Step by step to higher yields? Adoption and impacts of a sequenced training approach for climate-smart coffee production in Uganda

Climate change further exacerbates sustainability challenges in coffee cultivation. Addressing these requires effective delivery mechanisms for sustainable farming practices, particularly in smallholder contexts. We assess a novel public-private extension approach in Uganda, called Stepwise, compris...

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Autores principales: Günther, Manuela Kristin, Bosch, Christine, Ewel, Hanna, Nawrotzki, Raphael, Kato, Edward
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Informa UK Limited 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176628
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author Günther, Manuela Kristin
Bosch, Christine
Ewel, Hanna
Nawrotzki, Raphael
Kato, Edward
author_browse Bosch, Christine
Ewel, Hanna
Günther, Manuela Kristin
Kato, Edward
Nawrotzki, Raphael
author_facet Günther, Manuela Kristin
Bosch, Christine
Ewel, Hanna
Nawrotzki, Raphael
Kato, Edward
author_sort Günther, Manuela Kristin
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Climate change further exacerbates sustainability challenges in coffee cultivation. Addressing these requires effective delivery mechanisms for sustainable farming practices, particularly in smallholder contexts. We assess a novel public-private extension approach in Uganda, called Stepwise, comprising a sequence of climate-smart and good agricultural practices in four incremental steps. Using a mixed-method approach, an index that captures adoption intensity rather than binary uptake, and survey data from 915 Robusta and Arabica coffee farmers, we find adoption levels around 46% and relatively uniform amongst treated, spillover and comparison farmers. Regional variations suggest differing benefits across coffee varieties. Qualitative findings identify barriers to adoption, including financial and labour constraints, suboptimal training delivery, and input and output market imperfections. Despite relatively low uptake, adoption of more than half of the Stepwise practices is associated with substantial gains: inverse probability weighted regression adjustment reveals a 23% increase in yield and a 32% increase in revenue. Our findings add to the adoption literature, which often highlights limited uptake, and have important policy implications. Strengthening producer organizations, delivering targeted training but also innovative solutions for access to inputs and fair pricing, hold considerable potential to increase the adoption of climate-smart practices, particularly among resource-constrained farmers.
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spelling CGSpace1766282025-12-08T09:54:28Z Step by step to higher yields? Adoption and impacts of a sequenced training approach for climate-smart coffee production in Uganda Günther, Manuela Kristin Bosch, Christine Ewel, Hanna Nawrotzki, Raphael Kato, Edward climate-smart agriculture crop yield coffee sustainability Climate change further exacerbates sustainability challenges in coffee cultivation. Addressing these requires effective delivery mechanisms for sustainable farming practices, particularly in smallholder contexts. We assess a novel public-private extension approach in Uganda, called Stepwise, comprising a sequence of climate-smart and good agricultural practices in four incremental steps. Using a mixed-method approach, an index that captures adoption intensity rather than binary uptake, and survey data from 915 Robusta and Arabica coffee farmers, we find adoption levels around 46% and relatively uniform amongst treated, spillover and comparison farmers. Regional variations suggest differing benefits across coffee varieties. Qualitative findings identify barriers to adoption, including financial and labour constraints, suboptimal training delivery, and input and output market imperfections. Despite relatively low uptake, adoption of more than half of the Stepwise practices is associated with substantial gains: inverse probability weighted regression adjustment reveals a 23% increase in yield and a 32% increase in revenue. Our findings add to the adoption literature, which often highlights limited uptake, and have important policy implications. Strengthening producer organizations, delivering targeted training but also innovative solutions for access to inputs and fair pricing, hold considerable potential to increase the adoption of climate-smart practices, particularly among resource-constrained farmers. 2025-12-31 2025-09-23T13:00:12Z 2025-09-23T13:00:12Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176628 en Open Access Informa UK Limited Günther, Manuela Kristin; Bosch, Christine; Ewel, Hanna; Nawrotzki, Raphael; and Kato, Edward. 2025. Step by step to higher yields? Adoption and impacts of a sequenced training approach for climate-smart coffee production in Uganda. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 23(1): 2545042. https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2025.2545042
spellingShingle climate-smart agriculture
crop yield
coffee
sustainability
Günther, Manuela Kristin
Bosch, Christine
Ewel, Hanna
Nawrotzki, Raphael
Kato, Edward
Step by step to higher yields? Adoption and impacts of a sequenced training approach for climate-smart coffee production in Uganda
title Step by step to higher yields? Adoption and impacts of a sequenced training approach for climate-smart coffee production in Uganda
title_full Step by step to higher yields? Adoption and impacts of a sequenced training approach for climate-smart coffee production in Uganda
title_fullStr Step by step to higher yields? Adoption and impacts of a sequenced training approach for climate-smart coffee production in Uganda
title_full_unstemmed Step by step to higher yields? Adoption and impacts of a sequenced training approach for climate-smart coffee production in Uganda
title_short Step by step to higher yields? Adoption and impacts of a sequenced training approach for climate-smart coffee production in Uganda
title_sort step by step to higher yields adoption and impacts of a sequenced training approach for climate smart coffee production in uganda
topic climate-smart agriculture
crop yield
coffee
sustainability
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176628
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