Impact of Improved Wheat Varieties & Information's Adoption on Productivity in Ethiopia


Book Description

Scientific Study from the year 2018 in the subject Biology - Ecology, , language: English, abstract: Like in many other sub-Saharan Africa countries, agriculture in Ethiopia is a basis for the entire socioeconomic structure of the country and has a major influence on all other economic sectors and development processes and hence it plays a crucial role in poverty reduction. Despite the marginal decline in its share of GDP in recent years, it is still the single largest sector in terms of its contribution to GDP as agricultural GDP constitutes 41% of total country's GDP. As to Gebru 2006 citing CSA 2003, out of the total production of agriculture, about 70% comes from crop production. According to Abegaz 2011, cereal crops constitute the largest share of farming household’s production and consumption activities. Accordingly citing Alemayehu et al., 2009, only five major cereals account for about 70% of area cultivated and 65% of output produced. Fertilizer use is also concentrated on cereals followed by pulses and oilseeds respectively according to Endale 2011 citing CSA 1995/96-2007/08. On the other hand, according to Endale 2011, data from the Ethiopian Seed Enterprise show that improved seeds are mostly used in wheat and maize cultivation with an average of 89 and 42 thousand quintal in the period 1994/95 to 2005/06, respectively. Moreover, Abegaz 2011 citing the Household Income, Consumption and Expenditure Survey of CSA indicated that the five major cereal crops account for 46% of household’s total consumption. Therefore, a closer look at what is happening in cereal production has an important welfare and policy implication in Ethiopia. According to Ketema and Kassa 2016 citing Shiferaw et al. 2013, wheat contributes about 20% of the total dietary calories and proteins worldwide. Ethiopia is the second largest wheat producer in sub-Saharan Africa next to South Africa. Mann and Warner 2017 citing Minot et al. 2015 indicated that there are approximately 4.7 million farmers growing wheat on approximately 1.6 million hectares representing between 15 and 18% of total crop area and less than 1% of all wheat production takes place outside the four main regions of Ethiopia according to recent estimates. Wheat is one of the major staple crops in the country in terms of both production and consumption. According to Kelemu 2017 citing FAO 2014, it is the second most important food in the country behind maize in terms of caloric intake. cereal production in 2007/08.




The Determinants of High Yielding Wheat Varieties Adoption by Small-Holder Farmers in Ethiopia


Book Description

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2018 in the subject Agrarian Studies, grade: 4, , language: English, abstract: The main objective of this study is to identify factors affecting adoption of high yielding wheat varieties in Mao-Komo district of Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia. Adoption of high yielding wheat varieties is one of the measures presumed to enhance wheat yield in Ethiopia. However, there are several socio-economic and institutional factors that limit the adoption of high yielding wheat varieties. Wheat is one of the major cereals of choice in Ethiopia, dominating food habits and dietary practices, and is known to be a major source of energy and protein in the country. The utilization of wheat has increased due to the growing urbanization and the expansion of agro-industries used as raw material, and also considered to attain food security in Ethiopia. It is also used for traditional foods and the straw is used for animal feed and thatching of roofs. To feed the rapidly growing population and meet the high demand of wheat in the country, it needs to increase the production and yield of wheat. However, increasing yield requires successful adoption of improved agricultural technologies. The present study uses cross-sectional data collected from sample of 174 farm households selected through two-stage stratified random sampling techniques. Descriptive statistics and econometric models are used to analyze the data. Probit model is employed for adoption analyze of high yielding wheat varieties. The probit model result depicts that land holding size, tropical livestock unit, access to agricultural information, frequency of extension contacts, off-farm income, and perception of farmers toward attributes of high yielding wheat varieties affect the likelihood of adoption of high yielding wheat varieties positively and significantly. But sex of household heads and affiliation to organizations has negative and significant effects on the likelihood of adoption of high yielding wheat varieties. The findings suggest that the government and stakeholders should need to focus on improving farm land and livestock productivity, strengthening frequency of extension visits, encouraging participation in off-farm activities, creating reliable information and awareness towards farmers’ perceptions in the area. Finally, further support of high yielding wheat varieties adoption should be given due attention for smallholders.







Subjective Economic Welfare


Book Description

Abstract: April 1999 - As conventionally measured, current household income relative to a poverty line can only partially explain how Russian adults perceive their economic welfare. Other factors include past incomes, individual incomes, household consumption, current unemployment, risk of unemployment, health status, education, and relative income in the area of residence. Paradoxically, when economists analyze a policy's impact on welfare they typically assume that people are the best judges of their own welfare, yet resist directly asking them if they are better off. Early ideas of utility were explicitly subjective, but modern economists generally ignore people's expressed views about their own welfare. Even using a broad set of conventional socioeconomic data may not reflect well people's subjective perceptions of their poverty. Ravallion and Lokshin examine the determinants of subjective economic welfare in Russia, including its relationship to conventional objective indicators. For data on subjective perceptions, they use survey responses in which respondents rate their level of welfare from poor to rich on a nine-point ladder. As an objective indicator of economic welfare, they use the most common poverty indicator in Russia today, in which household incomes are deflated by household-specific poverty lines. They find that Russian adults with higher family income per equivalent adult are less likely to place themselves on the lowest rungs of the subjective ladder and more likely to put themselves on the upper rungs. But current household income does not explain well self-reported assessments of whether someone is poor or rich. Expanding the set of variables to include incomes at different dates, expenditures, educational attainment, health status, employment, and average income in the area of residence doubles explanatory power. Healthier and better educated adults with jobs perceive themselves to be better off, controlling for income. The unemployed view their welfare as lower, even with full income replacement. Individual income matters independent of per capita household income. Relative income also matters. Living in a richer area lowers perceived economic welfare, controlling for income and other factors. This paper-a product of Poverty and Human Resources, Development Research Group-is part of a larger effort in the group to better understand the relationship between objective and subjective economic welfare. The study was funded by the Bank's Research Support Budget under the research project Policies for Poor Areas (RPO 681-39). The authors may be contacted at [email protected] or [email protected].




Crop Improvement, Adoption and Impact of Improved Varieties in Food Crops in Sub-Saharan Africa


Book Description

Following on from the CGIAR study by Evenson and Gollin (published by CABI in 2003), this volume provides up-to-date estimates of adoption outcomes and productivity impacts of crop variety improvement research in sub-Saharan Africa. The book reports on the results of the DIIVA Project that focussed on the varietal generation, adoption and impact for 20 food crops in 30 countries. It also compares adoption outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa to those in South Asia, and guides future efforts for global agricultural research







Food and Agriculture in Ethiopia


Book Description

The perception of Ethiopia projected in the media is often one of chronic poverty and hunger, but this bleak assessment does not accurately reflect most of the country today. Ethiopia encompasses a wide variety of agroecologies and peoples. Its agriculture sector, economy, and food security status are equally complex. In fact, since 2001 the per capita income in certain rural areas has risen by more than 50 percent, and crop yields and availability have also increased. Higher investments in roads and mobile phone technology have led to improved infrastructure and thereby greater access to markets, commodities, services, and information. In Food and Agriculture in Ethiopia: Progress and Policy Challenges, Paul Dorosh and Shahidur Rashid, along with other experts, tell the story of Ethiopia's political, economic, and agricultural transformation. The book is designed to provide empirical evidence to shed light on the complexities of agricultural and food policy in today's Ethiopia, highlight major policies and interventions of the past decade, and provide insights into building resilience to natural disasters and food crises. It examines the key issues, constraints, and opportunities that are likely to shape a food-secure future in Ethiopia, focusing on land quality, crop production, adoption of high-quality seed and fertilizer, and household income. Students, researchers, policy analysts, and decisionmakers will find this book a useful overview of Ethiopia's political, economic, and agricultural transformation as well as a resource for major food policy issues in Ethiopia. Contributors: Dawit Alemu, Guush Berhane, Jordan Chamberlin, Sarah Coll-Black, Paul Dorosh, Berhanu Gebremedhin, Sinafikeh Asrat Gemessa, Daniel O. Gilligan, John Graham, Kibrom Tafere Hirfrfot, John Hoddinott, Adam Kennedy, Neha Kumar, Mehrab Malek, Linden McBride, Dawit Kelemework Mekonnen, Asfaw Negassa, Shahidur Rashid, Emily Schmidt, David Spielman, Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse, Seneshaw Tamiru, James Thurlow, William Wiseman.




Adoption of Improved Tef and Wheat Production Technologies in Crop-livestock Mixed Systems in Northern and Western Shewa Zones of Ethiopia


Book Description

Since adoption is a dynamic process that involves learning about new technologies, static adoption models fail to adequately explore the effects of changes in farmers' perception and attitudes over time. This study analyzed the influences of farmers' learning and risk on the likelihood and intensity of adoption of improved tef and wheat technologies in Northern and Western Shewa zones of Ethiopia. The study employed Xtprobit and Xttobit and random effect models and panel data of the same farmers from 1997 to 2001. Separate samples were selected for wheat and tef and the study covers the same farmers from 1997-2001. Panel data are better suited to study dynamic changes and the random effect models control for unobserved variability and potential endogeniety. Comparison of the main features of tef and wheat farmers revealed that wheat farmers are slightly younger, more educated, have slightly higher family size and significantly higher family labour than tef farmers. While average farm size is similar for tef and wheat farmers, farmers cultivated 60% and 30% of their land to tef and wheat, respectively. However, tef farmers allocated only 20% of their tef area to improved varieties due to shortage of desirable varieties whereas wheat farmers allocated 90% of their land to improved varieties from 1997 to 2001. Only three improved varieties were demonstrated and limited quantities of improved seeds were distributed to tef farmers whereas six improved wheat varieties were demonstrated and relatively sufficient quantities of improved seeds were distributed to wheat farmers during the study. Besides, similar levels of fertilizers and herbicide were used on tef and wheat. Wheat and tef were mainly grown for own consumption as less than half of the produce (48% of all wheat and 46% of all tef) was sold in the market. The study provided evidence of the importance of learning in the adoption decision and area allocation to improved varieties. As farmer's gained more experience from growing the new varieties in previous years, they continued adoption and increased areas under these varieties. The study also revealed that adopters of wheat and tef technologies have increased their production by 20% and 39%, respectively, than non-adopters. Results of the analyses indicate that awareness, availability and profitability of the new improved tef and wheat varieties enhanced farmer's learning and farmer's experience had positive influence on the likelihood and intensity of improved seed adoption. Improved tef and wheat varieties were found more risky than the local varieties. The study further revealed that younger age of farmer, farmers' learning from previous experience, availability of family labour and credit are key determinants of the likelihood and intensity of adoption of improved seed. Policies and strategies that contribute to timely availability of improved inputs and provision of credit enhance farmers learning from their own experience on adoption. Policies and strategies that focus on farmers' education and provision of insurance for crop failure to reduce risk would help the new extension program (NEP) achieve its objectives which give emphasis to raising smallholders' production and productivity.