Adoption of drought-tolerant maize varieties among smallholder farmers in Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality, South Africa

Abstract

Agriculture is not only the backbone, but also an important sector of the South African economy. It provides food and employment to a majority of people in the country, especially in the rural areas. Smallholder farmers play an important role in livelihood creation and the alleviation of poverty among the population of the Limpopo Province. However, despite their significant contribution, smallholder farmers’ production is still low. Climate change has bought increasing frequencies and severity of drought conditions and uncertainties in the length and quality-growing season. Drought threatens the production of maize as a staple food and without measures to counter climate change, food security will be a major problem in South Africa. This study therefore examined factors determining the adoption of drought tolerant maize among smallholder farmers in the Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality. Primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires to achieve the objectives of the study. Multistage sampling was used for the study because larger clusters were subdivided into smaller and more targeted groupings for surveying. Descriptive Statistics and the Binary Probit Model were used to analyse the data. The results of the Probit Regression analysis indicated that farm size, hired labour and maize produced per hectare had positive significant influence on the probability of farmers adopting drought tolerant maize varieties. Farm size and maize produced per hectare were statistically significant at 1% and hired labour was statistically significant at 5%. Based on the sample of this study,74% of the households grew non-drought tolerant maize varieties, while 26% of the smallholder farmers grew drought tolerant maize varieties. The results indicate that 24,4% of the farmers were not affected by any constraints in terms of their adoption of drought tolerant maize varieties whilst 76,6% said they are affected by those constraints in Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality. Based on the study’s findings, it is recommended that extension officers should make it a priority to provide smallholder farmers with timely and accurate information. Extension officers should effectively disseminate information about the adoption of drought tolerant maize through a combination of different pathways.