Socio-economic Determinants and Perceived Efficacy of Climate-Smart Agriculture Adoption in Merged District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

The concept of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) is critical to improving climate-prone areas in terms of resilience and food security. Yet, it depends on complicated socio-economic factors to be adopted, especially in post-conflict countries experiencing specific developmental problems. This paper examines the motivation behind the uptake of CSA and its perceived effectiveness by farmers in the integrated districts (former FATA) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan an area that is recovering following a period of conflict and most vulnerable to climatic hazards. A multistage sampling method was used to collect data on 300 farmer’s in the South Waziristan, Bajaur and the Khyber districts. An Ordered Logistic Regression (OLR) model was used to determine the determinants of the level of adoption. According to the results, the education level, the number of persons living in a household, middle age, income earned through agriculture, and the status of tenants had a substantial positive impact on the level of adoption. The research also identified high level of awareness (72.3) of CSA practices; most popular practices were drought resistant varieties (83.7%), agro forestry (86.3%), and drip irrigation (86.3%). The most used practices were mulching (69.3%), drip irrigation (66.3%), and soil conservation (62.7%). More importantly, the perceived efficacy was found to be high and substantial percentages linked CSA to better yields, income, food security and soil fertility. These findings highlight the importance of specific policies that would improve education, financial incentives, and the use of favorable testimonials of adopters to support the further adoption of CSA practices in post-conflict agrarian settings.