Factors influencing adoption of conservation agriculture by smallholder farmers of domboshawa, mashonaland central, Zimbabwe

Agricultural productivity in sub Saharan African (SSA) countries, especially Zimbabwe, has been reducing despite the many investments made in the development and promotion of agricultural technology. Conservation agriculture (CA) is a technology that has availed solutions to agricultural production constraints, land degradation and low crop yields in Zimbabwe. Technology adoption is one key aspect that enhances productivity in any farming system; however, adoption is influenced by several factors. This study sought to determine the factors affecting CA adoption in Domboshawa, Zimbabwe. A survey was conducted on 141 smallholder farmers of Domboshawa selected by Multi stage sampling technique. Personal interviews were undertaken utilizing structured questionnaires. Multinomial logistic regression (MNL) modeling was used to profile farmers according to factors that determine CA adoption. Cattle ownership, marital status and CA practice experience were statistically significant in affecting full CA adoption (p<0.05) while institutional support and CA practice experience were statistically significant in affecting non adoption of CA (p<0.05). Farmers without cattle and more experience in CA practice and who received institutional support were highly likely to adopt CA as compared to farmers with cattle and without institutional support.