Tryout and (Dis)adoption of conservation agriculture. Evidence from Western Madagascar

Conservation agriculture has been promoted in sub-Saharan Africa to address land degradation, which jeopardizes farmers' livelihoods. However, the low adoption rate of this technology raises the question of its suitability for smallholders. The aim of this study is to assess the factors influencing the tryout and disadoption of conservation agriculture thanks to a qualitative and econometric analysis. The Sustainable Rural Livelihoods framework is used to structure the analysis. Drawing on primary data collected from farmers in Western Madagascar, our model shows the adoption of the technology as a two-step process encompassing the tryout and disadoption. Our findings show a high tryout rate of CA - 56 % of the whole sample tried out CA - and also a high disadoption rate thereafter - 80 % of farmers who tried out CA later disadopted. We conclude that monetary poverty (financial capital) and agricultural work (social capital) decrease the likelihood a farmer will try out CA. The results also highlight that the longer the farmers receive CA technical support (human/social capital), the less likely they disadopt CA. The availability of upland areas (natural capital) influences farmers' decisions both to try out CA and to adopt the technology thereafter. To tackle the problem of land degradation in this area, it is important to tailor conservation agriculture technology and its accompanying measures to the diversity of farm characteristics. Moreover, technical changes and farmers' innovations need to be supported for a longer period.