Adoption of improved bread wheat varieties and inorganic fertilizer by small-scale farmers in Yelmana Densa and Farta districts of northwestern Ethiopia
2004
Tesfaye Zegeye (Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization, Addis Abeba (Ethiopia));Girma Taye (Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization, Addis Abeba (Ethiopia));Douglas Tanner (CIMMYT, Addis Abeba (Ethiopia));Hugo Verkuijl (CIMMYT, Addis Abeba (Ethiopia));Aklilu Agidie (Adet Agricultural Research Center, Adet (Ethiopia));Wilfred Mwangi (CIMMYT, Addis Abeba (Ethiopia)))
A study was initiated in two major wheat-growing districts of ANRS, namely Yelmana Densa and Farta, in West Gojam and South Gonder Zones. The objectives of the study were to investigate and document adoption of improved bread wheat varieties and inorganic fertilizer, to determine the factors affecting their adoption. Primary data on farming practices during 1998 were collected from sample farmers through a structured questionnaire during April and October of 1999 in Farta and Yelmana Densa Districts, respectively. The data were analysed using descriptive statistical and the logistic econometric model. Each of the explanatory variables hypothesized to potentially influence adoption of improved bread wheat varieties was fitted into a logistic model. Farm size, participation of farmers in on-farm demonstration, and Contacts made with extension agents, service cooperative (SC) representatives, or PA chairmen contributed positively and significantly the adoption pattern of respondents. Attendance a training courses, access to credit, and farmer's educational level contributed to adoption positively, but the relationship was weak (i.e., not significant at the 10% level). Other variables such as radio ownership contributed very little, suggesting that information about improved bread wheat production technologies is more effectively diffused among farmers through other methods such as extension contact and demonstration of improved wheat variety. Number of livestock units, distance to a development center, and years of farming experience did not contribute to the adoption of improved bread wheat varieties.
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