A gender-differentiated analysis of climate-smart agriculture adoption by smallholder farmers: application of the extended technology acceptance model

Abstract

The low adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies by farmers in developing regions where agrarian livelihoods are threatened by climate-related disasters remains a concerning enigma. Adoption patterns are not commensurate with merits of CSA on food security and climate resilience and attention to gender in relation to behavioral and attitudinal patterns in CSA adoption remains scarce. An exploratory-sequential mixed methods study was conducted, using a socio-psychological theoretical lens to test the applicability of the extended technology acceptance model in predicting CSA adoption among at-risk smallholder farming communities in Malawi and Zambia. Spearman’s rho correlation results show that relationship strengths between socio-psychological factors—perceptions on ease of use, usefulness and climate risk—differed between men and women householdheads. Results also show that social processes are central in influencing women’s decision-making on adoption. For practitioners and policy-makers, these findings reflect a critical need for gender-specific behavioral change communication strategies and inclusive participatory engagement. This will promote dialogue with diverse groups of smallholder-farmers aimed at changing negative, and leveraging on positive, behavior and attitudes toward new CSA technologies. CSA technology development for smallholder-farmers needs to appreciate the role of socio-psychological factors in adoption decisions. Further scientific research is required to establish causality between related socio-psychological factors.

Keywords:

• Adoption
• climate-smart agriculture
• DRR
• gender
• resilience-building
• socio-psychological behavior
• technology acceptance model

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to extend their gratitude to the journal editors and all the anonymous reviewers. Our appreciation also goes out to everyone who participated in this study in various capacities in the two study sites; Chikwawa in Malawi and Gwembe in Zambia. We are also grateful for the financial support from the Department of Science and Technology-National Research Foundation (DST-NRF) Centre for Excellence in Food Security and the North West University.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sizwile Khoza

Dr. Sizwile Khoza is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the African Centre for Disaster Studies under the Unit for Environmental Science and Management at the North West University, Potchefstroom Campus in South Africa. She holds a PhD in Disaster Risk Science and this paper draws from her doctoral research. She has served as a peer-reviewer in journals in the field of Disaster Risk Studies and her work has been published in international peer-reviewed journals.

Leon Tielman de Beer

Prof. Leon T. de Beer is an Industrial Psychologist and Director of the WorkWell Research Unit in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the North West University, Potchefstroom Campus in South Africa. He has served as a Section Editor for the South African Journal of Industrial Psychology (SAJIP) and a peer-reviewer for a number of journals in the field of Industrial Psychology.

Dewald van Niekerk

Prof. Dewald van Niekerk is a Professor and Head of the African Centre for Disaster Studies under the Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management at the North West University, Potchefstroom Campus in South Africa. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of Jàmbá: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies and sits on the Editorial Boards of a number of journals in the field of Disaster Risk Science.

Livhuwani Nemakonde

Dr. Livhuwani D. Nemakonde is a Senior Lecturer at the African Centre for Disaster Studies under the Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management at the North West University, Potchefstroom Campus in South Africa. He has served as a peer-reviewer in a number of journals in the field of Disaster Risk Studies and his work has been published in international peer-reviewed journals.