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Abstract
In the last few years, agricultural polices were designed to benefit farmers. The
agricultural extension program being implemented enabled smallholder farmers to
use new agricultural technologies on time and hence increased productivity and
output obtained per unit of land. However, credit repayment schedule policy put in
place, forced farmers to repay input loans when price of output is very much low. The
policy analysis matrix (PAM) was used for this study as a main methodology
combined with a seasonal price Index. The study showed Welmera district having a
comparative advantage for barley but not competitive while it has only a competitive
advantage for tef and wheat. For two reasons farmers did not receive the actual price
of grains that was equivalent with the true price. First, the system confirmed the
presence of market failure in fertilizer market. Second, domestic cost of seed
production was lower than the world price. The data also clearly pointed out how
government policy negatively affected private profitability by undervaluing land. The
seasonal analysis demonstrated price variability of grains exists in the study area.
Moreover, the repayment period for input loan arranged when output prices are at
their lowest levels. Therefore, the removal of credit repayment schedule policy would
make grain production more competitive if farmers shift the sale of its produce to
peak price periods. This call for review of the existing agricultural polices for the
benefit of small scale farmers.