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Row planting teff in Ethiopia: Impact on farm-level profitability and labor allocation

Author

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  • Vandercasteelen, Joachim
  • Dereje, Mekdim
  • Minten, Bart
  • Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum
Abstract
Improved technologies are increasingly promoted to farmers in sub-Saharan-African countries to address low agricultural productivity in their staple crops. There is, however, a lack of evidence on how adoption affects farmers’ labor use and profitability at the farm level, as well as the importance gender roles play, all essential drivers for the successful up-scaling of the use of the improved technologies. This paper analyses the labor and profitability impact of the recently introduced row planting technology in teff production in Ethiopia. Based on agronomic evidence in experimental settings, the Government of Ethiopia has focused extension efforts on promoting the widespread uptake of row planting to address low teff yields, replacing the traditional broadcasting method of plant teff. Using an innovative Randomized Controlled Trial set-up, we show that the implementation of row planting at the farm level significantly increases total labor use, but not teff yields, relative to broadcast planting, resulting in a substantial drop in labor productivity when adopting row planting. Moreover, the implementation of row planting has important consequences for inter- and intra-household labor allocation, with relatively more use of non-family labor. The adoption of row planting was further found not to be profitable for farmers in the first year of the promotion campaign, seemingly explaining the limited success in up-scaling the adoption of the technology by farmers in the second year of the program.

Suggested Citation

  • Vandercasteelen, Joachim & Dereje, Mekdim & Minten, Bart & Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum, 2016. "Row planting teff in Ethiopia: Impact on farm-level profitability and labor allocation," ESSP working papers 92, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    • Handle: RePEc:fpr:esspwp:92
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Zegeye, Mesele Belay, 2021. "Estimating the Impact of Agricultural Technology Adoption on Teff Productivity: Evidence from North Shewa Zone of Amhara Region, Ethiopia," Ethiopian Journal of Economics, Ethiopian Economics Association, vol. 30(01), April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    ETHIOPIA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; teff; line planting; productivity; yields; smallholders; labor; broadcast sowing; planting; randomized controlled trial; Q12 Micro Analysis of Farm Firms; Farm Households; and Farm Input Markets; Q15 Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment; Q16 Agricultural R&; D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • Q16 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - R&D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services

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