Analysis of Adoption Spell of Hybrid Maize in the Central Rift Valley, Oromyia National Regional State of Ethiopia: A Duration Model Approach

This paper estimates farm household level determinants of the speed of adoption of hybrid maize in the central rift valley of Ethiopia in the framework of the dynamic time on cross-sectional data. Descriptive statistics and duration model were used to study the objectives of the study. The results from descriptive analysis showed that 85% of the farmers adopted hybrid maize at the survey time and more than 50% of the adopters started adopting hybrid maize within two years after they became aware of the varieties and the remaining started adopting afterwards but at a decreasing rate. The adoption pattern of farmers has also differed by gender and location. Duration model estimation results revealed that factors that influenced timing of hybrid maize adoption varied by the type of influence. Whereas house hold size, access to extension services and maize market participation accelerated the adoption of hybrid maize at increasing rate, age of household head and livestock ownership retarded the adoption. Operated land and unit price of seed worked towards accelerated adoption but at diminishing rate. Thus to speed up adoption of hybrid maize policies may need to give primary focus to the different categories of adopters, providing adequate extension information and reorienting the mindset of the farmers towards market orientation and household labor efficiency. Also, policies should identify particular roles of the different determinant factors and target the associating socio-economic setup of the smallholders