Files
Abstract
One of the means by which farm level productivity can be increased is through the
introduction and dissemination of improved agricultural technologies to farmers.
This is possible if and only if, information on the adoption and risk taking behaviour
of farmers is known in advance. While some studies have attempted to assess the
factors behind the adoption behaviour of farmers, they have either been limited in
scope or they focused on few selected locations and/or commodities. The objective of
this study is to identify the factors, which exert significant influence on the adoption
behaviour of farmers and the intensity of adoption from a nation survey. A total of
1920 farm household heads drawn from four National Regional States were included
in the survey. The result shows that younger farmers, famers with larger land size,
farmer living closer to market, and farmers who had closer contact with the
extension system are more likely to adopt new technology and use it more. The result
underscores the need for research and extension programs to be sensitive to the
needs of farmers when developing and disseminating technologies that are relevant
to their agro‐ecologies