Institutional Analysis of Adoption of Agroforestry Practices in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

Abstract

Agroforestry practices are innovations developed in response to problems associated with inappropriate land use practices. The latter refers to the use of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes because of an increase in urbanisation, rapidly developing industry, and investments, and, finally, gaps in laws and regulations (Cengiz, 2013). Agroforestry practices are land-based economic development strategies with a perceived positive role in supporting rural livelihoods. Using a logistic regression model with cross-sectional data, this study explores the impact of institutional factors and incentive mechanisms that affect the adoption of agroforestry innovations. The study finds that a larger number of extension services, access to credit, access to extension, information exchange among farmers, trust in local institutions, active participation in social  groups and organisations, and prior exposure to agricultural technologies are the variables that positively affect the adoption of agroforestry innovations in the study area. These findings have policy implications in promoting integrated rural development in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.