Analysis Of Smallholder Farmers’ Adoption Of Soybean Production Technologies In Tiro Afeta Woreda, Jimma Zone, Oromia Region, Western Ethiopia

Abstract

Adoption of improved technologies is seen as a key driver to increase agricultural production and productivity in Ethiopia. The purpose of this study was analyzing factors affecting adoption and intensity of soybean production technologies adoption in Tiro Afeta District, Ethiopia. In this study two-stage sampling technique was employed to select rural kebeles and households. Structured interview schedule was developed and used for collecting the essential quantitative data for the study from 188 randomly selected households. Focus group discussion and key informant interview were also used to generate qualitative data to get in-depth information for the study. Moreover, secondary data were collected from published and unpublished sources. Descriptive statistics, econometric models and Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance (W) analysis were employed to analyze the data. The result from Heckman two step model indicated that education level of household, total livestock holding, improved seed availability, frequency of extension contact, credit use and farm income were positively and significantly influenced where as market distance do negatively and significantly affected adoption of soybean production technologies. Also the, result indicated that age, land holding size, and farm income determine the intensity of adoption of soybean technologies positively and significantly whereas distance from market affect negatively and significantly. Based on the findings of this study it can be concluded that policy and development interventions should give emphasis towards improvement of such economical and institutional support system so as to achieve wider adoption of soybean production technologies, increased production and productivity as well as to secure food of smallholder farmer.