Does conservation agriculture technology reduce farm household poverty? Evidence from rural Zambia

Abstract

This study examines the adoption and impact of conservation agriculture on farm household poverty in Zambia using both provincial and average poverty lines, given that the poverty line is a key driver to the determination of household poverty. We probe the basis of setting a singular average poverty line for all provinces. The recursive bivariate probit model results reveal that conservation agriculture significantly reduces household poverty. However, the average poverty line either over or under estimates provincial poverty status. We also find that education, access to credit and information, social networks and machinery influence adoption of conservation agriculture technology.