Understanding Farmers’ Trait Preferences for Dual-Purpose Crops to Improve Mixed Crop–Livestock Systems in Zimbabwe

Competition over land between food and fodder production, along with recurrent droughts increasing population, has put mixed crop–livestock farming systems in the drylands of sub-Saharan Africa under pressure. Dual-purpose crops hold huge potential to ease this pressure simultaneously improve availability these systems. We investigated farmers’ preferences for dual-purpose maize, sorghum, groundnut traits, analyzed linkages stated trait production adoption improved varieties involving 645 households from two districts Zimbabwe. The three target cover more than 75% households’ cropping lands. Highly preferred traits include yield, disease resistance, drought tolerance. appreciated feed attributes encompass stover yield digestibility. is high maize but low sorghum groundnut. Trait are correlated crops. However, strengths correlations differ groundnuts. discuss suggest why crop improvement programs should reconcile trade-offs grain support Zimbabwe successfully.