Small-scale farmers' perceptions towards conservation agriculture as a mitigation strategy for climate change: Murewa District

Abstract

In order to improve food security, climate resilience, and agricultural output in a sustainable manner, conservation agriculture is essential. The agronomic advantages of conservation agriculture have been the subject of much research on its adoption; however, the role that small-scale farmers' perceptions of CA play has received less attention. In order to bridge this disparity, the purpose of this study was to find out how small-scale farmers in the Murewa district perceived conservation agriculture as a climate change mitigation method. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to gather data from 209 farmers who were chosen at random for the study. Focus group talks, key informant interviews, and first-hand observations were used to triangulate this methodology. Inferential statistics, means, and percentages were used to analyse the data. The findings indicate that while less than 36.4% of the participants had no formal agricultural experience, over 85% of them depended on the industry as their primary source of income. The majority of the respondents did not use crop rotation, although they were well-informed on the economic, social, and environmental benefits of conservation agriculture. The majority of small-scale farmers, however, had a neutral opinion of conservation agriculture and were unwilling to adopt CA. Age, gender, education, and prior experience with conservation agriculture all contributed to the explanation of the farmers' knowledge and perspectives. The findings also indicate that there was no statistically significant relationship between adoption willingness and gender. Conversely, a link was found between gender and CA practice, suggesting that gender affects adoption. Closing the perception gap is essential to improving conservation agriculture's adoption.

KEYWORDS: Climate resilience, small-scale farmers, knowledge, perception, Gender, Zimbabwe