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Malawi’s Energy Needs and Agroforestry: Adoption Potential of Woodlots

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Abstract

Rapid urbanization and population growth have resulted in increasing demand for fuelwood and higher rates of deforestation in Malawi. Agroforestry fuelwood technology (AFT) offers a sustainable approach to addressing this problem. Adoption levels, however, remain low due to several factors. This study explores the influence and interactions among these factors based on analyses of data collected from a large-scale extension effort using binary regression and interaction tests. The results show AFT adoption throughout the country is influenced positively by factors such as farming groups and education; further, labor availability and landholdings are important in the relatively less fertile South. While increased levels of individual income were found to mediate positive influences on adoption, environmental governance was found to moderate negative influences. Based on our results, we suggest closer monitoring of lead farmers, targeted training, promotion of environmental governance, and increased emphasis on due diligence during extension planning.

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Abbreviations

AFSP:

Agroforestry Food Security Program

AFT:

Agroforestry Fuelwood Technology

CWL:

Communal Woodlot

ICRAF:

World Agroforestry Centre

IWL:

Individual Woodlot

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Forest Resources & Conservation, University of Florida, 330 Newins-Ziegler Hall, PO Box 110410, Gainesville, FL, 32611-0410, USA

    Gregory G. Toth & P. K. Ramachandran Nair

  2. Chair of Forest Ecosystem Management Program, Pennsylvania State University, College, PA, USA

    Michael Jacobson

  3. Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia, Kota Depok, Indonesia

    Yekti Widyaningsih

  4. Climate Smart Agriculture Researcher, International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Cali, Colombia

    Colm P. Duffy

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  1. Gregory G. Toth
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  2. P. K. Ramachandran Nair
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  3. Michael Jacobson
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  4. Yekti Widyaningsih
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  5. Colm P. Duffy
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Correspondence to Gregory G. Toth.

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Toth, G.G., Ramachandran Nair, P.K., Jacobson, M. et al. Malawi’s Energy Needs and Agroforestry: Adoption Potential of Woodlots. Hum Ecol 45, 735–746 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-017-9944-z

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