Adoption of Improved Wheat Varieties by Wheat Producers in the Bale Zone of Ethiopia

Abstract

Wheat is a strategic food security crop in the Ethiopia. Improving production and productivity of smallholder farmers through adoption of improved wheat varieties is one of the measures presumed to bridge the persistent food gap in the country. There are several socio-economic and institutional factors that constraint farmers from adoption of improved wheat varieties and empirically unidentified in the study area. The objective of this study was to analyze the factors influencing farmer’s decision in adoption of improved wheat varieties in the study area. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods such as household survey, key informant interview and focused group discussion were utilized for this study. The probit model result showed that sex of household head, land holding size, livestock holding size, access to credit, access to market information, frequency of extension contacts, educational level of household head, membership in cooperatives and perception on yield capacity significantly influenced adoption decision of improved wheat varieties. Therefore, policy and development interventions should give emphasis towards the improvement of such economical and institutional support system so as to achieve wider adoption of improved wheat varieties, increased production and productivity of smallholder farmers.