DOI: 10.36347/sjavs.2017.v04i06.002

Pages: 223-229

Abstract: Agriculture extension plays an important role in poverty reduction, economic growth, rural development, sustainable development and livelihoods, and household food security. The farmer to farmer extension approach is seen as one effective strategy for delivering extension services to smallholder farmers. This study sought to assess the impact of the farmer to farmer extension on household grain food self-sufficiency using a sample of 479 smallholder farmers selected randomly from 6 districts in Manicaland and Masvingo provinces of Zimbabwe. The study found that on average the sample households were food secure with a grain food self-sufficiency index of 1.20. In terms of the distribution, 51% of the sample households had grain food self-sufficiency above 100% while 29% of the households had grain food self-sufficiency below 50%. Farmer to farmer extension has a positive and significant impact on household grain food self-sufficiency. Other variables that have a positive and significant impact on household grain food self-sufficiency are farming experience, agricultural income, farm commercialization, soil fertility, household wealth, agro-ecological zone V, area planted to crops and farm profitability. On the other hand, the number of years in a farmer group, off farm sources of income for the household head, household size, access to irrigation, and private input suppliers and contractor’s extension support had a negative and significant impact on household grain food self-sufficiency. Given the positive contribution of the farmer to farmer extension to household grain food self-sufficiency, the study recommends that the government put in place measures to actively promote the approach to compliment the public extension service. Farmers also need to be trained in improved farming practices so that they can increase their productivity and agricultural incomes as the study found that farmers who were profitable and earning high agricultural income were more