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A critical review and re-assessment of theories of smallholder decision-making: a case of conservation agriculture households, Zambia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2013

Bridget Bwalya Umar
Bridget Bwalya Umar*
Affiliation:
Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway
*
*Corresponding author: brbwalya@unza.zm; brigt2001@yahoo.co.uk
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Abstract

Different theories have been posited that try to explain the decision-making process of smallholders especially regarding the adoption of new technologies or new agricultural techniques. The objective of this paper is to review and re-assess the dominant household production theories to explain the decision making of smallholders practicing conservation agriculture (CA) in the southern, eastern, and central provinces of Zambia. It also discusses the potential role of CA toward economic development. It finds that the CA smallholders studied did not aim to maximize profits but tried to secure household consumption from their own production before any other considerations in risky and uncertain environments. Their response to economic incentives was contingent on minimizing risks associated with securing a minimum level of livelihood and investing into local forms of insurance. This paper concludes that the ability for CA to contribute to rural livelihoods and economic development would depend on how adequately the factors that hinder smallholder agricultural development in general are addressed.

Keywords

farm/non-farm linkagesprofit maximizationrisk aversionutility maximization
Type
Research Papers
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 29 , Issue 3: Special Section: Themed Content: Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems , September 2014 , pp. 277 - 290
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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