Determinants of Adoption of Bundled Sustainable Agriculture Practices among Small-Scale Maize Farmers in Mvomero and Kilosa Districts, Tanzania

Abstract

The study, using data set from the adoption pathway survey and utility maximization theory examined the determinants of adoption of bundled sustainable agriculture practices (SAPs) among smallholder maize farmers in Tanzania. The SAPs considered include crop rotation, intercropping, manure, improved seeds, and crop residual. Using the Multivariate probit model, data collected from 470 farming households from Kilosa and Mvomero districts through a multi-stage sampling procedure were analyzed. Before data analysis, validity and reliability tests were performed and deemed satisfactory.  The empirical results show that age, gender, family size, education level, farm size, livestock ownership, access to extension services, production shocks, and distance from the market had a significant impact on the adoption of multiple SAPs. In addition, the results show that six pairwise correlation coefficients among SAPs were statistically significant, implying that smallholder maize farmers adopt SAPs concurrently. These findings implore policymakers and agricultural development organizations to take these significant factors into account when planning, advocating for, and supporting the adoption of multiple SAPs. Furthermore, the simultaneous adoption of SAPs necessitates that each of the practices be viewed as a package that contributes to the expansion of farmer’s options and the maximization of synergistic effects between them. Thus, agricultural policymakers should focus on enhancing smallholder farmers’ household characteristics by reviewing agriculture policies with the inclusion of extension services to come up with a package that is tailored to the perceived actual needs of farming households and designing farm management usage programme based on the farmer’s household characteristics.