Mainstreaming Climate-Smart Agriculture in Small-Scale Farming Systems: A Holistic Nonparametric Applicability Assessment in South Africa

Abstract

Current research focuses disproportionately on the characteristics of farmers to understand the factors that influence the introduction of climate-smart agriculture (CSA). As a result, there has been a failure to take a holistic view of the range of drivers and barriers to CSA implementation. Many aspects of technologies or practices that may encourage or inhibit the implementation of CSA and define its applicability are, therefore, not systematically considered in the design of interventions. The uptake of any practice should depend on both farmers’ characteristics and factors inherent in the practice itself. This paper, therefore, examines procedures for incorporating the applicability of CSA practices in a farm-level analysis based on the investigations conducted in King Cetshwayo District Municipality (KCDM) of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province of South Africa. How the farmers perceived the social, technical, economic, and environmental compatibility of the practices constituted the key goal of the inquiry. Data were collected through structured interviews using close-ended questionnaires, from a sample of 327 small-scale farmers (farmers with farm sizes of less than or equal to 5 hectares). The analysis made use of the Acceptance Level Index (ALI) and Composite Score Index (CSI). This paper establishes that, based on social compatibility, the farmers showed high acceptance for cultivation of cover crops (ALI = 574), agroforestry (ALI = 559), and diet improvement for animals (ALI = 554), based on technical compatibility, the use of organic manure (ALI = 545), rotational cropping (ALI = 529), mulching (ALI = 525) and cultivation of cover crops (ALI = 533) were highly accepted. With economic compatibility in perspective, the farmers showed high preference for mulching (ALI = 541), organic manure (ALI = 542) and rotational cropping (ALI = 515), while the use of organic manure (ALI = 524) was highly embraced based on environmental compatibility. Consequently, it is recommended that policies aimed at mainstreaming CSA technologies should pay adequate attention to their applicability in locations under consideration and emphasize the critical role of the provision of information on CSA technologies or practices.

Climate-Smart Agriculture on Small-Scale Farms: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Abegunde et al [22] examined farmers' perception of technical, economic, and environmental compatibility of CSA practices among the South African small-scale farms (farm size ≤ 5 ha). According to their combined analyses, the use of organic manure and crop rotation turned out to be the most popular CSA practices (Table 1) based on the Acceptance Level Index (ALI), which is a composite score index based on 327 farmers' responses on CSA acceptance (acceptable = 2, neutral = 1, and not acceptable = 0).…”

“…Table 1. Farmers' perception on the acceptance of the compatibility dimensions of the different CSA practices (Author's composition based on [22]). According to Nyasimi et al [44], on-farm diversification (different crop varieties, mixed farming, etc.…”

“…In this process, raising their climate awareness is vital as that shapes their CSA adoptions [21]. At the farm level, the short-term benefits of CSA may outweigh its long-term promises [22]. Short-term benefits are particularly important for small-scale producers because they have no financial room for any doubtful maneuvers.…”

“…As agriculture provides small profit margins along with high risks, smallholders opt for CSA practices that offer immediate benefits [23]. In general, smallholdings need assurances, as well as financial support to implement any CSA practices that may affect them financially [22]. As a matter of the three pillars of CSA, this may result in a shift towards increased productivity (and income) at the expense of higher resilience and reduced GHG emissions (longer-term impacts).…”

Comparative analysis of cooperative & non-cooperative farmers in Kosovo

“…Although agricultural cooperatives are significant in improving farm efficiency, there is still a dearth of studies on Kosovo agriculture examining their role in economy, potential contribution to welfare of rural area, reduction of poverty and increasing food sufficiency. Studies show that introducing any new technology or operation techniques require proper knowledge about socio-economic conditions, and natural environment (Abegunde, Sibanda, & Obi, 2020;Xie, Huang, Chen, Zhang, & Wu, 2019). A related study in the field raised a fundamental issue in cooperative formation requiring promoters of cooperative societies to pay particular attention to socio-economic characteristics, as they have fundamental effects on the performance of cooperative societies (Agbo & Chidebelu, 2010).This article contributes to the growing literature on the role of agricultural cooperatives in three significant directions.…”