The Adoption of Sustainable Farming Practices by Smallholder Crop Farmers: Micro-Level Evidence from North-Eastern South Africa

Sustainable farming practices (SFPs) are often touted as vehicles for improving crop productivity and the livelihoods of many rural households. However, SFP’s adoption rates remain persistently low, especially among smallholder farmers in many rural parts of developing countries. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the adoption of SFPs amongst smallholder crop farmers in Mbombela, South Africa. A simple random sampling procedure was employed to collect data from 294 farmers who were solely specializing in crop production. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire, and the analysis was performed with descriptive statistics. A multivariate probit model was adopted to determine the socio-economic determinants of adopting SFPs. The findings of this study confirm that SFPs are essential for addressing the abiotic and biophysical challenges that impede crop productivity, as farmers view these practices as highly beneficial in their farming activities. Also, the results reveal that crop rotation was the most adopted practice, whereas intercropping and conservation tillage were the least adopted practices in the surveyed area. Furthermore, the study showed that “gender, years of education, off-farm income, annual income, marital status, and satisfaction with extension services” were significant socio-economic attributes that do indeed influence the adoption of SFPs by smallholder crop farmers in the surveyed area. These findings underscore the need for the Ministry of Agriculture and rural development stakeholders to address issues relating to economic incentives, improve farmers’ perception of SFPs, provide financial literacy and support programs, and intensify efforts to promote underutilized practices.