Determinants of adoption of climate smart agricultural technologies in wheat production in Arsi Zone, Oromia Region of Ethiopia

Abstract

Climate-resilient crop production requires the use of crop technology that can sustainably increase productivity, build resilience to climate change, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Despite countrywide initiatives that promote climate-smart agricultural technology (CSAT) adoption, the rate of adoption has been extremely low. Therefore, this study aims to identify factors that affect the adoption of CSATs in wheat production in the Arsi zone of the Oromia region of Ethiopia. Towards this, plot-level primary data were gathered from 628 plots that were managed by 422 randomly selected wheat-producing smallholder farmers in three selected districts of the Zone. Descriptive statistics and multivariate probit (MVP) model were used to analyze data. The major CSATs adopted for wheat production in the study area were improved wheat varieties (95%), integrated soil fertility management (85%), and irrigation (19%). The result of the MVP model revealed that farmers with higher levels of education, farming experience, and contact with extension workers, have credit access, have access to market information, have greater annual total income, and are closer to the nearest market center are more likely to adopt CSATs in wheat production. Therefore, it is recommended that to enhance the adoption of CSATs in wheat production, policymakers and other development partners should concentrate on the identified factors that were significantly associated with the decisions to adopt CSATs.