Title : The Role of Social Capital on Technological Adoption under Seed Access Constraints: Evidence from Arsi Highland, Oromia Region, Ethiopia
Abstract:
Access to improved seed is crucial for improving agricultural production and food security. However, limited empirical studies exist on how seed supply constraints influence technological adoption in sun-Saharan Africa. Hence, to incorporate the effect of seed access constraints in conditioning adoption, this research employs the Double hurdle model. To examine which of the cognitive and structural indicators drive social capital, nine factors were constructed of twenty-eight indicators using Principal Components Analysis, instead of using one overall index. The result reveals strong evidence for the argument that social capital indeed determines wheat varieties access; besides, different forms of social capital have dissimilar effects on varieties uptake. The study reveals that Ethiopian farmers’ slow adoption of improved seeds is not due to the lack of economic benefit, but rather it is due to the imperfections in local seed markets that prevent farm households from translating their desired demand into adoption. As expected, information on seed access, training on varieties selection, and education have positive significant effects on relaxing seed access constraints and adoption intensity. Generally, the result suggests that agricultural policy and extension effort should consider not only human and physical capital but also social capital on relaxing seed access constraints and technological adoption. Moreover, government should develop strong regulatory mechanisms to reduce corruption in the agricultural input supply system.
