Impact of joint adoption of maize technologies on commercialization and welfare in Northern Sidama, Ethiopia

Abstract

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of joint adoption of maize technologies on commercialization and welfare of the farmers of the northern Sidama region of Ethiopia. A multistage random sampling technique was used to gather cross-sectional data from 424 farm households. The household commercialization index was used to estimate the household commercialization level and revealed that maize farming households sold 22% of their total harvest, on average. In addition, the average per capita food consumption expenditure of ETB 1234.89 ($21.78) was recorded in the study areas. The multinomial endogenous switching regression model was employed to analyze the data. The model results revealed that the adoption of maize technologies, both in isolation and jointly, significantly impacts the commercialization and welfare of the farmers. Moreover, the simultaneous adoption of two or more maize technology practices have a greater impact than adopting them separately. Therefore, the government, donors, policymakers, and stakeholders should promote broader adoption of the maize technologies in combination to improve the commercialization level and welfare of the smallholder farmers.