Mulat Demeke

Technology Adoption in the Presence of Constraints: The Case of Fertilizer Demand in Ethiopia

Using a nationally representative dataset, and information on why farmers did not purchase fertilizer, the authors estimate a double-hurdle fertilizer adoption model for Ethiopia. Access is an overriding constraint in four zones. Credit is shown to be a major supply-side constraint, suggesting that household cash resources are generally insufficient to cover fertilizer purchases. On the demand side, household size, formal education of the farmer, and the value-to-cost ratio have the largest impact on adoption and intensity of fertilizer use. The results underline the importance of increasing the availability of credit, developing labor markets, and reducing the procurement, marketing and distribution costs of fertilizer. The authors conclude that current large-scale transport, health, and education investment programs will positively impact smallholder productivity and household welfare. The price sensitivity of farmers suggests that an urea subsidy could be useful in redressing the nutrient imbalance currently observed in Ethiopia.

An empirical study of cereal crop production and technical efficiency of private farmers in Ethiopia: a mixed fixed-random coefficients approach

In this paper we use a fixed-random coefficients regression model to analyse data for cereal growing small-scale farmers in efficiency. Results show that land size is a major constraint and only small changes in cultivated area and land quality yield relatively high increments to output. Larger farms are relatively less productive, everything else being equal. Human capital in the form of literacy and experience are found to affect productivity positively. Our findings show a high degree of farm-specific technical inefficiency. With regard to the inputs we find high degrees of input-specific technical inefficiency, especially so for labour and fertilizer. The age structure of the household, environmental factors and education are found to be weakly correlated with efficiency. Furthermore, sharecropping is found to be positively correlated with technical efficiency.

The ILRI Graduate Fellows Programme: a case study of impact (1978‐1997)

The paper explores the extent to which degree‐based postgraduate training programmes contribute to the development of individual skills and careers in agricultural science as well as towards institutional capacity for national agricultural research in Africa. In the case of the International Livestock Research Institute’s Graduate Fellowship Programme it was concluded that advanced agricultural science training in Africa provides a vital process of human and institutional development. The results of this study indicate the success of degree‐based training in terms of achieving improved gender equity, rapid employment, and a high rate of return to the country of origin. These results stand out against the “brain drain” commonly associated with capacity building in national agricultural research systems (NARS). The paper recommends strategies to be adopted by ILRI and its partners for future degree training and capacity building in sub‐Saharan Africa.