Determinants of Adoption of Improved Sorghum Varieties by Small-Scale Farmers in Selected Districts of Western Oromia

Achieving national food security and diversifying export earnings from agricultural products is one of the major challenges currently facing developing countries like Ethiopia. Ethiopia is the largest producer of sorghum in Africa, contributing to ensuring food security in the country. Despite the high production potential and the economic importance of the crop, the adoption, and dissemination of improved sorghum varieties are constrained by various factors. To this end, this study aimed to identify determinants of adoption of improved sorghum varieties in selected districts of Western Oromia Region, Ethiopia with the specific objectives of identifying factors affecting adoption and assessing factors hindering the production of improved sorghum varieties. The study was based on cross-sectional data from 154 randomly selected sorghum-producing farmers. Descriptive and econometric analyses were used to analyze data. The results show that about 14.94% and 85.06% were adopters and non-adopters of the crop respectively. Probit model results showed that education and extension service affected the probability of adoption of improved sorghum varieties positively and significantly while TLU affected it negatively and significantly. Untimely availability of improved seed, Price of seed, Quality of improved seed, unavailability of credit to buy seed, Untimely availability of fertilizer, High price of fertilizer, Access to market information, Low grain price, and Pests and disease are the major constraints that affect sorghum production in the study area. This study suggests the high importance of institutional and government support in education, Extension service, and improved cows than a large number of local breeds. Therefore, policy and development interventions should give emphasis on the improvement of such institutional support systems so as to achieve the adoption practice which increases the production and productivity of small-scale farmers.