Conservation agriculture is a global response to rampant land degradation, soil nutrient mining, declining crop yields and climate change and variability in southern Africa. In Zimbabwe, digging of planting basins is the main archetype of conservation agriculture practiced by a majority of smallholder farmers. Yet, a majority of smallholder farmers have complained about the labour demand of this typology of conservation agriculture, particularly at planting. Access to animal-drawn CA planting machinery may reduce the labour burden of the technology. However, there is paucity of the literature addressing the non-socio-demographic determinants of access to animal-drawn CA planting equipment in Zimbabwe. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate access to animal-drawn CA planting equipment by smallholder farmers in Chivi, Murehwa and Mutoko districts located in different agro-ecological zones of Zimbabwe using the 5As framework of access: acceptability, accessibility, affordability, awareness and availability. Data were collected through a household questionnaire, which was triangulated with focus group discussions, key informant interviews and personal observations. The significant non-socio-economic access to animal-drawn CA planting machinery factors was: acceptability, accessibility, affordability and availability (mean scores of 1.32, 1.44, 1.90 and 1.36, respectively). We recommend the provision of monetary incentives to farmers practicing conservation agriculture. Such incentives have to be based on amount of carbon sequestered and should solely be used for the purchase of conservation agriculture equipment.

中文翻译：

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5A：评估小农获得畜牧保护性农业种植设备的机会

保护性农业是对严重的土地退化、土壤养分开采、作物产量下降以及南部非洲气候变化和多变性的全球反应。在津巴布韦，种植盆地的挖掘是大多数小农采用的保护性农业的主要原型。然而，大多数小农抱怨这种保护性农业类型的劳动力需求，特别是在种植方面。使用动物牵引的 CA 种植机械可以减轻该技术的劳动力负担。然而，关于津巴布韦畜牧业 CA 种植设备的非社会人口决定因素的文献很少。因此，本研究的目的是评估 Chivi 的小农户获得畜牧 CA 种植设备的机会，位于津巴布韦不同农业生态区的 Murehwa 和 Mutoko 区使用 5As 获取框架：可接受性、可访问性、可负担性、意识和可用性。数据是通过家庭问卷收集的，问卷通过焦点小组讨论、关键知情人访谈和个人观察进行三角测量。获得动物牵引 CA 种植机械的重要非社会经济因素是：可接受性、可及性、可负担性和可用性（平均得分分别为 1.32、1.44、1.90 和 1.36）。我们建议向实行保护性农业的农民提供货币奖励。此类激励措施必须基于固碳量，并且应仅用于购买保护性农业设备。