Tailoring interventions through a combination of statistical typology and frontier analysis: A study of mixed crop-livestock farms in semi-arid Zimbabwe
An innovative methodological approach combining statistical typologies and stochastic frontier analysis was applied to data collected from 1840 mixed crop-livestock farms in six districts of Zimbabwe, representative of semi-arid areas of the country. The average annual cereal production was 362 kg f...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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Cambridge University Press
2024
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| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173534 |
| _version_ | 1855536930708520960 |
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| author | Baudron, Frédéric Homann-Kee Tui, Sabine Silva, João Vasco Chakoma, Irenie Matangi, Dorcas Nyagumbo, Isaiah Dube, Sikhalazo |
| author_browse | Baudron, Frédéric Chakoma, Irenie Dube, Sikhalazo Homann-Kee Tui, Sabine Matangi, Dorcas Nyagumbo, Isaiah Silva, João Vasco |
| author_facet | Baudron, Frédéric Homann-Kee Tui, Sabine Silva, João Vasco Chakoma, Irenie Matangi, Dorcas Nyagumbo, Isaiah Dube, Sikhalazo |
| author_sort | Baudron, Frédéric |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | An innovative methodological approach combining statistical typologies and stochastic frontier analysis was applied to data collected from 1840 mixed crop-livestock farms in six districts of Zimbabwe, representative of semi-arid areas of the country. The average annual cereal production was 362 kg farm –1 , and the average annual livestock offtake was 0.64 ± 1.32 Tropical Livestock Units (TLU) farm –1 . Our results demonstrate there is scope to increase cereal and livestock production by 90.7% and 111.9% relative to current production levels, respectively, with more efficient use of existing resources and technologies. Rainfall was found to have a strong effect on cereal production, highlighting the need for climate-smart practices. Livestock mortality (0.59 ± 1.62 TLU farm –1 ) was found to be in the same order of magnitude as livestock offtake (0.64 ± 1.32 TLU farm –1 ). Cereal production was supported by livestock, demonstrating the importance of crop-livestock interactions in these mixed farming systems. Three farm types were identified in our analysis. Crop-oriented mixed farms (31%) are likely to be the ones most responsive to crop-specific interventions e.g., crop rotation and integrated pest management. Livestock-oriented mixed farms (34%) are likely to benefit the most from livestock-specific interventions, e.g., home feed. Mixed farms dependent on off-farm activities (36% of the sample) may require nutrition-sensitive and labour-saving sustainable intensification technologies to benefit from their limited resources. Reducing cattle mortality is a priority for all three farm types. The method proposed here could be adapted to other contexts characterized by heterogeneous farming populations to target interventions. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace173534 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publishDateRange | 2024 |
| publishDateSort | 2024 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| publisherStr | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1735342025-12-08T09:54:28Z Tailoring interventions through a combination of statistical typology and frontier analysis: A study of mixed crop-livestock farms in semi-arid Zimbabwe Baudron, Frédéric Homann-Kee Tui, Sabine Silva, João Vasco Chakoma, Irenie Matangi, Dorcas Nyagumbo, Isaiah Dube, Sikhalazo livestock farming systems yield gap farm typology An innovative methodological approach combining statistical typologies and stochastic frontier analysis was applied to data collected from 1840 mixed crop-livestock farms in six districts of Zimbabwe, representative of semi-arid areas of the country. The average annual cereal production was 362 kg farm –1 , and the average annual livestock offtake was 0.64 ± 1.32 Tropical Livestock Units (TLU) farm –1 . Our results demonstrate there is scope to increase cereal and livestock production by 90.7% and 111.9% relative to current production levels, respectively, with more efficient use of existing resources and technologies. Rainfall was found to have a strong effect on cereal production, highlighting the need for climate-smart practices. Livestock mortality (0.59 ± 1.62 TLU farm –1 ) was found to be in the same order of magnitude as livestock offtake (0.64 ± 1.32 TLU farm –1 ). Cereal production was supported by livestock, demonstrating the importance of crop-livestock interactions in these mixed farming systems. Three farm types were identified in our analysis. Crop-oriented mixed farms (31%) are likely to be the ones most responsive to crop-specific interventions e.g., crop rotation and integrated pest management. Livestock-oriented mixed farms (34%) are likely to benefit the most from livestock-specific interventions, e.g., home feed. Mixed farms dependent on off-farm activities (36% of the sample) may require nutrition-sensitive and labour-saving sustainable intensification technologies to benefit from their limited resources. Reducing cattle mortality is a priority for all three farm types. The method proposed here could be adapted to other contexts characterized by heterogeneous farming populations to target interventions. 2024 2025-03-10T11:00:59Z 2025-03-10T11:00:59Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173534 en Open Access application/pdf Cambridge University Press Baudron, F.; Homann-Kee Tui, S.; Silva, J.V.; Chakoma, I.; Matangi, D.; Nyagumbo, I.; Dube, S. (2024) Tailoring interventions through a combination of statistical typology and frontier analysis: A study of mixed crop-livestock farms in semi-arid Zimbabwe. Experimental Agriculture 60: e23. ISSN: 0014-4797 |
| spellingShingle | livestock farming systems yield gap farm typology Baudron, Frédéric Homann-Kee Tui, Sabine Silva, João Vasco Chakoma, Irenie Matangi, Dorcas Nyagumbo, Isaiah Dube, Sikhalazo Tailoring interventions through a combination of statistical typology and frontier analysis: A study of mixed crop-livestock farms in semi-arid Zimbabwe |
| title | Tailoring interventions through a combination of statistical typology and frontier analysis: A study of mixed crop-livestock farms in semi-arid Zimbabwe |
| title_full | Tailoring interventions through a combination of statistical typology and frontier analysis: A study of mixed crop-livestock farms in semi-arid Zimbabwe |
| title_fullStr | Tailoring interventions through a combination of statistical typology and frontier analysis: A study of mixed crop-livestock farms in semi-arid Zimbabwe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tailoring interventions through a combination of statistical typology and frontier analysis: A study of mixed crop-livestock farms in semi-arid Zimbabwe |
| title_short | Tailoring interventions through a combination of statistical typology and frontier analysis: A study of mixed crop-livestock farms in semi-arid Zimbabwe |
| title_sort | tailoring interventions through a combination of statistical typology and frontier analysis a study of mixed crop livestock farms in semi arid zimbabwe |
| topic | livestock farming systems yield gap farm typology |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173534 |
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