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Understanding Farmers’ Trait Preferences for Dual-Purpose Crops to Improve Mixed Crop–Livestock Systems in Zimbabwe

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/11864/
https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105678
doi:10.3390/su13105678
 
Title Understanding Farmers’ Trait Preferences for Dual-Purpose Crops to Improve Mixed Crop–Livestock Systems in Zimbabwe
 
Creator Melesse, M B
Tirra, A N
Ojiewo, C O
Hauser, M
 
Subject Farming Systems
Livestock
Groundnut
Sorghum
Maize
Zimbabwe
 
Description Competition over land between food and fodder production, along with recurrent droughts
and increasing population, has put mixed crop–livestock farming systems in the drylands of sub-
Saharan Africa under pressure. Dual-purpose crops hold huge potential to ease this pressure and
simultaneously improve food and fodder availability in these systems. We investigated farmers’
preferences for dual-purpose maize, sorghum, and groundnut traits, and analyzed linkages of stated
trait preferences with production of dual-purpose crops and adoption of improved varieties involving
645 households from two districts in Zimbabwe. The three target crops cover more than 75% of
households’ cropping lands. Highly preferred stated traits of dual-purpose crops include yield,
disease resistance, and drought tolerance. Highly appreciated feed attributes encompass stover
yield and digestibility. The adoption of improved varieties is high for maize but low for sorghum
and groundnut. Trait preferences are correlated with the production of dual-purpose crops and the
adoption of improved varieties of the crops. However, the strengths of these correlations differ for
maize, sorghum, and groundnuts. We discuss these linkages and suggest why crop improvement
programs should reconcile trade-offs between grain and feed attributes to support mixed crop–
livestock systems in Zimbabwe successfully.
 
Publisher MDPI
 
Date 2021-05
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/11864/1/sustainability-13-05678.pdf
Melesse, M B and Tirra, A N and Ojiewo, C O and Hauser, M (2021) Understanding Farmers’ Trait Preferences for Dual-Purpose Crops to Improve Mixed Crop–Livestock Systems in Zimbabwe. Sustainability (TSI), 13 (10). pp. 1-20. ISSN 2071-1050