Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
a willingness to consider adopting conservation practices to reduce degradation of
soil resources.
Faltermeier (2007) reports research findings from a study focused on the adoption
of water conservation practices in northern Ghana. The study region is character-
ized as being seasonably dry, which necessitates water conservation during the early
portion of the growing season to produce sufficient levels of output to sustain resi-
dent populations. The author observes that northern Ghana is primarily populated by
small-scale subsistence farmers who produce cereals on small land holdings. Most
farmers operate about 1 ha of land and do so with little technological knowledge
and with very little mechanization. She observed that rice production was increasing
over time owing to subsidies provided by external sponsors for purchase of techno-
logical inputs. After subsidies were withdrawn, access to technological inputs at the
local level was significantly reduced. The ultimate outcome of the elimination of
external subsidies was a substantial decline in rice output within the region.
A project was organized to encourage the adoption of conservation structures
to reduce water loss and reduce the erosion of land resource. The project was also
designed to encourage the adoption of innovative planting techniques, provide access
to farm inputs, provide access to credit, provide information about conservation pro-
duction systems, provide farm management technical support, and provide collec-
tive structures to capture water. The study focused on the assessment of adoption of
physical structures that consisted of small dams built along the contour of the slopes
and the use of dibbling* techniques for planting rice fields. The contour dams were
designed to capture excess water during seasons when rain was more abundant to
be used later to provide water to rice fields. Faltermeier (2007) observed that more
farmers adopted dribbling than dam construction because the costs of dam con-
struction were much higher, especially labor costs. Access to economic resources to
implement adoption of the farming innovations and perception that the innovations
would result in increased profitability of the farm enterprise were important deter-
minants of adoption. Formal education was not significant as a predictive variable
because there was no variance. Practically all of the study participants had no formal
education.
Swenson and Moore (2009) examined existing literature focused on adoption of
no-till conservation production systems within several regions of the planet that are
primarily populated by subsistence farmers. The authors state that adoption and use
of no till in lesser-scale societies in Africa is consistent with established farming
traditions. While adoption of no-till production systems has been very slow in nearly
all African countries and almost nonexistent among small-scale farms, the potential
exists for no-till farming systems to be accepted because subsistence farmers have
used no-till approaches in their farming systems for centuries. Subsistence farmers
have used a stick to open holes in the earth for seeds. More modern no-till approaches
employ the same principles but on a much larger and more complex scale.
* Dibbling is a technique of manual seed planting on hillslopes using a pole with a scoop attached. The
farmer lifts the soil with the scoop and plants the seed in the hole. The seed is covered with the soil
displaced by the scoop. This planting technique is appropriate in areas where access to machine plant-
ers is limited or on land that is not accessible for planting by mechanical drills.
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