Smallholder Farmers’ Participation in Agricultural Training and Demonstration in Ethiopia: Implications for Inclusive Targeting by Agricultural Extension Services

محورهای موضوعی : Agricultural Extension

Muluken Wordofa ¹ , Maria Sassi ²

1 - Center for International Cooperation and Development (CICOPS), University of Pavia, Italy
2 - Department of Economics and Management, University of Pavia, Italy

تاریخ دریافت : 1396/12/23 تاریخ پذیرش : 1397/06/01 تاریخ انتشار : 1397/06/10

کلید واژه: Agricultural extension, Training, Ethiopia, Poisson regression, Participation,

چکیده مقاله :

Small farms and smallholder farming systems play crucial roles in agricultural development in many developing countries. From the various rural development programs designed to support such farming systems, agricultural extension services are of at most importance. However, the benefit that farmers obtain from these services and the resulting impact depends, to a great extent, by their direct and indirect participation in the services. In this paper, we examined the predictors of participation in agricultural training and demonstration in Haramaya district of eastern Ethiopia. By collecting data from 180 rural households, and employing the Poisson regression, we found that several factors explain farmers’ differential participation in agricultural training and demonstration. In particular, financial capital (farm income, credit), physical capital (value of livestock, value of household asset), and access to services (e.g., veterinary, experience with extension) were significant predictors of participation in agricultural training. Concerning demonstration, human capital (age), physical capital (asset, land), financial capital (farm income, off-farm employment), social capital (networks), and access to services had a significant effect. Based on the findings, some implications for inclusive targeting by agricultural extension programs were put forward.

منابع و مأخذ:

1. Abro, Z. A., Alemu, B. A., & Hanjra, M. A. (2014). Policies for Agricultural Productivity Growth and Poverty Reduction in Rural Ethiopia. World Development, 59: 461–474.


2. Agresti, A. (1996). An introduction to categorical data analysis. New York: Wiley.


3. Agresti, A. (2007). An introduction to categorical data analysis. Hoboken. NJ: Wiley.


4. Agresti, A. (2014). Categorical data analysis. New York: John Wiley & Sons.


5. Anaglo, J.  N., Boateng, S. D., & Boateng, C. A. (2014). Gender and Access to Agricultural Resources by Smallholder Farmers in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Journal of Education and Practice, 5(5): 13–19.


6. Baloch, A. M., & Thapa, B. G. (2014). Agricultural extension in Balochistan, Pakistan: Date palm farmers’ access and satisfaction. Journal of Mountain Science, 11(4): 1035–1048.


7. Belay, K. (2003). Agricultural extension in Ethiopia: the case of participatory demonstration and training extension system. Journal of Social Development in Africa, 18(1): 49–84.


8. Belay, K. (2002). Constraints to agricultural extension work in Ethiopia: The insiders’ view. South African Journal of Agricultural Extension, 31(1): 63–79.


9. Berhane, G., & Gardebroek, C. (2011). Does microfinance reduce rural poverty? Evidence based on household panel data from northern Ethiopia. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 93(1): 43–55.

10. Berhanu, K., & Poulton, C. (2014). The Political Economy of Agricultural Extension Policy in Ethiopia: Economic Growth and Political Control. Development Policy Review, 32(s2): 197–213.

11. Bezu, S., & Barrett, C. (2012). Employment dynamics in the rural nonfarm sector in Ethiopia: Do the poor have time on their side? Journal of Development Studies, 48(9): 1223–1240.

12. Bezu, S., & Holden, S. (2014). Are Rural Youth in Ethiopia Abandoning Agriculture? World Development, 64: 259–272.

13. Birkhaeuser, D., Evenson, R. E., & Feder, G. (1991). The economic impact of agricultural extension: A review. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 39(3): 607–650.

14. Birner, R., Davis, K., Pender, J., Nkonya, E., Anandajayasekeram, P., Ekboir, J. M., ... & Kisamba-Mugerwa, W. (2006). From" best practice" to" best fit": a framework for designing and analyzing pluralistic agricultural advisory services(No. 4). International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

15. Brehanu, A., & Fufa, B. (2008). Repayment rate of loans from semi-formal financial institutions among small-scale farmers in Ethiopia: Two-limit Tobit analysis. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 37(6): 2221–2230.

16. Byers, A. L., Allore, H., Gill, T. M., & Peduzzi, P. N. (2003). Application of negative binomial modeling for discrete outcomes: A case study in aging research. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 56(6): 559–564.

17. Cameron, A. C., & Trivedi, P. K. (2009). Microeconometrics using stata (Vol. 5). College Station, TX: Stata Press.

18. Cameron, A. C., & Trivedi, P. K. (2013). Regression analysis of count data (No. 53). Cambridge university press.

19. Cavatassi, R., Lipper, L., & Narloch, U. (2011). Modern variety adoption and risk management in drought prone areas: insights from the sorghum farmers of eastern Ethiopia. Agricultural Economics, 42(3): 279–292.

20. Davis, K., Nkonya, E., Kato, E., Mekonnen, D. A., Odendo, M., Miiro, R., & Nkuba, J. (2012). Impact of Farmer Field Schools on Agricultural Productivity and Poverty in East Africa. World Development, 40(2): 402–413.

21. Dercon, S., Gilligan, D. O., Hoddinott, J., & Woldehanna, T. (2009). The Impact of Agricultural Extension and Roads on Poverty and Consumption Growth in Fifteen Ethiopian Villages. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 91(4), 1007–1021.

22. Devendra, C. (2007). Small farm systems to feed hungry Asia. Outlook on Agriculture, 36(1): 7–20.

23. Emana, B., & Hadera, G. (2007). Constraints and opportunities of horticulture production and marketing in eastern Ethiopia. Dry Land Coordination Group (DCG) Report, 46.

24. Godtland, E. M., Sadoulet, E., De Janvry, A., Murgai, R., & Ortiz, O. (2004). The impact of farmer field schools on knowledge and productivity: a study of potato farmers in the Peruvian Andes. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 53(1): 63–92.

25. Greene, W. (2008). Functional forms for the negative binomial model for count data. Economics Letters, 99(3), 585–590.

26. Hilbe, J. M. (2011). Negative binomial regression. Cambridge University Press.

27. Jensen, L. P., Picozzi, K., de Almeida, O. da C. M., da Costa, M. de J., Spyckerelle, L., & Erskine, W. (2014). Social relationships impact adoption of agricultural technologies: the case of food crop varieties in Timor-Leste. Food Security, 6(3): 397–409.

28. Kalinda, T. H., Shute, J. C., & Filson, G. C. (1998). Access to agricultural extension, credit and markets among small-scale farmers in southern Zambia. Development Southern Africa, 15(4): 589–608.

29. Krishnan, P., & Patnam, M. (2014). Neighbors and Extension Agents in Ethiopia: Who Matters More for Technology Adoption? American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 96(1): 308–327.

30. Larsen, A. F., & Lilleør, H. B. (2014). Beyond the Field: The Impact of Farmer Field Schools on Food Security and Poverty Alleviation. World Development, 64: 843–859.

31. Maertens, A., & Barrett, C. B. (2013). Measuring Social Networks’ Effects on Agricultural Technology Adoption. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 95(2): 353–359.

32. Marshall, R. W. (2012). The Impact of the Extension Service on Minority-Owned Small Farm Operations. Journal of Extension, 50(1), 1–5.

33. Rauniyar, G. P., & Goode, F. M. (1992). Technology adoption on small farms. World Development, 20(2): 275–282.

34. Rehman, F., Muhammad, S., Ashraf, I., Ch, K. M., & Ruby, T. (2013). Effect of Farmers’ Socioeconomic Characteristics on Access to Agricultural Information: Empirical Evidence from Pakistan. Young (Up to 35), 52: 21–67.

35. Rocha, C., Burlandy, L., & Maluf, R. (2012). Small farms and sustainable rural development for food security: The Brazilian experience. Development Southern Africa, 29(4): 519–529.

36. Swanson, B. E. (2008). Global review of good agricultural extension and advisory service practices. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Narions. Rome.

37. Teshome, G., Kassa, B., Emana, B., & Haji, J. (2013). Determinants of Rural Household Savings in Ethiopia: The Case of East Hararghe Zone, Oromia Regional State. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 4(3): 66–75.

38. Tripp, R., Wijeratne, M., & Piyadasa, V. H. (2005). What should we expect from farmer field schools? A Sri Lanka case study. World Development, 33(10): 1705–1720.

39. Wordofa, M.G. and Sassi, M. (2018). Impact of Farmers’ Training Centers on Household Income: Evidence from Propensity Score Matching in Eastern Ethiopia. Social Science, 7(4):112-126.