Determinants of adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices among smallholder maize farmers in North East District, Botswana

Abstract Climate change continues to pose a major threat to agricultural productivity, particularly for smallholder farmers in dryland regions. In response, Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) has emerged as a strategic approach to enhance resilience, productivity, and sustainability. This paper examine...

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Main Authors: Moitlamo Ookeditse Mpinda, Hillary Kiplangat Bett, Augustus Sammy Muluvi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2025-07-01
Series:Discover Agriculture
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s44279-025-00293-6
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author Moitlamo Ookeditse Mpinda
Hillary Kiplangat Bett
Augustus Sammy Muluvi
author_facet Moitlamo Ookeditse Mpinda
Hillary Kiplangat Bett
Augustus Sammy Muluvi
author_sort Moitlamo Ookeditse Mpinda
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Climate change continues to pose a major threat to agricultural productivity, particularly for smallholder farmers in dryland regions. In response, Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) has emerged as a strategic approach to enhance resilience, productivity, and sustainability. This paper examines the factors influencing the adoption of four interdependent CSA practices (crop rotation, maize-legume diversification, inorganic fertilizer usage, and the use of improved seeds) among smallholder maize farmers in North East District, Botswana. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 384 smallholder maize farmers, selected through a multi-stage sampling approach. To account for interdependence in adoption decisions, a multivariate probit (MVP) model was applied. The MVP results indicate that eleven out of the fourteen explanatory variables included in the model significantly influenced the adoption of CSA practices. Findings show that adoption is driven by factors such as education, farming experience, CSA training, farm size, livestock ownership, group membership, extension services, market access, land tenure, and access to climate information. The results further reveal that the factors influencing CSA adoption are not uniform and vary significantly across practices. These findings underscore the need for targeted and integrated policy interventions that consider the diverse drivers of adoption. Enhancing tenure security, promoting farmer education and training, improving access to timely climate information, and strengthening market linkages are essential strategies for scaling CSA adoption in dryland, resource-constrained farming systems.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2731-9598
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spelling doaj-art-825dcb62aa534aafa0346eb6da443cd72025-08-20T03:43:21ZengSpringerDiscover Agriculture2731-95982025-07-013111910.1007/s44279-025-00293-6Determinants of adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices among smallholder maize farmers in North East District, BotswanaMoitlamo Ookeditse Mpinda0Hillary Kiplangat Bett1Augustus Sammy Muluvi2Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management, Egerton UniversityDepartment of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management, Egerton UniversityDepartment of Economics, Egerton UniversityAbstract Climate change continues to pose a major threat to agricultural productivity, particularly for smallholder farmers in dryland regions. In response, Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) has emerged as a strategic approach to enhance resilience, productivity, and sustainability. This paper examines the factors influencing the adoption of four interdependent CSA practices (crop rotation, maize-legume diversification, inorganic fertilizer usage, and the use of improved seeds) among smallholder maize farmers in North East District, Botswana. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 384 smallholder maize farmers, selected through a multi-stage sampling approach. To account for interdependence in adoption decisions, a multivariate probit (MVP) model was applied. The MVP results indicate that eleven out of the fourteen explanatory variables included in the model significantly influenced the adoption of CSA practices. Findings show that adoption is driven by factors such as education, farming experience, CSA training, farm size, livestock ownership, group membership, extension services, market access, land tenure, and access to climate information. The results further reveal that the factors influencing CSA adoption are not uniform and vary significantly across practices. These findings underscore the need for targeted and integrated policy interventions that consider the diverse drivers of adoption. Enhancing tenure security, promoting farmer education and training, improving access to timely climate information, and strengthening market linkages are essential strategies for scaling CSA adoption in dryland, resource-constrained farming systems.https://doi.org/10.1007/s44279-025-00293-6BotswanaClimate-smart agricultureMultivariate probit modelSmallholderMaize
spellingShingle Moitlamo Ookeditse Mpinda
Hillary Kiplangat Bett
Augustus Sammy Muluvi
Determinants of adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices among smallholder maize farmers in North East District, Botswana
Discover Agriculture
Botswana
Climate-smart agriculture
Multivariate probit model
Smallholder
Maize
title Determinants of adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices among smallholder maize farmers in North East District, Botswana
title_full Determinants of adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices among smallholder maize farmers in North East District, Botswana
title_fullStr Determinants of adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices among smallholder maize farmers in North East District, Botswana
title_full_unstemmed Determinants of adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices among smallholder maize farmers in North East District, Botswana
title_short Determinants of adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices among smallholder maize farmers in North East District, Botswana
title_sort determinants of adoption of climate smart agricultural practices among smallholder maize farmers in north east district botswana
topic Botswana
Climate-smart agriculture
Multivariate probit model
Smallholder
Maize
url https://doi.org/10.1007/s44279-025-00293-6
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