Diffusion and adoption of Verisols technology package in highland Ethiopia.

The experience with Vertisols technology generation, diffusion and adoption process in case study areas indicate that either a full package of a technology may be adopted or some components of a package may be adopted depending on farmer knowledge, needs and resource conditions. Gradually adoption may evolve from components to the package as a whole. Experience also indicate that technology adoption is not a one-off static decision rather it involves a dynamic process in which information gathering, learning and experience play pivotal roles particularly in the early stage of adoption. Farmers move from learning to adoption to continuous or discontinuous use over time. The characteristics of both the user and the technology are important in explaining adoption behaviour and the pathway for adoption. The sets of factors that may significantly influence decisions to acquire knowledge about BBM, to adopt and then to use it continuously or discontinuously may be different. The lag between learning and adoption, and the possibility of discontinuation and readoption imply that a longer period will require for majority of the farmers to use the technology than if adoption was a one off decision leading to continuous use