Household Level Determinants of Wheat Packages Adoption in Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia
Hagos Kidane *
Tigray Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), P.O. Box 492, Mekelle, Ethiopia.
Berhe Abraha
Axum Agricultural Research Center, Aksum, Tigray, Ethiopia.
Mehari Asfaw
Mekelle Agricultural Research Center, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia.
Hadush Hagos
Mekelle Agricultural Research Center, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia.
Gereziher Tesfay
Axum Agricultural Research Center, Aksum, Tigray, Ethiopia.
Tedros Melaku
Humera Agricultural Research Center, Humera, Tigray, Ethiopia.
Gebru Brhane
Abergell Agricultural Research Center, Abyi Adi, Tigray, Ethiopia.
Zeberhe Teklay
Alamata Agricultural Research Center, Alamata, Tigray, Ethiopia.
Teklemariam Abadi
Shire-Maitsebri Agricultural Research Center, Shir-Endaslassia, Tigray, Ethiopia.
Luchia Tekle
Mekelle Agricultural Research Center, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia.
Ykaalo Teklay
Alamata Agricultural Research Center, Alamata, Tigray, Ethiopia.
Tsegay Gebreslassie
Tigray Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), P.O. Box 492, Mekelle, Ethiopia.
Haileslassie Amare
Tigray Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), P.O. Box 492, Mekelle, Ethiopia.
Desalegn Emru
Tigray Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), P.O. Box 492, Mekelle, Ethiopia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Wheat has been considered as one of the strategic food security crops in Ethiopia. A number of research efforts have been done by different research institutions to improve the production and productivity of the crop and as a result a number of wheat production packages has been released and promoted all across the country, including Tigray. Yet, in Tigray, there is no adequate evidence on the adoption status of wheat packages and their determinant factors. Hence, this adoption study was initiated with the objective to analyze the status of wheat packages adoption, and determinant factors for further adoption. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select 493 households from five wheat growing districts of the region. Data were collected through the administration of semi-structured questionnaires and analyzed using both descriptive statistics and Multivariate Probit (MVP) model. The descriptive results described that, the average wheat packages adoption status was 67%, of these only 17% of farmers adopted all five packages. The result of MVP model revealed that sex, age, livestock size, extension services, average plot distance, off-farm income source, farmer perception on his status and credit access were the determinant factors which facilitate/and/or hinder wheat packages adoption in Tigray. Thus, the policy and development interventions should focus on improving institutional support and wealth creation opportunities to improve production and productivity of wheat producer farmers in Tigray.
Keywords: Adoption index, multivariate probit, wheat packages