Abstract
This paper was the first to use nationally representative data from the Agricultural Sample Surveys of Ethiopia to examine the factors affecting the adoption of the fertilizer-seed technology “package” promoted by Ethiopia’s government. We used a double hurdle model to analyze fertilizer adoption among four major cereal crops (barley, maize, teff, and wheat). This model allowed us to identify factors affecting farmers’ access to fertilizer and factors affecting fertilizer demand conditional to input access. Extension was proven to have the biggest impact on fertilizer adoption. We found that knowledge required to adopt new technology represented a high cost for farmers. In addition to extension, other factors that could reduce the cost to access knowledge include farmers’ knowledge and skills in cereal production, risk aversion behavior, household wealth and land fragmentation. Substantial yield gain in maize and teff could be achieved from locally tailored extension packages. Key words: Technology adoption, double hurdle model, Ethiopia, fertilizer, cereal. JEL Codes: O33, O38, Q16, Q18.
Highlights
The economic growth strategy formulated by the Ethiopian government in 1991 places very high priority on accelerating agricultural growth to achieve food security and poverty alleviation
The first result to be noted is that of the Wald test for independent equations at the bottom of the table indicating that the extension service is endogenous in the decision making process of fertilizer adoption
Approach is smaller in the access function, but larger in the demand function. It suggests that extension service boosts the probability of having fertilizer access but does not affect the amount of fertilizer used among users
Summary
The economic growth strategy formulated by the Ethiopian government in 1991 places very high priority on accelerating agricultural growth to achieve food security and poverty alleviation. A core goal of this strategy is to increase cereal yields by focusing on technological packages that combined credit, fertilizers, improved seeds and better management practices. The participatory demonstration and training extension system (PADETES), started in 1994 to 1995 and in its early stages focused on cereal crops, but expanded to other crops in later years. This technology-packagedriven extension approach has been implemented on a large scale and has reached virtually all farming communities in Ethiopia. Extensive data from a large number of demonstrations carried out through
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