Drivers of climate-smart agricultural technology uptake among smallholder coffee farmers in Kalehe Territory, Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

Climate-smart agricultural technologies (CSATs) are important for climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries. Therefore, it is crucial for farmers to have access to sustainable CSATs to cope with climate change. While coffee is an important commercial crop in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), farmers suffer from coffee fluctuation in production attributed to climate variability. Accordingly, various coffee-related CSATs, notably coffee cultivars, manure and intercropping have been introduced in Kalehe Territory of the DRC to build climate resilience and adapt to changing environmental conditions. However, coffee cultivars are not widely used. This study fitted a two-step Heckman model to correct for selection bias on a randomly selected cross-sectional sample of 442 smallholder coffee farmers to examine the drivers of CSATs uptake in Kalehe Territory. The model results showed that family labour, non-farm income, access to credit and extension services, and residing in Butumba Village were the major factors influencing the decision of coffee farmers to use CSATs. The results revealed that manure and new coffee cultivars, manure and intercropping combined with manure had the potential to be substitutes for each other. The study recommends that policy makers and other stakeholders in CSATs support the dissemination of CSATs, especially coffee cultivars, to facilitate access. There is need to promote extension services so that the combination of intercropping and manure can help to increase coffee farmers’ welfare. The government should support farmers’ use of CSATs through either the subsidization of coffee cultivars or the provision of cheap agricultural credit.