paper has contributed to the body of research by providing a powerful analytical procedure of modelling farmers’ resource allocation decisions in maize based farming systems in Malawi. This study necessitates the use of a combination of biophysical and economic procedures when evaluating promising lines prior to variety release in order to identify the high yielding variety that will continuously bring sustained profits to the farmers amidst climate change.

This paper uses a translog stochastic frontier model to estimate the relationship between maize yield and an interplay of soil carbon, soil nitrogen and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer using plot-level data collected from smallholder farmers in Dedza and Ntcheu Districts of Malawi in 2013/2014 growing season. One of the covariates in the model is nitrogen applied to a plot from inorganic fertilizers. Farmer use of nitrogen is influenced through participation in a non-random targeted Farm Inputs Subsidy Program (FISP) of the Malawi Government. A control function approach is therefore applied to correct for possible endogeneity of participation in the FISP.Results show that inorganic nitrogen fertilizer has significant positive effect on maize output whereas an increase in soil carbon is associated with low maize output but interaction between soil carbon and soil nitrogen as well as with inorganic nitrogen significantly increases maize output. These results seem to be linked to Carbon to Nitrogen (C:N) ratio in the soil. The accumulation of C beyond the optimal C:N ratio is known to reduce rate of decomposition, nutrient cycling, shoot: root ratio and biomass in grasses including maize. Under such circumstances, increasing nitrogen brings the C:N ratio to beneficial levels. The results further show that inorganic nitrogen is a substitute to labour, seed and land. The substitution relationship suggests that improvements in inorganic nitrogen require reduction in labour, seed use and land. It has further been shown that only 45.03% of the plots have marginal value cost ratios of greater than one which shows that considerable number of plots are not profitable. For 66.20% of the plots, applied inorganic nitrogen fertilizer exceeds optimal levels signifying suboptimal use of the input. The results suggest that inorganic nitrogen is profitable at low levels of application which is largely due to prevailing high nitrogen-maize price ratio. The prominent issue for policy consideration from these results is that soils in Malawi are depleted of nitrogen leading to unfavorably high C:N ratios which negatively impact maize production. Given that nitrogen-maize price ratio is already high in Malawi, farmers will need programs that enhance their access to nitrogen fertilizers at low prices for nitrogen fertilizer application to be profitable. Such programs need to be implemented simultaneously with a package of intensification practices that fix and retain nitrogen in the soil. Keywords: Inorganic nitrogen, Soil carbon, Soil nitrogen, Translog stochastic frontier model, Control function approach DOI : 10.7176/JESD/11-2-04 Publication date: January 31 st 2020

Characterization of maize producing households in Balaka and Mangochi districts in Malawi

This paper examines determinants of the adoption of rainwater-harvesting technologies in a rain shadow area of southern Malawi. The most common ex situ technologies in the area were dams, and the widely used in situ technologies were box ridges, contour markers and swales. Adopters treated, on average, 80% of their farms with the rainwater-harvesting technologies, a move that significantly increased their food security status and incomes. The key finding of the study is that the choice of technologies was influenced by land slope and quality, farm size, soil texture, security of land tenure, education level of household head and extension support. The results therefore underscore the potential gains from rainwater-harvesting technologies in improving farmer income and food security, and the need to promote the technologies as a package, because a household may implement different technologies on the same field depending on diverse social, economic, institutional and environmental factors.

The research was funded by the Aquaculture Centre of Excellence (ACE II) project. Abstract The study was conducted in Dowa and Mchinji districts of central Malawi to understand how fish farmers make choice of village savings and loans, income generating activities and insurance to deal with weather and climate shocks. A multivariate probit model was used to analyse the drivers of farmers’ choice so that we know if the strategies are complements or substitutes. Data from 353 fish farmers was collected. The study has shown that education level, age of the farmer, farming experience and the hypothetical insurance bid are significant drivers of fish farmers’ choice. We recommend promotion of adult literacy, civic education and enhancement of extension services on the coping strategies as a proxy to formal education which has proved so crucial in the adoption of coping strategies. Keywords : fish farmers, weather and climate shocks, coping strategies, multivariate probit model DOI : 10.7176/JESD/10-4-02

The paper analysed the potential of weather index insurance as one of the strategies for managing climate variability in Lesotho through a Double Bounded Dichotomous Choice Contingent Valuation Method with an open ended follow up question to elicit farmers’ willingness to pay. The study went further to compare willingness to pay for weather index insurance between a cash crop (Bean) and a subsistence crop (Maize). Bivariate probit model was used in the analysis. Based on data collected from 400 farmers, the results showed that majority of farmers are willing to insure their crops; maize (94.75%) and bean (92.5%) against weather perils and pay a monthly premium of M96.72 ($7.28) for maize and M101.31 ($7.63) for beans. This implies that farmers in the lowlands of Lesotho regard weather index insurance as one of the strategies for managing climate variability. The results of the t-test showed statistical significance (p<0.1) between maize and bean mean willingness to pay. Thus, policy and program intervention designed to address the climate variability problem in the study area should consider these preferences in the insurance product. Keywords: Willingness to pay, weather index insurance, maize, beans

Maize sector policies in eastern and southern Africa are characterized by a large and often growing presence of the state. Yet the scope, scale, and modalities of state activities vary substantially across countries. Drawing on data from Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, and Mozambique this article compares the relative degree of state intervention in the maize sector. We show that relative preferences for output market subsidies, input market subsidies, trade restrictions, or non-interventionist approaches reflect the interplay of interest group lobbying, patronage networks, and ethnic and regional political affiliations. These relationships have deep historical roots and have often been intensified in the context of the emergence of multiparty politics. We show that interventionist orientations in output markets and trade do not translate into better performance or welfare outcomes. Input subsidy preferences produce more ambiguous welfare results, when the opportunity costs are not fully accounted for.

Climate variability is one of the limiting factors to increasing per capita food production for most smallholder farmers in Africa. The adoption and diffusion of climate smart agriculture technologies, as a way to tackle this barrier, has become an important issue in the development policy agenda for sub-Saharan Africa. This paper examines the adoption decisions for climate smart agriculture technologies using cross sectional household data, collected in 2014 from 619 farm households, in 2 districts of southern Malawi. In contrast to other studies that analyse technology adoption decisions separately, we analyse all four adoption decisions simultaneously using the multivariate probit method. This not only improves the precision of the estimation results and provides consistent standard errors of the estimates, but also enables us to analyse the interrelations between the four adoption decisions. This study shows how the estimation results, and particularly the estimated correlation coefficients, can be utilized to gain a deep insight into the interrelations between the different adoption decisions. The study reveals that gender, age, location, farmer type, level of education, livelihood status/ off-farm participation, land size and source/ownership, Original Research Article Maguza-Tembo et al.; AJAEES, 16(3): 1-12, 2017; Article no.AJAEES.32489 2 household income, household expenditure, anticipated weather pattern, climate variability knowledge/signs, access to credit, all influence the adoption decision of Climate Smart Technologies either positively or negatively.

Climate variability is one of the limiting factors to increasing per capita income and food production among smallholder farmers in Africa. This study investigated if the adoption of climate smart agriculture (CSA) technologies reduce household vulnerability to poverty by differentiating crop yields and income between adopters and non-adopters. This study used a mixed methods approach; both qualitative and quantitative techniques. A multi-stage stratified random sampling was applied, with 619 respondents interviewed in the districts of Nsanje and Balaka in southern Malawi during 2014-2015 cropping season. There was an increment of 26%, 37%, 9% and 26% in maize yield by farmers who adopted portfolio diversification, soil and water conservation, soil fertility improvement and irrigation and water harvesting technologies respectively. About 42% of the adopters had food throughout the year compared to 26% non-adopters. Adopters had 47%, 42%, 60% and 36% more in their crop revenues from portfolio diversification, soil and water conservation, soil fertility improvement and irrigation & water harvesting respectively, than their non-adopters counterparts. The study confirms the importance of agriculture technology adoption for increased household revenue and the need to take steps to reinforce existing adoption strategies. Keywords : Climate smart agriculture, effectiveness, smallholder farmers, Malawi.