Determinants of Adoption of Improved Dairy Technologies: The Case of Offa Woreda, Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

One of the agricultural activities of rural farmers is dairy farming. Furthermore, by providing income, it has the potential to make farm households rich. The objective of this study was to analyze the general factors that influence adoption decisions, as well as the status of adoption of dairy technology in the Offa district, Wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia. The study area has fundamental factors influencing the adoption of dairy technologies which were unknown. This research was started to fill a knowledge gap for responsible bodies. Four kebeles were selected randomly for the study. 150 sample households (63 adopters and 87 nonadopters) were chosen using the SRS (systematic random sampling) method. The interview schedule was used to collect primary data from these households. Secondary data were gathered from a variety of sources, including reports, research findings, documents, and publications. Both quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed by using descriptive and econometric analyzes by SPSS version 21. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were also used to collect qualitative data. A binary logistic regression model was used to examine the factors that influence the adoption of dairy technologies. The results of the binary logistic regression model revealed that both dairy technology participants and nonparticipant households experienced a combination of personal, demographic, economic, and institutional factors that hindered adoption. Respondent age, access to credit services, size of household landholding, frequency of the extension contact, involvement of outside income, livestock ownership, and distance from the nearest market were all significant negative contributing factors. On the other hand, farm income and dairy farming experience were positively significant variables in the model. Technical assistance to improve farm productivity and income, experience sharing and field visit programs to the fields of early experienced dairy farmers, improvement of farmland usage, improvement of road infrastructure in the study area, provision of appropriate and modernized training and extension services, and so on are among the recommendations.