Impact of Improved Agricultural Technology Use on Household Income in Eastern Ethiopia: Empirical Evidence from a Propensity Score Matching Estimation

Abstract

This article investigates the impact of improved agricultural technology use on farm household income in eastern Ethiopia. Primary data for the study were obtained from a random sample of 248 rural households, 119 of which are improved technology users and the rest are non-users. The research employed the propensity score matching procedure to establish the causal relationship between adoption of improved crop and livestock technologies and changes in farm income. Results from the econometric analysis show that households using improved agricultural technologies had, on average, 23,031.28 Birr1 higher annual farm income compared to those households not using such technologies. Our findings highlight the importance of promoting multiple and complementary agricultural technologies among rural smallholders. Therefore, we suggest that rural technology generation, dissemination and adoption interventions be strengthened. Moreover, the linkage among research, extension, universities and farmers needs to be enhanced through facilitating multistakeholder innovation platforms.