Carbon Sequestration, Carbon Markets, Technical Efficiency and Maize Production Using Conservation Agriculture in Mozambique

Conservation agriculture practices are a promising sustainable farming system being promoted by various organizations in Mozambique. This thesis analyzes the impact of adoption of conservation agriculture practices on maize production technical efficiency, carbon sequestration and farmer income. The technical efficiency estimation utilizes data from a household survey conducted in Manica and Tete provinces of Mozambique. Soil carbon simulations use information from various sources including the household survey, European Energy markets and local meteorological data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The second chapter of the thesis evaluates the technical efficiency of maize production using conservation agriculture practices. This section applies data envelopment analysis to estimate maize production technical efficiency scores of fields managed with conservation and conventional farming practices. The results suggest that the technical efficiency scores of fields managed with conservation agriculture practices is higher than fields managed with conventional practices.

In the third chapter, carbon sequestration in fields managed using various farming practices, including conservation agriculture, are simulated. The simulation results suggest that adopting conservation agriculture practices results in higher soil carbon accumulation. Scenarios with longer conservation practices use as well as using higher fertilizer rates resulted in higher soil organic carbon. This chapter also evaluates the income benefits of a hypothetical payments for environmental services program for conservation agriculture practices adopters, concluding that there is a potential for increasing farmers income through payments carbon sequestration in fields managed with conservation agriculture practices.