Farmer extension facilitators as a pathway for climate smart agriculture: evidence from southern Malawi

Climate smart agriculture (CSA) is increasingly vital for enhancing agricultural adaptation to extreme weather shocks and sequestering carbon in the face of climate change. However, CSA adoption remains low in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and other developing regions due to resource constraints and weak agricultural extension systems, among other factors. To reverse this trend and increase CSA adoption, the use of participatory extension services like farmer extension facilitators (FEFs) are increasingly viewed as a pathway to improving extension services in rural communities in SSA and elsewhere. Yet, rigorous analyses of the impacts of the FEF approach as a pathway for CSA adoption remain limited. Here we estimate the impacts of the FEF approach on CSA adoption in terms of resource intensity of CSA practices promoted by FEFs through a large CSA-related intervention in southern Malawi. We apply recursive bivariate probit regression to primary survey data from a sample of 808 households across five districts in the project area across southern Malawi in 2016, accounting for endogeneity and selection bias in farmer interaction with FEFs and the impact of the FEF approach on CSA adoption. Results show that interaction with FEFs had a positive and statistically-significant impact on CSA adoption; low, medium, and high resource intensity CSA categories increased by 42%, 87%, and 96%, respectively. The results suggest that the FEF approach can significantly enhance CSA adoption and thereby contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, including climate action in Malawi, similar contexts in SSA, and elsewhere.Key Policy InsightsParticipatory extension systems like the FEF approach can improve agricultural extension services in poor communities and thereby enhance CSA adoption in such areas.Smallholder farmer interaction with FEFs can enhance their adoption of resource-intensive CSA practices.Mainstreaming the FEF approach into national adaptation policies and programmes can help scale up CSA adoption in dryland communities.The FEF approach can enhance an achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, including climate action in dryland developing countries.