Exploring Farmers’ Decisions on Agricultural Intensification and Cropland Expansion in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Zambia through Serious Gaming
Author:
Adolph Barbara1ORCID, Jellason Nugun P.2ORCID, Kwenye Jane Musole3, Davies Jo4ORCID, Dray Anne Giger5ORCID, Waeber Patrick O.56ORCID, Jeary Katy1, Franks Phil1
Affiliation:
1. International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), 235 High Holborn, London WC1V 7DN, UK 2. International Business School, Teesside University, Middlesbrough TS1 3BZ, UK 3. Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, School of Natural Resources, Copperbelt University, Kitwe P.O. Box 21692, Zambia 4. Department of International Development, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AH, UK 5. Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland 6. School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Länggasse 85, 3052 Zollikofen, Switzerland
Abstract
This paper explores how increasing agricultural productivity through agricultural intensification may influence farmland expansion decisions of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Zambia. Six pairs of farmers at each site (72 in total) from different wealth groups were involved in serious games sessions that simulated different institutional, economic, and governance contexts, with players choosing their resource allocation accordingly. The approach was used to explore with farmers, in a ‘safe space’, whether an increase in agricultural productivity and profitability via intensification would reduce or end farmland expansion into natural habitats. The results show that, under certain conditions (such as poor forest governance and lack of alternative income-generating and investment opportunities), agricultural intensification can lead to more agricultural expansion at the expense of natural habitats, such as forests and grasslands. This suggests that intensification strategies to promote increased productivity may need companion strategies to protect forest ecosystems from expansion at the agricultural frontier.
Funder
UK Research and Innovation Stichting IKEA Foundation
Subject
Nature and Landscape Conservation,Ecology,Global and Planetary Change
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