32
herbicides gave an average gross margin in teff of 144 US$ ha −1 across 4 years,
whilst conventional tillage with herbicides gave an average gross margin of
125 US$ha−1 (Ito et al. 2007). Reduced tillage appears to be a particularly interesting option if herbicides are used to control weeds in teff grown on Vertisol. Reduced
tillage can also be an interesting option for farmers without access to oxen, as these
farmers may have to forgo 50% of their harvest to get their land ploughed.
6 Adoption of CA in Ethiopia
The adoption of CA in Ethiopia depends on socio-economic, social, institutional
and biophysical factors (Dabi et al. 2017; Teklewold et al. 2013). Socio-economic
factors have a strong bearing on the uptake of new tillage methods and other agricultural technologies. Studies from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi show
that credit-constrained farmers were less likely to adopt minimum tillage with
mulching, whilst farmers with more assets were more likely to adopt (Marenya et al.
2017). About 57% of the farmers are credit-constrained in Ethiopia, and availability
of assets is important, making it easier for farmers to purchase inputs. Furthermore,
experiences from the SIMLESA
2
project in Ethiopia show that the more distant the
farmers are from the market and the poorer the condition of the roads, the less likely
the farmers are to adopt minimum soil tillage and soil and water conservation methods (Jaleta et al. 2016). Access to herbicides was another important factor for the
uptake of minimum tillage. Policy simulation shows that the adoption of CA can be
stimulated by increasing the number of extension agents per farmer and by providing subsidies on farm inputs such as fertiliser and seed (Marenya et al. 2017).
Subsidies have a particularly strong impact on adoption (Marenya et al. 2017).
Social and institutional factors influencing the adoption of CA include the education of household heads, the social network of the head of household and spouse,
membership of farm organisations, number of relatives, access to male labour, land
tenure and plot size (Tamesgen et al. 2008; Tessema et al. 2016; Jaleta et al. 2016;
Marenya et al. 2017; Kassie et al. 2015). Membership of farm organisations builds
trust in CA as it gave farmers an opportunity to consult each other. Livestock ownership, particularly oxen ownership, reduced the adoption of minimum tillage with
mulching, probably because easy access to traction animal makes it less attractive
for the farmers to switch to minimum tillage (Marenya et al. 2017).
Biophysical conditions also affect the uptake of tillage methods. In Ethiopia, it
has been found that CA was adopted more on fields with medium to good soil fertility (Marenya et al. 2017) and on plots distant from the homestead (Tessema et al.
2016). Other studies have shown that the uptake of reduced tillage was not dependent on soil fertility (e.g. Jaleta et al. 2016). It appears that more residues are used
2 Sustainable Intensification of Maize and Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and
Southern Africa.
J. B. Aune
herbicides gave an average gross margin in teff of 144 US$ ha −1 across 4 years,
whilst conventional tillage with herbicides gave an average gross margin of
125 US$ha−1 (Ito et al. 2007). Reduced tillage appears to be a particularly interesting option if herbicides are used to control weeds in teff grown on Vertisol. Reduced
tillage can also be an interesting option for farmers without access to oxen, as these
farmers may have to forgo 50% of their harvest to get their land ploughed.
6 Adoption of CA in Ethiopia
The adoption of CA in Ethiopia depends on socio-economic, social, institutional
and biophysical factors (Dabi et al. 2017; Teklewold et al. 2013). Socio-economic
factors have a strong bearing on the uptake of new tillage methods and other agricultural technologies. Studies from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi show
that credit-constrained farmers were less likely to adopt minimum tillage with
mulching, whilst farmers with more assets were more likely to adopt (Marenya et al.
2017). About 57% of the farmers are credit-constrained in Ethiopia, and availability
of assets is important, making it easier for farmers to purchase inputs. Furthermore,
experiences from the SIMLESA
2
project in Ethiopia show that the more distant the
farmers are from the market and the poorer the condition of the roads, the less likely
the farmers are to adopt minimum soil tillage and soil and water conservation methods (Jaleta et al. 2016). Access to herbicides was another important factor for the
uptake of minimum tillage. Policy simulation shows that the adoption of CA can be
stimulated by increasing the number of extension agents per farmer and by providing subsidies on farm inputs such as fertiliser and seed (Marenya et al. 2017).
Subsidies have a particularly strong impact on adoption (Marenya et al. 2017).
Social and institutional factors influencing the adoption of CA include the education of household heads, the social network of the head of household and spouse,
membership of farm organisations, number of relatives, access to male labour, land
tenure and plot size (Tamesgen et al. 2008; Tessema et al. 2016; Jaleta et al. 2016;
Marenya et al. 2017; Kassie et al. 2015). Membership of farm organisations builds
trust in CA as it gave farmers an opportunity to consult each other. Livestock ownership, particularly oxen ownership, reduced the adoption of minimum tillage with
mulching, probably because easy access to traction animal makes it less attractive
for the farmers to switch to minimum tillage (Marenya et al. 2017).
Biophysical conditions also affect the uptake of tillage methods. In Ethiopia, it
has been found that CA was adopted more on fields with medium to good soil fertility (Marenya et al. 2017) and on plots distant from the homestead (Tessema et al.
2016). Other studies have shown that the uptake of reduced tillage was not dependent on soil fertility (e.g. Jaleta et al. 2016). It appears that more residues are used
2 Sustainable Intensification of Maize and Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and
Southern Africa.
J. B. Aune