The role of Conservation Agriculture in improving smallholder farmers’ crop yields in Malawi

Abstract

Land degradation and climate change through unreliable rainfall regimes, extreme temperatures, floods, and so on have posed a severe menace to food security and natural resource management in Malawi and sub-Saharan Africa. The principal objective of this study was to investigate the impact of Conservation Agriculture (CA)-associated technologies on smallholder farmers’ crop yields. The other objectives of this study were to review the impact on smallholders’ income and, finally, the role of livestock in improving the economics and income of the smallholder farmers in the Dowa district in Malawi. The study data was collected from October 2021 to November 2021 using KoBo Toolbox1 Software. Subsequently, the data were subjected to analysis through cross-tabulation and contingency tables to determine the effect of CA technologies on crop yields of maize, beans, soybeans, vegetables, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, and groundnuts. The study used SPSS2 analysis software to determine the impact of mulching, zero tillage, and cropping systems (mixed cropping, intercropping, and monocropping) on crop yields in the Dowa district in Malawi. In addition, the study analysed the impact of CA on income and the importance of livestock in boosting smallholder farmers’ income and smallholders’ finances. From the descriptive statistics, many smallholder farmers (52) in Dowa used buckets for irrigation. The most prevalent way smallholders sell agricultural produce was through a vendor/middlemen. Agriculture is the backbone of most households in this study, with crop production and the sale of farm products rated as the most crucial source of livelihood by the respondents. The study further found that crop yields of soybeans, beans, maize, Irish potato, and sweet potatoes increased for those who practiced mulching while groundnuts and vegetables decreased. Groundnuts, soybeans, maize, Irish potato, and vegetables performed well, almost doubling the yields of those who did not practice the technology when zero tillage was applied. In addition, more yields were realized from mixed cropping and intercropping systems compared to monocropping. However, in this study, the yield difference between those who practiced and those who did not embrace the technologies was not statistically significant. The income from crops differed between the CA method practiced and the crops grown. More revenue under mulching practice was generated from soybeans, beans, maize, and Irish potato, while the vegetables, groundnuts, and sweet potatoes were less under the same conditions. With zero tillage, groundnuts and Irish potato generated higher income. On the contrary, other crops brought more income for those who did not practice zero tillage. Furthermore, the income from livestock, primarily cattle and pigs were huge though statistically significant compared to other animals reared by the smallholder farmers in the Dowa district, Malawi.