Zuwarimwe, J.Manjoro, M.Mulaudzi, Rudzani Grace2026-07-082026-07-082026-05-19Mulaudzi, R.G. 2026. Analysis of the Profitability of Conservation Agriculture for Participating Smallholder Maize Farmers in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province. . .https://univendspace.univen.ac.za/handle/11602/3335AGPPPRDInstitute for Rural DevelopmentSustainable increase in maize yield for smallholder farmers demand complementary technologies and supporting policies. In South Africa, the adoption efforts for conservation agriculture have been done without a consideration of the economic viability of maize production for smallholder farmers. This study aims to analyze the profitability of conservation agriculture for participating smallholder maize farmers in Vhembe District of Limpopo Province. This study used probability sampling and simple random sampling to sample 337 smallholder maize farmers from four Vhembe District local municipalities. Research design was mixed-method approach used to solicit data from sampled smallholder maize farmers. The objectives were to characterize smallholder maize farmers, to investigate factors and perceptions influencing the adoption of CA among smallholder farmers, to assess the economic viability of CA and lastly to propose a framework for sustainable agricultural practices. Descriptive results indicates that majority of the respondents were female (53.71%), majority of the participants (66,.77%) were aged above 51 years of age, majority (76%) of the participants adopted CA partially while the most adopted CA principle was crop rotation (24.03%) and only more than half (51.04%) did not have access to extension service and only 24.03% practiced crop rotation whereas only 17.51% of them have received full training on CA. Training could be associated with knowledge and therefore, lack of full training can explain partial adoption of CA by smallholder maize farmers in Vhembe District. Cross-tabulation results revealed that factors like age (p=0.001), knowledge (p=0.001) and training (p=0.036) influenced the adoption of CA. OLR findings emphasize that training effect had 2.17 times higher odds (95% CI:1.12-4.20) of being in higher adoption category (partial/full vs. non, or full vs. partial/non) and again, knowledge gradient posed a strong dose-response relationship: each knowledge level increase substantially raises the odds of adoption. The assessment of gross margins over the five-year period indicated a fluctuating pattern, where in years 1 (R21 537.85), 3 (R23 054.65), and 5 (R42 316.76) showcased a consistent upward trend in gross margins whereas year 2 ( R20 573.70) and year 4 (R22 658.58) revealed a decrease of gross margin. On ranking production inputs, fertilizer (R861.13) costs shows to be the main contributor while mulching costs was the lowest (R489.45). Both semi-log and double log models revealed that inputs variable remained highly significant (p<0.001) affirming its role as a strong predictor of profit. Moreover, AOV indicated that no-tillage variable significantly correlates with economic profitability, showing farmers not practicing no tillage with a mean yield of 4.15 (on the log scale), thus a higher yield compared to those who were practicing no tillage (mean=3.89). The assessment of gross margins over five years reveals insightful trends, highlighting the critical role of fertilizers and no-tillage practices in shaping economic profitability. The disparities observed across different years emphasize the need for flexible and adaptive farming strategies. Collaboration of key agricultural role players and needs-oriented CA support can play a vital role in the provision of inputs and targeted support to address inputs and CA compatible implements for sustainable and economic viable CA.1 online resource (x, 104 leaves)enUniversity of VendaConservation AgricultureUCTDSmallholder FarmersEconomic viabilityEconomic profitabilityThesisMulaudzi RG. Analysis of the Profitability of Conservation Agriculture for Participating Smallholder Maize Farmers in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province. []. , 2026 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from:Mulaudzi, R. G. (2026). <i>Analysis of the Profitability of Conservation Agriculture for Participating Smallholder Maize Farmers in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province</i>. (). . Retrieved fromMulaudzi, Rudzani Grace. <i>"Analysis of the Profitability of Conservation Agriculture for Participating Smallholder Maize Farmers in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province."</i> ., , 2026.TY - Thesis AU - Mulaudzi, Rudzani Grace AB - Sustainable increase in maize yield for smallholder farmers demand complementary technologies and supporting policies. In South Africa, the adoption efforts for conservation agriculture have been done without a consideration of the economic viability of maize production for smallholder farmers. This study aims to analyze the profitability of conservation agriculture for participating smallholder maize farmers in Vhembe District of Limpopo Province. This study used probability sampling and simple random sampling to sample 337 smallholder maize farmers from four Vhembe District local municipalities. Research design was mixed-method approach used to solicit data from sampled smallholder maize farmers. The objectives were to characterize smallholder maize farmers, to investigate factors and perceptions influencing the adoption of CA among smallholder farmers, to assess the economic viability of CA and lastly to propose a framework for sustainable agricultural practices. Descriptive results indicates that majority of the respondents were female (53.71%), majority of the participants (66,.77%) were aged above 51 years of age, majority (76%) of the participants adopted CA partially while the most adopted CA principle was crop rotation (24.03%) and only more than half (51.04%) did not have access to extension service and only 24.03% practiced crop rotation whereas only 17.51% of them have received full training on CA. Training could be associated with knowledge and therefore, lack of full training can explain partial adoption of CA by smallholder maize farmers in Vhembe District. Cross-tabulation results revealed that factors like age (p=0.001), knowledge (p=0.001) and training (p=0.036) influenced the adoption of CA. OLR findings emphasize that training effect had 2.17 times higher odds (95% CI:1.12-4.20) of being in higher adoption category (partial/full vs. non, or full vs. partial/non) and again, knowledge gradient posed a strong dose-response relationship: each knowledge level increase substantially raises the odds of adoption. The assessment of gross margins over the five-year period indicated a fluctuating pattern, where in years 1 (R21 537.85), 3 (R23 054.65), and 5 (R42 316.76) showcased a consistent upward trend in gross margins whereas year 2 ( R20 573.70) and year 4 (R22 658.58) revealed a decrease of gross margin. On ranking production inputs, fertilizer (R861.13) costs shows to be the main contributor while mulching costs was the lowest (R489.45). Both semi-log and double log models revealed that inputs variable remained highly significant (p<0.001) affirming its role as a strong predictor of profit. Moreover, AOV indicated that no-tillage variable significantly correlates with economic profitability, showing farmers not practicing no tillage with a mean yield of 4.15 (on the log scale), thus a higher yield compared to those who were practicing no tillage (mean=3.89). The assessment of gross margins over five years reveals insightful trends, highlighting the critical role of fertilizers and no-tillage practices in shaping economic profitability. The disparities observed across different years emphasize the need for flexible and adaptive farming strategies. Collaboration of key agricultural role players and needs-oriented CA support can play a vital role in the provision of inputs and targeted support to address inputs and CA compatible implements for sustainable and economic viable CA. DA - 2026-05-19 DB - ResearchSpace DP - Univen KW - Conservation Agriculture KW - Smallholder Farmers KW - Economic viability KW - Economic profitability LK - https://univendspace.univen.ac.za PY - 2026 T1 - Analysis of the Profitability of Conservation Agriculture for Participating Smallholder Maize Farmers in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province TI - Analysis of the Profitability of Conservation Agriculture for Participating Smallholder Maize Farmers in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province UR - ER -