Farmers' Awareness and Adoption of Improved Soil and Crop Management Practices: A Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/asl.2025.1.04.02Keywords:
farmer awareness, technology adoption, soil management, crop management, agricultural extension, ICT-based advisory, smallholder farmers, adoption determinantsAbstract
Improved soil and crop management practices can substantially raise agricultural productivity, yet their impact depends entirely on whether farmers first become aware of them and then choose to adopt and sustain their use. This review synthesizes recent evidence on farmers' awareness and adoption of improved soil and crop management practices, drawing on global meta-analyses, systematic reviews and country-level surveys. Awareness of individual practices varies widely, from near-universal recognition of simple practices such as intercropping and crop rotation (over 90%) to substantially incomplete awareness of more technical practices such as integrated soil fertility management and biofertilizers (55–65%), with awareness itself sometimes diverging from true technical understanding. Even where awareness is high, adoption lags further behind: a global meta-analysis of 164 studies found that fewer than half of the determinants commonly believed to drive technology adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa have consistent empirical support, with access to information, land tenure security, social capital and wealth among the few robust predictors. Extension and advisory delivery mechanisms matter greatly: farmer field schools raise yields by about 13% and incomes by about 20% on average, video-based extension can raise practice-specific adoption by 22–36%, and information and communication technology (ICT)-based advisory services improve awareness in 60% and adoption in 76% of evaluated studies. Persistent barriers include limited extension reach, unequal access to mobile and digital tools by gender and farm size, weak land tenure, and a mismatch between farmers' terminology and formal practice definitions. The review concludes that closing the awareness–adoption gap requires combining credible, locally tailored information delivery with structural enablers such as credit, secure tenure and social learning networks, rather than relying on information provision alone.
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