Does poverty and food security play a role in usage of sustainable agricultural practices? A bivariate probit analysis

Abstract

Sustainable Agricultural Practices (SAPs) have gained prominence for mitigating the impacts of stimulated extensive empirical research on the determinants of SAP usage and their effects on household welfare outcomes. While existing studies largely examine how SAPs affect food security and poverty, they often overlook the possibility that welfare conditions themselves influence the likelihood of SAP usage. Ignoring this two-way relationship risks biased inference due to endogeneity. This study addresses this gap by estimating a seemingly unrelated bivariate probit model using data from 8,084 maize‑farming households from Malawi’s Fifth Integrated Household Survey (IHSV). The results provide robust evidence of a two‑way relationship between SAP usage and household welfare. Food insecurity reduces the probability of SAP usage by 41–50%, while poverty lowers the likelihood by 14–39%, depending on the indicator used. These findings highlight that food‑insecure and poor households face cognitive and financial constraints that limit their ability to invest in long‑term resilience strategies. The study recommends integrated interventions that simultaneously promote SAP usage while addressing underlying food insecurity and poverty. Future research should incorporate the two‑way relationship when estimating welfare impacts of SAPs to avoid biased conclusions.