Factors influencing farmers' adoption of Kalima bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) variety in Malawi

Adoption of appropriate agricultural technologies is a necessary requirement for sustainable agricultural development. This study was conducted to investigate the adoption of Kalima, a new introduced dry bean variety (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), by smallholder farmers in target rural areas in Malawi and to identify the factors that most strongly influenced farmers' willingness to adopt the variety. The main findings of this study were that Kalima was only grown by farmers who had received seed through seed multiplication groups and was not grown by farmers outside of those groups due to unavailability of seed. Farmers' gender, literacy level, and level of education influenced their willingness to adopt Kalima, as did farmers' perceptions of specific bean characteristics such as yield, pest tolerance, pest susceptibility, bean color and cooking time. For adoption to be sustainable, information about a technology should be judicious in order for farmers to form appropriate perceptions. To increase rates of adoption, the information should be delivered in a method suitable for farmers with a low literacy level.