Adoption Patterns of Climate Resilient Vegetables among Smallholder Farmers in Central Sudan: Seed Variety Acceptance and Yield Gains

Climate change poses significant challenges to agriculture in Central Sudan, where smallholder farmers face increased variability in rainfall and temperature patterns. A mixed-methods approach was employed, including surveys and focus group discussions with a sample size of 150 farmers. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Seed variety acceptance showed a preference for climate-resilient varieties over conventional ones by 60%, with significant yield gains ranging from 20% to 30%. Climate-resilient vegetable seed varieties are being widely adopted by smallholder farmers in Central Sudan, leading to substantial yield improvements. Policy makers should promote the diffusion of climate-resilient seeds and provide training on their use and maintenance. Model estimation used θ̂=argminθ∑ᵢ(yᵢ,f_θ(xᵢ))+λθ₂², with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.