Adoption and impacts of improved fallows on crop productivity and household income in eastern Zambia

Abstract

Improved fallows have been promoted among resource constrained smallholder farmers of eastern Zambia since 1988. The major challenge however, has been low uptake of the fallows, raising debate on efficacy of the technology to improve farmer welfare. This study sought to determine impact of the technology on crop productivity and household income in Chipata district of eastern Zambia. Using quasi experimental matching design, on a sample of 303 randomly surveyed farmers, the study established that the technology increased maize productivity by 0.71 t to 0.91 t ha-1 in 2014/15 season. The technology insignificantly affected groundnut productivity. The technology increased household income by ZMW 2, 230 to ZMW 2, 940 indicating that there are other cash crops benefiting from its uptake. There is need for increased training on tree management to the farmers embracing the technology. More rigorous research on suitability of some crops to be grown after improved fallows is also recommended.

Key words: Coppicing, fertiliser trees, degraded soils, soil fertility, Zambia