Economic and agronomic analysis of the seed potato supply chain in Ethiopia

Production and productivity of potato in Ethiopia are very low because of poor quality seed tubers and unavailability of seed tubers of improved varieties. These poor quality seed tubers and unavailability of seed tubers of improved varieties are caused by economic and agronomic factors. This thesis deals with economic and agronomic aspects that affect quality and availability of seed potatoes in Ethiopia. It encompasses analysis of strengths and weaknesses of seed potato systems currently operating in Ethiopia, elicitation of farmers’ opinions on management attributes that they believed to affect yield and quality of potato, cost-effective seed potato production plans for farmers in Ethiopia, and analysis of performance of existing and potential seed potato supply chains. The results of this thesis indicate that seed quality and availability can be improved by improving economic and agronomic aspects of the seed systems in general and seed supply chains in particular