Abstract

As identified by preliminary survey Feed and nutrition shortage was one the top ten agricultural production constraints in the region and country level. The adoption and utilization of improved forage technology was believed to be the remedial measure and means of improvement in productivity of livestock sector, ease constraint of feed shortage and also play detrimental role in rehabilitation of degraded lands as biological soil and water conservation option. Even if it was known that improved forage adoption could play significant role in agricultural productivity improvement, little study was carried in area and the sector challenged by updated information for further policy formulation and development intervention. Hence, this study aimed to identify the social, economic, physical and institutional factors that affect farmer’s decision to adopt improved forage technology. The logistic regression was employed for the data come from a farm house hold survey of 121 households selected through multistage random sampling procedures. The empirical estimates of probit regression revealed that adoption probability increases with family size and slope on topography of land household head and decreases with total land holding and distance from farmers’ home to farmers training center. The study results pointed out possibility in improved forage technology adoption through expanding farmers training center in the vicinity of farmers’ residence and awareness creation. Since having larger family size support the management of improved for The study result also justified that the small scale farmers that held small land size showed better probability in adopting the productive improved forages for easing land shortage constraint in the districts.

Keywords

adoption, improved forage, logistic regression and probability, economic, weather fluctuations, farmers, cropping season, energy, protein