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Tanner, D.G.

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Tanner
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Tanner, D.G.

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    Adoption of improved wheat technologies in Adaba and Dodola Woredas of the Bale highlands, Ethiopia
    (EARO, 2000) Hundie Kotu, B.; Verkuijl, H.; Mwangi, W.M.; Tanner, D.G.
    This study assessed farmers' current wheat management practices, determined the technical and socioeconomic factors affecting the adoption of wheat technologies, and drew implications for research, extension, and policy. Adopters of improved varieties were younger, more educated, had larger families and farms, hired more labor, and owned more livestock. Farmers identified the following traits as important in wheat varieties: high yield, resistance to sprouting and lodging, seed color and size, and baking quality. The main constraint to adopting improved wheat varieties was the high price of seed. Both adopters and nonadopters preferred the wheat variety Pavon-76, suggesting that Pavon-76 has important traits that farmers appreciate and that should be considered in national and regional wheat breeding programs. In particular, farmers' perceptions of the disease and lodging resistance of improved wheats positively influenced their adoption. However, the perceived bread baking quality of the varieties negatively influenced adoption of improved wheats. This trait should be given higher priority by wheat breeding programs. The tobit analysis revealed that access to credit is an important factor in a farmer's decision to adopt improved wheat technologies (variety and fertilizer). Credit in kind not only relaxes the cash constraint currently existing in most farm communities, but also facilitates input availability for farmers. Hired labor is another determinant of a farmer's ability to adopt higher nitrogen fertilizer rates. This finding highlights the importance of developing labor-saving wheat production technologies to offset the cost of hired labor and expand the adoption of nitrogen fertilizer.
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    Adoption of improved bread wheat varieties and inorganic fertilizer by small-scale farmers in Yelmana Densa and Farta Districts of Northwestern Ethiopia
    (CIMMYT, 2001) Tesfaye Zegeye; Girma Taye Awake; Tanner, D.G.; Verkuijl, H.; Aklilu Agidie; Mwangi, W.M.
    A study was initiated in Yelmana Densa and Farta Districts of northwestern Ethiopia to assess the adoption of improved wheat varieties and inorganic fertilizer, factors affecting adoption, and ways in which research, extension, and policy could improve adoption. The study relied on primary data obtained from a random sample of 200 farmers and on secondary data on agricultural production and the study area. Adoption of improved wheat varieties increased from less than 1% in 1981 to 72% in 1998 and grew rapidly after the new national extension package program commenced. Adoption of chemical fertilizer had increased in the study area from less than 1% in 1976 to 77% in 1998 and had also grown markedly since the national extension package program came into effect. Over 93% of adopters of improved wheat varieties also used chemical fertilizer on their farms. The adoption of an improved wheat variety and use of chemical fertilizer were systematically related. Results of a logistic model showed that adoption of improved wheats was positively and significantly affected by farm size, farmers’ participation in on-farm demonstrations, and contacts made with extension agents, service cooperative representatives, or peasant association chairmen. Attendance at an agricultural training course, radio ownership, membership in a producer cooperative, farm size, total livestock units owned, and access to credit exerted a significant influence on the adoption of chemical fertilizer. To increase the flow of information to farmers (and the adoption of new technologies), the extension package program needs further strengthening. An efficient marketing system for inputs and outputs would benefit farmers by facilitating higher prices for marketed wheat and reducing the cost of fertilizer. The agricultural research system should put more emphasis on solving the problems of wheat producers and increase the frequency with which it releases new varieties that resist diseases and pests, yield well, and tolerate drought. To make the research effort more successful, seed of new varieties must be produced in sufficient quantities and quality for producers. To achieve this goal, the government must provide incentives and support to public and private seed companies, including infrastructure and credit. The formal credit system must address the credit constraints of smallscale farmers and increase awareness about the types of credit available for agricultural production. In addition, the government should encourage farmers to form service cooperatives or farmers’ groups to reduce transaction costs and improve loan recovery rates.
    Publication