Conservation Agriculture as an adaptation strategy to drought in Chivi District, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Conservation agriculture (CA) which is an agricultural system with the capabilities of conserving soil and water through its zero to minimal tillage, mulching and crop rotation principles has become popular the world over. This study evaluated CA as an adaptation tool to drought in Chivi district, Zimbabwe. It developed a model to enhance adaptation to drought in Chivi and other areas of similar environment. The VLIR-UOUS (2019) Theory of Change (ToC) principles structured interview checklist was used to review the Logical Framework of CA to establish the project design. Questionnaires, key informant interviews and Focus Group Discussions were used to characterise the nature of CA in Chivi and to assess the socio-economic impact of the project. Official records were used to compare food crop production yields per hectare under conventional and conservation agriculture. Atlas.ti 8‘s capabilities such as Co oc for frequency of occurrence, Co-code Doc Table for numeric analysis, Networks and report tools for visual and text analysis were employed in data analysis. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version 22) was used for its uni-variate and bivariate analysis capabilities. The findings highlighted weaknesses in the Chivi CA principles and project design. It noted a low adoption of the project with some farmers withdrawing from the project against a downward trend in food production, despite CA having higher yields per hectare. The study also noted low socio-economic impact of CA as a project and its potential outside the project framework. The study concludes that CA has can alleviate the drought effects if the project’s framework is adjusted to suit local context