Determinants of multiple maize technology packages adoption in Ethiopia: Evidence from Sidama region

Abstract

Adoption of improved agricultural technology packages is vital in Ethiopia, as the expansion of cultivable land appears nearly exhausted and population size has skyrocketed. However, the country has been shown low adoption rate. Thus, this study aimed to explore the factors that hinder or facilitate the adoption of multiple maize technology packages in the northern Sidama zone of Ethiopia. A multistage sampling procedure was applied to gather cross-sectional data from 424 farm households owning 545 maize plots. A multivariate probit model was applied to address the study objectives. Of total plots, improved maize seed, fertilizer, and row planting were adopted on about 54, 45, and 44 percent, respectively. The conditional probability results have also confirmed that maize technology packages have complementarity (positive relationship). This infers that agriculture-focused policies that influence the adoption of a single component of technology packages can have a reinforcing advantage over the adoption of other technologies. Furthermore, the results from model showed that farmers with higher family size, plot size, age, tropical livestock unit, ox (en), off-farm income, access to credit and extension services, membership in institutions, and the number of plots are more likely to adopt at least one of the improved maize technology packages. However, distance to maize plots affected adoption negatively. Therefore, it is crucial to reinforce and deliver quality extension services, provide credit access, motivate youth to be involved in farming activities, inspire membership and ease the system to access inputs and technologies for broader adoption of technology packages.