Impact of the adoption of residue retention on household maize yield in northern Zambia

Abstract

Evaluating the impact of agricultural practices helps policymakers and farmers in their decisionmaking. In Zambia, most households depend on agricultural activities, in particular maize production. This paper examines the impact of the adoption of residue retention on households’ maize yield in northern Zambia. We used the propensity score matching (PSM) method. By using the probit model, we also determined the factors that influence the adoption of residue retention. The results show that adopting residue retention has a positive and significant net effect on household maize yield. Residue retention traps moisture in the soil and improves soil structure. This suggests that a greater focus on this aspect is required to encourage more farmers to adopt residue retention to improve maize yield. Government policies can be structured to promote residue retention among smallholder farmers.