IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v95y2020ics0264837718310561.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Farming systems and Conservation Agriculture: Technology, structures and agency in Malawi

Author

Listed:
  • Jew, Eleanor K.K.
  • Whitfield, Stephen
  • Dougill, Andrew J.
  • Mkwambisi, David D.
  • Steward, Peter

Abstract

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is advocated as an agricultural innovation that will improve smallholder famer resilience to future climate change. Under the conditions presented by the El Niño event of 2015/16, the implementation of CA was examined in southern Malawi at household, district and national institutional levels. Agricultural system constraints experienced by farming households are identified, and in response the technologies, structures and agency associated with CA are evaluated. The most significant constraints were linked to household health, with associated labour and monetary impacts, in addition to the availability of external inputs of fertiliser and improved seed varieties. Our findings show that such constraints are not adequately addressed through current agricultural system support structures, with the institutions surrounding CA (in both Government extension services and NGO agricultural projects) focusing attention predominantly at field level practice, rather than on broader system constraints such as education and health support systems. Limited capacity within local institutions undermines long term efforts to implement new technologies such as CA. It is vitally important that the flexibility of farmers to adapt new technologies in a locally-appropriate manner is not closed down through national and institutional aims to build consensus around narrow technical definitions of a climate-smart technology such as CA. To enable farmers to fully utilise CA programmes, interventions must take a more holistic, cross-sectoral approach, understanding and adapting to address locally experienced constraints. Building capacity within households to adopt new agricultural practices is critical, and integrating healthcare support into agricultural policy is a vital step towards increasing smallholder resilience to future climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Jew, Eleanor K.K. & Whitfield, Stephen & Dougill, Andrew J. & Mkwambisi, David D. & Steward, Peter, 2020. "Farming systems and Conservation Agriculture: Technology, structures and agency in Malawi," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:95:y:2020:i:c:s0264837718310561
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104612
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837718310561
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104612?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Harrigan, Jane, 2008. "Food insecurity, poverty and the Malawian Starter Pack: Fresh start or false start?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 237-249, June.
    2. Brown, Brendan & Nuberg, Ian & Llewellyn, Rick, 2018. "Constraints to the utilisation of conservation agriculture in Africa as perceived by agricultural extension service providers," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 331-340.
    3. D. Berre & S. Blancard & J.Ph. Boussemart & H. Leleu & E. Tillard, 2014. "Finding the right compromise between productivity and environmental efficiency on high input tropical dairy farms: A case study," Post-Print halshs-01132656, HAL.
    4. Leslie Lipper & Philip Thornton & Bruce M. Campbell & Tobias Baedeker & Ademola Braimoh & Martin Bwalya & Patrick Caron & Andrea Cattaneo & Dennis Garrity & Kevin Henry & Ryan Hottle & Louise Jackson , 2014. "Climate-smart agriculture for food security," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 4(12), pages 1068-1072, December.
    5. Christian Thierfelder & Pauline Chivenge & Walter Mupangwa & Todd S. Rosenstock & Christine Lamanna & Joseph X. Eyre, 2017. "How climate-smart is conservation agriculture (CA)? – its potential to deliver on adaptation, mitigation and productivity on smallholder farms in southern Africa," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(3), pages 537-560, June.
    6. Japhy Wilson, 2016. "The Village that Turned to Gold: A Parable of Philanthrocapitalism," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 47(1), pages 3-28, January.
    7. A. J. Challinor & J. Watson & D. B. Lobell & S. M. Howden & D. R. Smith & N. Chhetri, 2014. "A meta-analysis of crop yield under climate change and adaptation," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 4(4), pages 287-291, April.
    8. Stephen Whitfield & Tim Benton & Martin Dallimer & Les Firbank & Guy Poppy & Susannah Sallu & Lindsay Stringer, 2015. "Sustainability spaces for complex agri-food systems," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 7(6), pages 1291-1297, December.
    9. Sheona Shackleton & Gina Ziervogel & Susannah Sallu & Thomas Gill & Petra Tschakert, 2015. "Why is socially‐just climate change adaptation in sub‐Saharan Africa so challenging? A review of barriers identified from empirical cases," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 6(3), pages 321-344, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xufang Zhang & Minghua Zhao & Xiaojie Wang & Rongqing Han, 2022. "Regional Differences of Farmers’ Willingness to Grow Grain and Its Influencing Factors in Shandong Province under the Background of New-Type Urbanization," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-21, August.
    2. Mao, Hui & Zhou, Li & Ying, RuiYao & Pan, Dan, 2021. "Time Preferences and green agricultural technology adoption: Field evidence from rice farmers in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    3. Andrew J. Dougill & Thirze D. G. Hermans & Samuel Eze & Philip Antwi-Agyei & Susannah M. Sallu, 2021. "Evaluating Climate-Smart Agriculture as Route to Building Climate Resilience in African Food Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-8, September.
    4. R. S. Clements & S. K. Birthisel & A. Daigneault & E. Gallandt & D. Johnson & T. Wentworth & M. T. Niles, 2021. "Climate change in the context of whole-farming systems: opportunities for improved outreach," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 166(3), pages 1-20, June.
    5. Dénis B. Akouwerabou, 2023. "Effect of agricultural extension on cotton farmer's efficiency in arid and semi‐arid areas of Burkina Faso," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(1), pages 42-59, February.
    6. Ar. R. T. Hidayat & Corinthias P. M. Sianipar & Shizuka Hashimoto & Satoshi Hoshino & Muhammad Dimyati & Ahmad E. Yustika, 2023. "Personal Cognition and Implicit Constructs Affecting Preferential Decisions on Farmland Ownership: Multiple Case Studies in Kediri, East Java, Indonesia," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-23, September.
    7. Nie, Fei & Li, Jian & Bi, Xiang, 2020. "Agricultural Trade Liberalization and Domestic Fertilizer Use: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in China," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304213, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Asif Sardar & Adiqa K. Kiani & Yasemin Kuslu, 2021. "Does adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices improve farmers’ crop income? Assessing the determinants and its impacts in Punjab province, Pakistan," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(7), pages 10119-10140, July.
    2. Thornton, Philip K. & Whitbread, Anthony & Baedeker, Tobias & Cairns, Jill & Claessens, Lieven & Baethgen, Walter & Bunn, Christian & Friedmann, Michael & Giller, Ken E. & Herrero, Mario & Howden, Mar, 2018. "A framework for priority-setting in climate smart agriculture research," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 161-175.
    3. Ignaciuk, Ada & Malevolti, Giulia & Scognamillo, Antonio & Sitko, Nicholas J., 2022. "Can food aid relax farmers’ constraints to adopting climate-adaptive agricultural practices? Evidence from Ethiopia, Malawi and the United Republic of Tanzania," ESA Working Papers 324073, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Agricultural Development Economics Division (ESA).
    4. Scognamillo, Antonio & Sitko, Nicholas J., 2021. "Leveraging social protection to advance climate-smart agriculture: An empirical analysis of the impacts of Malawi’s Social Action Fund (MASAF) on farmers’ adoption decisions and welfare outcomes," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    5. Rolf, Werner & Diehl, Katharina & Zasada, Ingo & Wiggering, Hubert, 2020. "Integrating farmland in urban green infrastructure planning. An evidence synthesis for informed policymaking," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    6. Hasibuan, Abdul Muis & Gregg, Daniel & Stringer, Randy, 2020. "Accounting for diverse risk attitudes in measures of risk perceptions: A case study of climate change risk for small-scale citrus farmers in Indonesia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    7. Muhammad Ali Imran & Asghar Ali & Muhammad Ashfaq & Sarfraz Hassan & Richard Culas & Chunbo Ma, 2018. "Impact of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Practices on Cotton Production and Livelihood of Farmers in Punjab, Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-20, June.
    8. Adam M. Komarek, 2018. "Conservation agriculture in western China increases productivity and profits without decreasing resilience," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(5), pages 1251-1262, October.
    9. Mutenje, Munyaradzi Junia & Farnworth, Cathy Rozel & Stirling, Clare & Thierfelder, Christian & Mupangwa, Walter & Nyagumbo, Isaiah, 2019. "A cost-benefit analysis of climate-smart agriculture options in Southern Africa: Balancing gender and technology," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 126-137.
    10. Gurdeep Singh Malhi & Manpreet Kaur & Prashant Kaushik, 2021. "Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture and Its Mitigation Strategies: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-21, January.
    11. Dong-Gill Kim & Elisa Grieco & Antonio Bombelli & Jonathan E. Hickman & Alberto Sanz-Cobena, 2021. "Challenges and opportunities for enhancing food security and greenhouse gas mitigation in smallholder farming in sub-Saharan Africa. A review," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(2), pages 457-476, April.
    12. Sitko, Nicholas J. & Scognamillo, Antonio & Malevolti, Giulia, 2021. "Does receiving food aid influence the adoption of climate-adaptive agricultural practices? Evidence from Ethiopia and Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    13. Komarek, Adam M. & Thierfelder, Christian & Steward, Peter R., 2021. "Conservation agriculture improves adaptive capacity of cropping systems to climate stress in Malawi," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    14. Oscar J. Cacho & Jonathan Moss & Philip K. Thornton & Mario Herrero & Ben Henderson & Benjamin L. Bodirsky & Florian Humpenöder & Alexander Popp & Leslie Lipper, 2020. "The value of climate-resilient seeds for smallholder adaptation in sub-Saharan Africa," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 162(3), pages 1213-1229, October.
    15. Guiomar Carranza-Gallego & Gloria I. Guzmán & Roberto Garcia-Ruíz & Manuel González de Molina & Eduardo Aguilera, 2019. "Addressing the Role of Landraces in the Sustainability of Mediterranean Agroecosystems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-16, October.
    16. A. N. Hristov & A. T. Degaetano & C. A. Rotz & E. Hoberg & R. H. Skinner & T. Felix & H. Li & P. H. Patterson & G. Roth & M. Hall & T. L. Ott & L. H. Baumgard & W. Staniar & R. M. Hulet & C. J. Dell &, 2018. "Climate change effects on livestock in the Northeast US and strategies for adaptation," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 146(1), pages 33-45, January.
    17. Wood, Benjamin & Nelson, Carl H. & Kilic, Talip & Murray, Siobhan, 2012. "Up in Smoke?: Agricultural Commercialization,Rising Food Prices and Stunting in Malawi," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 131261, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    18. Namra Ghaffar & Bushra Noreen & Maryam Muhammad Ali & Amna Ali, 2021. "Rice Yield Estimation in Sawat Region Incorporating The Local Physio-Climatic Parameters," International Journal of Agriculture & Sustainable Development, 50sea, vol. 3(2), pages 46-50, June.
    19. Philip Antwi-Agyei & Andrew J. Dougill & Lindsay C. Stringer, 2017. "Assessing Coherence between Sector Policies and Climate Compatible Development: Opportunities for Triple Wins," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-16, November.
    20. Jeetendra Prakash Aryal & Cathy R. Farnworth & Ritika Khurana & Srabashi Ray & Tek B. Sapkota & Dil Bahadur Rahut, 2020. "Does women’s participation in agricultural technology adoption decisions affect the adoption of climate‐smart agriculture? Insights from Indo‐Gangetic Plains of India," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 973-990, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:95:y:2020:i:c:s0264837718310561. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.