**4. Conclusion and recommendations**

This study notes that adoption of the CA project in Chivi is low, with some farmers withdrawing from the project in ward such as 21 and 22. For a strategy to

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**Acknowledgements**

**Conflict of interest**

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

this research.

*Adoption of Conservation Agriculture as a Disaster Risk Reduction Tool in Chivi District…*

be effective in the light of a disaster risk, it should cover all the affected people. Farmers are also still working on demo plots. Failure to transfer CA to their own plots and resorting to increase demo plots reflects that farmers do appreciate CA but they are barriers impeding CA practice on their own farming plots. Despite low adoption of the project, some CA practices have been adopted into the traditional farming systems. All farmers have at least adopted one CA principle and have incorporated it into their conventional agriculture system. This supports the view that CA has the potential as a drought adaptation tool. Crop rotation and use of small grains are the most adopted strategies, while mulching and planting basins are the least. These least adopted principles could be the barriers to effective adoption of CA project and effective adaptation to drought. Other barriers to CA adoption noted is the vulnerability of the CA system under a recurring drought environment. This support the assertion that farmers opt for a more viable agricultural option [13]. Hence CA option might be effective at smaller scale and farmers do not perceive the benefits at a larger scale. There is need for CA to be practiced on larger plots for tangible benefits and also for its high production during a better season to increase resilience of farmers during lean periods. The social discourse on CA is too negative, CA project officials need to involve the community in decision making as well as incorporate their local knowledge so as to build some sense of proprietorship and avoid knowledge contestations. On all factors affecting CA, gender and finance had the most significant impact. Gender dimensions such as overburden on women, land ownership and critical decision making powers need to be closely assessed and mainstreamed in the CA project. Finances heavily affect Chivi community where the majority of household heads are not employed and most households live on monthly incomes below the UN poverty datum line. CA concepts outside the project seem to be welcomed by Chivi community, hence for it to be an effective tool in drought risk reduction, more support has to be given to the community and NGOs need to take time in capacity building before rolling out the support. Future research can also look into finding common grounds in building resilient communities such as, blending indigenous and scientific knowledge into adaptation strate-

gies as well as modifying agricultural extension models in rural areas.

I would like to acknowledge the support from NGOs working in Chivi District such as CARE international and Christian Care. The Department of Lands and Agriculture, ARREX officials at Chivi office for assisting with all the data which was used in this survey. The entire Chivi community for their willingness to share information. Last but not least, special thanks to the University of Venda for funding

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.94318*
