ADOPTION OF AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN ETHIOPIA

Ethiopia has an agrarian economy where agriculture accounts for the largest share of output, income and employment. Agricultural production is mainly undertaken by smallholder farmers concentrated in the highlands of the country. To improve the productivity of the smallholder sector, a new package extension program was initiated in 1994. In this program, new crop production technologies have been disseminated to smallholder farmers. The specific objective of this paper is to identify factors influencing the adoption of improved agricultural technologies particularly the adoption of improved wheat technologies.