Factors affecting adoption of improved sorghum varieties in Tanzania under information and capital constraints

Abstract

Low adoption of agricultural technology is among the main reasons for low farm productivity and high incidence of poverty and food insecurity in sub-Saharan countries including Tanzania. In this study, we examine the factors affecting adoption of improved sorghum varieties using data from 822 randomly selected sample households in northern and central Tanzania. We employ a multiple-hurdle Tobit model to assess the factors affecting adoption after controlling for both capital and information constraints. We also use t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding to cluster farmers into homogeneous groups. The method allows to reduce the dimensionality while preserving the topology of the dataset, which increases the clustering accuracy. It also superiors for visualization of the clustering results. Results show that radio and other mass media outlets that create awareness will increase adoption among farmers who do not face capital constraint. Some farmers lack basic resources such as land and capital, and subsidies could have a high impact on these farmers. Other farmers simply need assurance on the performance of improved sorghum varieties. Field days, on-farm trials, and demonstration plots could be useful in supporting these farmers. A tailored support system, however, needs a sustained investment in both quantity and quality of services. There is therefore a need to develop a pluralistic research and extension systems that encourage the use of information technologies and community-based organizations to reach specific groups of farmers.

Do Land Ownership and Agro-Ecological Location of Farmland Influence Adoption of Improved Rice Varieties? Evidence from Sierra Leone

“…Several studies on technology adoption have focused on a range of socioeconomic factors influencing farmers' adoption decisions including, age, gender, education [17,19,28], farm size, land type, and extension services, and input/output market [34]. Other studies consider farmers' perception of the individual farmer and his/her preferences for technology attributes, notably crop variety attributes as significant determinants of farmers' adoption behaviour.…”

“…These variables were included to control for human capital endowments at the farm level, and they influence both adoption decisions and effective farmland access. Relating to financial capital, we considered farm household income and accessibility to credit facilities, which are considered in the existing literature as factors influencing adoption [17]. Farm income and credits could be used as a means to access improved rice varieties of different morphological traits that best suit the prevailing rice ecosystem, as well as smoothening easy access to farmland for landless farmers.…”

Do the determinants of food security differ in improved rice variety adoption? Evidence from Sierra Leone

“…This study, therefore, maintains that without a robust agricultural food production chain, policymakers cannot solve the challenges of low food production and food insecurity. The practice of agricultural land expansion and the implementation of yieldenhancing technologies could be the possible ways of achieving growth in food production in Africa (Kaliba et al 2018). However, the implication of the practice of expanding agricultural land area goes far beyond achieving agriculture growth to improve sustainable food security for smallholder farmers.…”

Reducing Edible Oil Import Dependency in Tanzania: A Computable General Equilibrium CGE Approach

“…Studies on the use of improved seeds and agronomic practices for edible oilseed production show a tremendous increase in yields using minimum inputs [18][19][20][21]. For instance, a study by [20] reports that the use of fertilizer micro-dosing and tied-ridge technologies in the semi-arid environments in Tanzania show a yield increase of up to 400 percent per hectare for edible oil crops.…”