Factors influencing adoption of improved maize production technologies and practices in the national extension intervention programme (neip) in Awassa district, Ethiopia.
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Date
1999
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculure
Abstract
Currently, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) of Ethiopia has been stressing peoples' involvement in development activities. This approach is believed to facilitate the attainment of sustainable self-reliant development. In this regard. MOA has launched the National Extension Intervention Programme (NE1P) in the country. Thus using the PAEP as a case study, adoption of improved maize production technologies and practices were studied. Here, the main objective of the study was to investigate factors influencing the adoption of improved maize production technologies and practices in Awassa district, Ethiopia. Specifically, the study sought to: determine the extent of adoption of the introduced technologies and practices: identify and analyze factors influencing adoption of the introduced technologies and practices; identify and analyze factors associated with involvement of farmers in the programme; and determine farmers' and extension workers' perceptions on the approach of the programme. Data for the study were mainly collected through interviews of 120 farmers in six development centers, and through self-administered questionnaire from 31 extension workers in the region. The study used two analytical tools in assessing the data and information collected. These are descriptive and regression analyses. From these analyses the study concluded that: (i)Farm size, number of draft oxen owned by the farmers, income, extension
service, and credit were strongly associated with involvement in the programme and have significant influence on the adoption of the introduced technologies. (ii)Adoption of the introduced technologies and practices was strongly associated with involvement in the programme. (iii)Among the identified factors, credit was the highest predictor for involvement in the programme and adoption of purchased technologies. (iv) Improved maize variety was the least adopted technology among the components of the package. (v) In the study, according to respondent extension workers' perceptions, the extension workers involvement in input distribution and repayment collection. affects the performance of extension workers activities. Recommendations from the study include: (i)The role of extension service is very important in the technology adoption process. Therefore it should be expanded specially to those disadvantaged areas. Here extension agents should also make efforts to ensure that female farmers are directly targeted as agricultural service beneficiaries. (ii)Input distribution and the financial administration should be strictly separated from (he extension service in order to ensure good relations between extension workers and farmers. The extension agents should concentrate on their educational tasks of teaching farmers improved farm practices. Their attention should not be diverted by such chores as input distribution and loan collection. rather, they should teach their farmers, where they can get inputs and how they can get loans. (iii) One of the major reasons for the non-adoption of the introduced technologies was high input costs. Therefore, if poor farmers arc to benefit from the programme, input costs should be subsidised. Generally the findings from the study have shown that farmers with more resources (the minority) have been involved in the programme and then adopted the introduced technologies more than those with less resources (the majority).
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Maize production, Maize technologies, Extension workers, Maize practices