Review on Adoption of Improved Soya Bean Technologies: Empirical Evidence from Ethiopia

Abstract

Soybean is a legume crop grown in the tropical, subtropical, and temperate climates which are used for food and animal feed. However, the production and productivity of soybean are low and improvement in production and productivity depends on the extent to which a household has applied the recommended production technologies. The objectives of this review were: to identify the determinants of adoption and intensity of improved soybean varieties to generate information that helps to understand and evaluate the key challenges in Ethiopia. From the review, the reviewer understands different scholars' points of view. Sex of household, age of household head, education, farm experience, participation in training, and extension service affect the adoption of improved soya bean varieties positively and significantly while the distance to the nearest market affects adoption of improved soya bean varieties negatively and significantly. On the other hand, the intensity of adoption was affected by age, soya bean farm experience, participation in training, and size of livestock holding.Most of the studies reviewed in this paper indicated that sex has a significant positive impact on the adoption of improved soya bean varieties. However, the participation of female households in the adoption process indicated that 15% of female-headed households and dominated by 85% of male household heads. Therefore, to improve the like household heads. Therefore, to improve the likelihood of adopting modern agricultural technologies like improved soya beans by smallholder farmers, female-headed households should get emphasis in all activities of the promotion of new technologies.In the current scenario of our country; there is a flourishing of different huge oil factories like W.A and BK using Soya bean as a major input to their production. Those industries demand a higher amount of Soya bean as an input and create a backward linkage to Soya bean producer farmers. For instance, W.A's edible oil factory alone needs 20,000 hectares of land to run the business and 500,000 quintals of soya bean requires per year. Therefore, it can improve smallholder farmers' livelihood by creating market opportunities to supply their products directly to factories. Yet, the promotion of new Soya bean varieties and comprehensive studies on the adoption and impact of soya beans should get any attention from respective actors.