Effects of weather variability on crop abandonment

In Zambia, every year some parts of the maize fields are abandoned post-planting. Reasons for this are not clearly known. In this paper, we examine the influence of soil and climatic factors on crop abandonment using a six-year (2007–2012) panel data by modeling the planted-to-harvested ratio (a goo...

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Autores principales: Mulungu, Kelvin, Tembo, Gelson
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: MDPI 2015
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/66593
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author Mulungu, Kelvin
Tembo, Gelson
author_browse Mulungu, Kelvin
Tembo, Gelson
author_facet Mulungu, Kelvin
Tembo, Gelson
author_sort Mulungu, Kelvin
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description In Zambia, every year some parts of the maize fields are abandoned post-planting. Reasons for this are not clearly known. In this paper, we examine the influence of soil and climatic factors on crop abandonment using a six-year (2007–2012) panel data by modeling the planted-to-harvested ratio (a good indicator of crop abandonment) using a fractional and linear approach. Therefore, for the first time, our study appropriately (as supported by the model specification tests that favour fractional probit over linear) models the fractional nature of crop abandonment. Regression results, which are not very different between the two specifications, indicate that, more than anything, high rainfall immediately after planting and inadequate fertilizer are the leading determinants of crop abandonment. In the agro-ecological region where dry planting takes place, low temperature during planting months negatively affects the harvested area. The results have implications on the sustainability of farming systems in the face of a changing climate.
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spelling CGSpace665932025-03-13T09:45:46Z Effects of weather variability on crop abandonment Mulungu, Kelvin Tembo, Gelson In Zambia, every year some parts of the maize fields are abandoned post-planting. Reasons for this are not clearly known. In this paper, we examine the influence of soil and climatic factors on crop abandonment using a six-year (2007–2012) panel data by modeling the planted-to-harvested ratio (a good indicator of crop abandonment) using a fractional and linear approach. Therefore, for the first time, our study appropriately (as supported by the model specification tests that favour fractional probit over linear) models the fractional nature of crop abandonment. Regression results, which are not very different between the two specifications, indicate that, more than anything, high rainfall immediately after planting and inadequate fertilizer are the leading determinants of crop abandonment. In the agro-ecological region where dry planting takes place, low temperature during planting months negatively affects the harvested area. The results have implications on the sustainability of farming systems in the face of a changing climate. 2015-03-09 2015-06-03T12:44:21Z 2015-06-03T12:44:21Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/66593 en Open Access MDPI Mulungu, Kelvin; Tembo, Gelson. 2015. Effects of weather variability on crop abandonment. Sustainability 7(3): 2858-2870.
spellingShingle Mulungu, Kelvin
Tembo, Gelson
Effects of weather variability on crop abandonment
title Effects of weather variability on crop abandonment
title_full Effects of weather variability on crop abandonment
title_fullStr Effects of weather variability on crop abandonment
title_full_unstemmed Effects of weather variability on crop abandonment
title_short Effects of weather variability on crop abandonment
title_sort effects of weather variability on crop abandonment
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/66593
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AT tembogelson effectsofweathervariabilityoncropabandonment