ANALYZING THE DETERMINANTS OF SMALLHOLDER FARMERS’ADOPTION OF CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE (CSA) USING A CENSORED REGRESSION MODEL

Abstract

The adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) has been recommended by Food and Agriculture Organization, (FAO), if smallholder farmers must survive eminent food insecurity in the face of uncertain climatic shocks. There is a need to investigate and understand the significant factors driving the adoption of CSA if its diffusion must increase. The study estimated the socioeconomic, institutional and technology-specific factors influencing farmers’ adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAP) inAkwa Ibom State, Nigeria. In order to achieve its objective, the study made use of primary data obtained by means of a structured questionnaire. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 250 respondents for the study. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and tobit regression model. The tobit regression result showed that farming experience, years of education, farm size were socioeconomic factors influencing the adoption of CSA; membership in a social group was an institutional factor influencing the adoption of CSA practices; and access to information on climate change was a technological factor that influenced farmers’ adoption of CSA in the study. Based on the findings, the study recommends the need for government and agricultural institutions to invest in the education and training of farmers to further promote the adoption of CSA. It is also recommended that farmers should prioritize membership in social groups and cooperatives for an increased access to shared resources, knowledge sharing, and collective bargaining power for credit and other farm inputs.