Impact Evaluation and Adoption of Climate Resilience and Nutrition Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato in Burundi: A Case Study of the Rural Bujumbura Province

Abstract

The new orange-fleshed sweet potato varieties have been adopted with the aim of increasing production, farmers' welfare, and combating chronic malnutrition. This study analyzed the impact of orange-fleshed sweet potato adoption on production in Gihanga commune using the propensity score matching method. A survey of 385 households was carried out on April 2023, including 161 orange-fleshed sweet potato adopters and 224 non-adopters. The determinants and rate of adoption of orange-fleshed sweet potato were also analyzed using the logit model and the Average Treatment effect on the Treated (ATT) method respectively, while Kendall's Concordance Coefficient was used to determine adoption constraints. Thus, unpredictable weather and climatic conditions, lack of capital, unavailability of PDCO cuttings, insufficient arable land as well as high labor costs are the main constraints to orange-fleshed sweet-potato adoption. The adoption rate for orange-fleshed sweet potatoes is estimated at 42%. Adoption of PDCO was positively and significantly influenced by the household head's level of education, family labor, access to credit, access to extension services and membership of producer organizations, while the household head's age and household size had a negative impact on adoption. The ATT revealed that the adoption of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes increased production per adopter household by an average of 369.88 kg, although the difference was not statistically significant. The government and other players in the agricultural sector should do their part to raise awareness, disseminate, facilitate access and mobilize farmers to adopt sweet potato varieties in order to improve their productivity.