Scale-wide evaluation and promotion of improved teff technologies under dryland scenario: Economic profitability, farmers’ preference and constraints in Northeast Amhara, Ethiopia

Despite number of improved teff varieties with their production package (teff technologies, here after) are released/recommended for dryland areas, failure to integrate farmers’ desired traits and profitability analysis weakened their adoption rate. Scale-wide participatory evaluation and promotion of improved teff technologies was thus conducted to assess their profitability, farmer preferences and constraints in Northeast Amhara drylands. Zoble and Kuncho improved teff technologies were compared with the local teff production practice for three consecutive years on un-replicated farms using 270 farmers. All necessary data were collected and analyzed in descriptive statistics, cost-benefit ratio, weighted matrix and poisson regression model. Therefore, Zoble teff provided 1620 and 1280 kgha⁻¹ average yield in Sekota and Lasta districts, respectively. Kuncho teff provided average yield of 1830 and 1420 kgha⁻¹ in Lasta and Sekota districts. They also ensured 3.7 and 4.5 ETB return for 1 ETB investment on production costs in Sekota and Lasta districts, orderly. Moreover, Zoble and Kuncho teff were primary and secondary choices of farmers in Sekota, and vice-versa in Lasta. The regression result revealed that except land holding size of the household head, other significant factors (sex, family size, training and credit access) were positively influenced teff technology package application. Hence, Zoble and Kuncho teff technologies should further diffuse to Sekota and Lasta districts, respectively. Providing access to package components, eminence training and credit services is worthwhile to enhance farmers’ technology package application. Agricultural mechanization research also should take an initiative to design labor relaxing devices to ease the labor pressure imposed by large farm size.