Can short-term conditional subsidies sustain agroecology adoption? Evidence from Zimbabwe

Although agroecology is widely regarded as critical for transforming agri-food systems, its adoption remains low. This raises important policy questions about what can be done to nudge adoption. Large-scale input subsidies (ISPs) implemented by most governments are a good avenue. How to implement IS...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ngoma, Hambulo, Gebremariam, Gebrelibanos, Zingwena, Taurai, Thierfelder, Christian, Chimonyo, Vimbayi Grace Petrova
Format: Brief
Language:Inglés
Published: CIMMYT 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180658
_version_ 1855524712772272128
author Ngoma, Hambulo
Gebremariam, Gebrelibanos
Zingwena, Taurai
Thierfelder, Christian
Chimonyo, Vimbayi Grace Petrova
author_browse Chimonyo, Vimbayi Grace Petrova
Gebremariam, Gebrelibanos
Ngoma, Hambulo
Thierfelder, Christian
Zingwena, Taurai
author_facet Ngoma, Hambulo
Gebremariam, Gebrelibanos
Zingwena, Taurai
Thierfelder, Christian
Chimonyo, Vimbayi Grace Petrova
author_sort Ngoma, Hambulo
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Although agroecology is widely regarded as critical for transforming agri-food systems, its adoption remains low. This raises important policy questions about what can be done to nudge adoption. Large-scale input subsidies (ISPs) implemented by most governments are a good avenue. How to implement ISPs to nudge agroecology remains unclear and under explored. We assess the extent to which the Zimbabwean government’s large-scale conditional ISP, Pfumvudza, can sustain agroecology adoption using framed economic field experiments. We found indicative evidence suggesting that the provision of conditional subsidies for two consecutive seasons increased adoption by 5% and sustained it even after the subsidy was withdrawn. Thus, well designed and targeted conditional subsidies have the potential to sustain agroecology adoption.
format Brief
id CGSpace180658
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2025
publishDateRange 2025
publishDateSort 2025
publisher CIMMYT
publisherStr CIMMYT
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1806582026-01-26T23:06:30Z Can short-term conditional subsidies sustain agroecology adoption? Evidence from Zimbabwe Ngoma, Hambulo Gebremariam, Gebrelibanos Zingwena, Taurai Thierfelder, Christian Chimonyo, Vimbayi Grace Petrova agroecology conservation agriculture subsidies climate-smart agriculture agrifood systems Although agroecology is widely regarded as critical for transforming agri-food systems, its adoption remains low. This raises important policy questions about what can be done to nudge adoption. Large-scale input subsidies (ISPs) implemented by most governments are a good avenue. How to implement ISPs to nudge agroecology remains unclear and under explored. We assess the extent to which the Zimbabwean government’s large-scale conditional ISP, Pfumvudza, can sustain agroecology adoption using framed economic field experiments. We found indicative evidence suggesting that the provision of conditional subsidies for two consecutive seasons increased adoption by 5% and sustained it even after the subsidy was withdrawn. Thus, well designed and targeted conditional subsidies have the potential to sustain agroecology adoption. 2025-12 2026-01-26T20:28:33Z 2026-01-26T20:28:33Z Brief https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180658 en Open Access application/pdf CIMMYT Ngoma, H., Gebremariam, G., Zingwena, T., Thierfelder, C., & Chimonyo, V. G. P. (2025). Can short-term conditional subsidies sustain agroecology adoption? Evidence from Zimbabwe [Brief]. Zimbabwe: CIMMYT. https://hdl.handle.net/10883/36348
spellingShingle agroecology
conservation agriculture
subsidies
climate-smart agriculture
agrifood systems
Ngoma, Hambulo
Gebremariam, Gebrelibanos
Zingwena, Taurai
Thierfelder, Christian
Chimonyo, Vimbayi Grace Petrova
Can short-term conditional subsidies sustain agroecology adoption? Evidence from Zimbabwe
title Can short-term conditional subsidies sustain agroecology adoption? Evidence from Zimbabwe
title_full Can short-term conditional subsidies sustain agroecology adoption? Evidence from Zimbabwe
title_fullStr Can short-term conditional subsidies sustain agroecology adoption? Evidence from Zimbabwe
title_full_unstemmed Can short-term conditional subsidies sustain agroecology adoption? Evidence from Zimbabwe
title_short Can short-term conditional subsidies sustain agroecology adoption? Evidence from Zimbabwe
title_sort can short term conditional subsidies sustain agroecology adoption evidence from zimbabwe
topic agroecology
conservation agriculture
subsidies
climate-smart agriculture
agrifood systems
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180658
work_keys_str_mv AT ngomahambulo canshorttermconditionalsubsidiessustainagroecologyadoptionevidencefromzimbabwe
AT gebremariamgebrelibanos canshorttermconditionalsubsidiessustainagroecologyadoptionevidencefromzimbabwe
AT zingwenataurai canshorttermconditionalsubsidiessustainagroecologyadoptionevidencefromzimbabwe
AT thierfelderchristian canshorttermconditionalsubsidiessustainagroecologyadoptionevidencefromzimbabwe
AT chimonyovimbayigracepetrova canshorttermconditionalsubsidiessustainagroecologyadoptionevidencefromzimbabwe