Exploring Farmers’ Decisions on Agricultural Intensification and Cropland Expansion in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Zambia through Serious Gaming

Adolph, Barbara; Jellason, Nugun P.; Kwenye, Jane Musole; Davies, Jo; Dray, Anne Giger; Waeber, Patrick Olivier; Jeary, Katy; Franks, Phil (2023). Exploring Farmers’ Decisions on Agricultural Intensification and Cropland Expansion in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Zambia through Serious Gaming Land, 12(3), p. 556. MDPI 10.3390/land12030556

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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.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL
Name:	Adolph, Barbara; Jellason, Nugun P.; Kwenye, Jane Musole; Davies, Jo; Dray, Anne Giger; Waeber, Patrick Olivier0000-0002-3229-0124; Jeary, Katy and Franks, Phil
ISSN:	2073-445X
Publisher:	MDPI
Language:	English
Submitter:	Patrick Waeber
Date Deposited:	08 Mar 2023 09:26
Last Modified:	08 Mar 2023 09:26
Publisher DOI:	10.3390/land12030556
Uncontrolled Keywords:	agricultural intensification; cropland expansion; expansion drivers; -sub-Saharan Africa (SSA); Jevon’s paradox; serious games
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.18900
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/18900