Determinants of adoption of improved sorghum package in agro-pastoral households of Somali Region of Ethiopia: A gender perspective

Abstract

The study analysed determinants of adoption of improved sorghum package between male-headed and female-headed households. The specific objectives were to analyse adoption differentials of improved sorghum package, and to identify factors that affect adoption decision of improved sorghum package by male and female-headed households. Purposeful sampling method was employed to select Woreda of sorghum growers with greater number of female-headed households with the aim to involve the required number for the analysis. A multi-stage stratified random sampling technique was used to select four PAs out of 23 PAs in the Woreda and households to be interviewed were derived proportionally to the size of the number of household in each PAs. Cross-sectional research design was applied to collect data from a total of 180 respondents in this study whereby 90 were femaleheaded and 90 were male-headed households. Pre-tested structured interview questionnaire was used for collecting the essential quantitative data. The Logistic Regression model results revealed that the adoption of improved sorghum package is biased by gender, where Female-Headed Households adopt the package relatively less. Regarding factors affecting adoption decision, non-farm activity had a significant and positive influence on the adoption decision of improved sorghum package, whereas distance to market had a significant and negative influence on the adoption decision for Male-Headed Household. Extension contact, family active labour force, attitude toward sorghum package had a significant and positive influence on adoption decision of Female Headed Household, whereas cosmopoliteness influences negatively. Therefore, policy should address gender disparities in extension services and access to resources that exist because of socio-cultural and institutional factors limiting the adoption of technologies for Female Headed Household. Thus, enhancing efficient delivery of extension with due consideration of the participation of female headed household would improve the livelihood of the households.