Agricultural Technology Adoption

The study analysed the determinants of sesame seed technology adoption among farmers in Jigawa State, Nigeria.  The study specifically intends to achieve the followings objectives: examine the factors that influence the likelihood of adoption and factors that influence the intensity of adoption of the improved sesame seed technology among the respondent in Jigawa State. Multi stage sampling procedure was used. In the first stage 3 Local Government Areas were randomly selected from each of the four zones making a total of 12 Local Government Areas.  In the second stage two sesame producing communities were selected at random in each of the 12 Local Government Areas to totaling 24 communities while at the third stage thirteen respondents were purposively selected from each of the 24 selected communities.  This gives a total of 312 respondents for the study.  Data were collected by means of a well structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (Logit and Tobit regression). The result shows that minimum age was 20 years and maximum of 65 years. About 95.8% were male while 82.4% were married. Majority (77.6%) of the respondents had less than nine members per family. About 73.3% of the respondents acquired one form of education or the other. The remaining 26.7% acquired Qur’anic education.  Source of land was by inheritance 57.7%. Majority (81.1%) of the respondents were members of farmers’ organizations. About 67.6% cultivated sesame for more than 7 years. Majority (82.0%) of the farmers use personal saving to finance sesame production. Majority (80.5%) got sesame seed from government. JARDA is the main source of information (52.65%). Diversification of income (72.11%) was the major reason for sesame production. Adopters were 60.2% while 39.8% were non-adopters. The result of Logit and Tobit regressions shows that age, sex, education, farm size, access to extension were all significant (p ≤ 0.01). While yield/ha, access to credit, and maturity period were also significant (p ≤ 0.05) in influencing the likelihood and adoption intensity of the improved sesame seed technology in the study area. However, the Logit estimates revealed an R2 of 0.738, indicating that 73.80% of the relationships can be explained by the variation in the independent variables and the Tobit estimates  shows that pseudo R – square was 40%, indicating that the intensity of adoption and use can be best explained by the variation in the dependent variables.  Major constraints were non - availability of fertilizer (50.9%), difficulty in harvesting (18.3%), lack of access to extension (13.8%), and non-availability of improved sesame seed, (4.2%).  It is therefore recommended that fertilizer, improved sesame seed should be made available and affordable to the farmers by the government.  The extension agents should educate sesame farmers on sesame handling to reduce the level of difficulties during harvesting period to avoid losses due to pod shattering

Accelerating agricultural growth remains one of the most urgent goal of Ethiopia as the agricultural sector is the backbone of the Ethiopian economy. The adoption of new agricultural technologies and improved practices are particularly important in increasing agricultural production. This comprises strengthening legumes adoption and production as it contributes to better food security and more sustainable farming systems. Grain legumes are necessary elements of crop production in Ethiopia. The adoption and use of legume crops have been advocated for enhanced nutrition and preserving soil resources. Different improved varieties and legume production technologies have been made available to farmers through various sectors and projects in the country. Various policy measures and initiatives have also been made in improving the adoption, technology generation and contribution of legumes to the various system. Despite their contribution and considerable initiatives, over-all level of adoption and use of legume production is still low. A wide array of technical, economic, social, and institutional factors has been found to encounter the adoption, use and production of legumes along with their value-chain. However, there are still various opportunities that different grain legumes are to be adopted and promoted to increase production and productivity. Essential interventions, innovative approaches, increased production packages and improved technologies and market access should be emphasized and integrated to strengthen grain legumes adoption and production.

Potato production plays an important role in improving household income and nutrition and thereby contributes to food security. Despite of this, the current productivity of the crop is below the potential. Low level of use of improved potato technology package is among the causes for low productivity. In this context, this study analysed the factors influencing adoption of potato technology package by smallholder farmers in Gurawa, Haramaya, Kombolcha, Meta, and Habro districts of Eastern Ethiopia. The analysis was based on a household survey conducted on 214 randomly selected potato growing households. A two-limit Tobit model was used to analyse the factors affecting adoption which is measured in an index computed from five components of the technology package. Variation in districts, access to irrigation, farm size, membership to cooperatives, and annual income of the households were found to significantly affect the adoption of potato technology package. Policy makers, planners and development practitioners are required to give due attention to these determinants in order to support smallholder farmers in production and productivity improvements from potato production.

The use of improved high yielding crop varieties is an important avenue for reducing hunger and food insecurity in developing countries. Using cross-sectional data obtained from a survey conducted during 2013 crop season, we performed a probit model (plot-level analysis) to determine the probability of adopting new improved rice varieties (NIRVs) by smallholder farmers particularly from two main agro-ecological regions (hills and tropical plain terai regions) of Central Nepal. The results revealed that education, extension services and seed access play significant roles in adoption decisions. Additionally, farm and field characteristic variables such as farm size, endowment of favorable land type (e.g. lowlands), and animal power (e.g. oxen) are the key factors influencing the probability of adopting NIRVs. The results showed that technology specific variables (e.g. yield potential and acceptability) are significant for explaining adoption behavior, implying that it is important to take farmers' preferences to varietal characteristics into consideration in the design of a research and development program. Given the significant role played by extension and access related variables, increased emphasis on information dissemination, field demonstration, and farmers' participatory research and training programs to popularize new rice varieties and enhance their adoption rate are required. This also suggests that policy intervention should be made on improving the educational status of farming households, and developing programs on varietal package of rice seed which offer farmers a variety of choices among the appropriate pools of germplasm. Such programs ultimately help farmers develop more profit-oriented behavior which are necessary to enhance adoption rate, production and food security in the long run.

This study compared the economics of sesame production between improved sesame seed adopter and non-adopter farmers in Jigawa State, Nigeria. 312 respondents were selected for the study. Data were collected by means of questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent T-test. The result of the socioeconomic characteristics shows a minimum age of 20 years and a maximum of 65 years. Majority (95.8%) was male and 82.4% were married. Most (77.6%) respondents had less than 11 members per family. All the respondents had acquired one form of education or the other. Source of land was purely through inheritance for 85.0 % of respondents with most having about 0.5 ha of farm land. Majority (81.8%) were members of farmers' organizations. About 68 % have been cultivating sesame for more than seven years. The result of independent T-test on the commercial parameters tested indicated that mean yield for non-adopters was 295.7kg/ha while mean yield for adopters was 458.0kg/ha. Furthermore, Gross mean sale was considered in terms of yield at the harvest time and yield six months after harvest for non-adopters and adopters. Sesame sold during harvest period had a mean gross sale of N140,821 for non-adopters while it was N190,798.65 for adopters. Sesame sold six months after harvest period had mean sale of N309,317.3 for non-adopters whereas that of adopters was N347,538.3. There was a significant mean difference between adopters and non-adopters at 5% level of significance for all the parameters. Price between the two selling periods was N301.2 for non-adopters and N306.2 for adopters. Similarly, gross sale at harvest period of adopters was N190,798,65 while for non-adopters it was N140,821.49 with a mean difference of N49,977.17. Price differentials show no significant difference between the mean of adopters N306.19 and N301.21 non-adopters with mean difference of just N4.97. Therefore, the mean price differential between the two groups is the same. Extension services and farmers' organizations should work together to involve all farmers in improved crop production.

Empowering farmers to increase productivity by educating them on conservation agriculture (CA) could contribute to reducing vulnerability, alleviating food insecurity, and fighting poverty while being ecologically sustainable in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This study assesses the effect of a CA-promotion agriculture program. Findings suggest that location of the farm, training, having accessed credit, belonging to a farmers' group, and being a vulnerable female all drove adoption to varying degrees and directions. Results also suggest that policy makers and CA practitioners should emphasize the ability that CA has to increase income and food security, which could widen CA adoption.

Fertilizer microdosing was developed in order to increase farmers' income through improvement of fertilizer use efficiency and investment cost reduction in the drylands of West Africa. The purpose of this study is to identify the determinants of fertilizer microdosing fertilization and to analyze its impact on sorghum and maize yields in Burkina Faso. Using endogenous treatment regression model with data collected on 1057 famers in 2011, the findings reveal that access to warrantage credit, participation in training and labor availability are the main factors in the adoption of fertilizer microdosing. In terms of impact, the study shows that fertilizer microdosing contributed to significantly increase sorghum and maize yields by 55% and 37% respectively. The results of this study challenge us to accelerate the process mechanization of fertilizer microdosing fertilization, the establishment of infrastructure such as warrantage shops and farmers' capacity building.

This paper analyses the effect of labor opportunity cost on economic profitability of fertilizer microdosing (FM) in Burkina Faso. In order to assess the incremental change in net income when the investment cost increases and takes into account labor opportunity cost, the marginal value cost ratio (MVCR) approach is used. Using data from farmer’s field, the results showed that for both crops, the median yield of the fertilizer microdosing plots is 500 kg.ha-1, which is slightly higher than yield from recommended dose plots. Moreover, the rate of fertilizer microdosing plots of millet with a marginal value cost ratio above 2 shifts from 50% (without labor opportunity cost) to 41% (with labor opportunity cost) and not even one recommended dose plots reached this threshold. These findings argued that fertilizer microdosing adopters remain economically profitable for farmers compared to traditional practices despite the opportunity cost of labor. However, because of its importance in th...

This study investigates the impact of farmland ownership and agro-ecological location on the adoption of the two most important sources of improved rice varieties (NERICA and ROK) in the context of Sierra Leone. In terms of farmland ownership, the results showed that farmers who cultivated their own land had a higher tendency of remaining as non-adopters of improved varieties, but those who rented farmland or were engaged in sharecropping had higher adoption rates of improved rice varieties. Also, the location of farmland (uplands or inland valley swamps) determined the rates of adoption of improved varieties differently. For instance, upland regions showed faster adoption of ROK varieties, but inland valley areas showed faster adoption of NERICA varieties. We also examined the survival rates of local rice varieties. The adoption of improved varieties was only occurring at a very low rate, and the farmers’ adoption of ROK varieties was swifter than for NERICA varieties. This study r...

This paper analyses the effect of labor opportunity cost on economic profitability of fertilizer microdosing (FM) in Burkina Faso. In order to assess the incremental change in net income when the investment cost increases and takes into account labor opportunity cost, the marginal value cost ratio (MVCR) approach is used. Using data from farmer's field, the results showed that for both crops, the median yield of the fertilizer microdosing plots is 500 kg.ha-1 , which is slightly higher than yield from recommended dose plots. Moreover, the rate of fertilizer microdosing plots of millet with a marginal value cost ratio above 2 shifts from 50% (without labor opportunity cost) to 41% (with labor opportunity cost) and not even one recommended dose plots reached this threshold. These findings argued that fertilizer microdosing adopters remain economically profitable for farmers compared to traditional practices despite the opportunity cost of labor. However, because of its importance ...

Fertilizer microdosing was developed in order to increase farmers' income through improvement of fertilizer use efficiency and investment cost reduction in the drylands of West Africa. The purpose of this study is to identify the determinants of fertilizer microdosing fertilization and to analyze its impact on sorghum and maize yields in Burkina Faso. Using endogenous treatment regression model with data collected on 1057 famers in 2011, the findings reveal that access to warrantage credit, participation in training and labor availability are the main factors in the adoption of fertilizer microdosing. In terms of impact, the study shows that fertilizer microdosing contributed to significantly increase sorghum and maize yields by 55% and 37% respectively. The results of this study challenge us to accelerate the process mechanization of fertilizer microdosing fertilization, the establishment of infrastructure such as warrantage shops and farmers' capacity building.

This paper analyses the effect of labor opportunity cost on economic profitability of fertilizer microdosing (FM) in Burkina Faso. In order to assess the incremental change in net income when the investment cost increases and takes into account labor opportunity cost, the marginal value cost ratio (MVCR) approach is used. Using data from farmer's field, the results showed that for both crops, the median yield of the fertilizer microdosing plots is 500 kg.ha-1 , which is slightly higher than yield from recommended dose plots. Moreover, the rate of fertilizer microdosing plots of millet with a marginal value cost ratio above 2 shifts from 50% (without labor opportunity cost) to 41% (with labor opportunity cost) and not even one recommended dose plots reached this threshold. These findings argued that fertilizer microdosing adopters remain economically profitable for farmers compared to traditional practices despite the opportunity cost of labor. However, because of its importance ...

A study was conducted to analyze factors influencing adoption of wheat technology packages by smallholder farmers in Gurawa, Meta and Habro districts in eastern Ethiopia. The analysis was based on a household survey data collected from 136 randomly selected households. A Two-limit Tobit model was used to elucidate factors affecting adoption of technology packages measured based on an index derived from five components of wheat technologies which included row planting, pesticide application, use of improved varieties, and application of inorganic fertilizers, namely, Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) and Urea. Among the variables included in the model, variation in district, gender, age of the household head, education status of the household head, farm size, distance to market, distance to FTC (Farmers' Training Centers), cooperative membership, dependency ratio, and annual income of the households were found to significantly affect the adoption of wheat technology packages. Policy mak...

A study was conducted to analyze factors influencing adoption of wheat technology packages by smallholder farmers in Gurawa, Meta and Habro districts in eastern Ethiopia. The analysis was based on a household survey data collected from 136 randomly selected households. A Two-limit Tobit model was used to elucidate factors affecting adoption of technology packages measured based on an index derived from five components of wheat technologies which included row planting, pesticide application, use of improved varieties, and application of inorganic fertilizers, namely, Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) and Urea. Among the variables included in the model, variation in district, gender, age of the household head, education status of the household head, farm size, distance to market, distance to FTC (Farmers’ Training Centers), cooperative membership, dependency ratio, and annual income of the households were found to significantly affect the adoption of wheat technology packages. Policy makers,...

A study was conducted to analyze factors influencing adoption of wheat technology packages by smallholder farmers in Gurawa, Meta and Habro districts in eastern Ethiopia. The analysis was based on a household survey data collected from 136 randomly selected households. A Two-limit Tobit model was used to elucidate factors affecting adoption of technology packages measured based on an index derived from five components of wheat technologies which included row planting, pesticide application, use of improved varieties, and application of inorganic fertilizers, namely, Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) and Urea. Among the variables included in the model, variation in district, gender, age of the household head, education status of the household head, farm size, distance to market, distance to FTC (Farmers’ Training Centers), cooperative membership, dependency ratio, and annual income of the households were found to significantly affect the adoption of wheat technology packages. Policy makers,...

A study was conducted to analyze factors influencing adoption of wheat technology packages by smallholder farmers in Gurawa, Meta and Habro districts in eastern Ethiopia. The analysis was based on a household survey data collected from 136 randomly selected households. A Two-limit Tobit model was used to elucidate factors affecting adoption of technology packages measured based on an index derived from five components of wheat technologies which included row planting, pesticide application, use of improved varieties, and application of inorganic fertilizers, namely, Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) and Urea. Among the variables included in the model, variation in district, gender, age of the household head, education status of the household head, farm size, distance to market, distance to FTC (Farmers' Training Centers), cooperative membership, dependency ratio, and annual income of the households were found to significantly affect the adoption of wheat technology packages. Policy mak...