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ASSESSMENT OF FACTORS INFLUENCING ADOPTION OF AGROFORESTRY TECHNOLOGIES IN HALABA SPECIAL WOREDA, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA [Abstract ID: 0609-03]
Halaba special district is characterized by drought, soil erosion, high population pressure, poor livestock production, lack of livestock feed, a very deep water table, low crop productivity and food shortage. In order to address these problems, the woreda Agricultural Development office introduced agroforestry decades ago as a means to alleviate the problem, along with other management practices such as physical soil conservation measures. However, the level of agroforestry adoption remains low. The objective of this study was to identify the factors that influence adoption of agroforestry technologies by farmers in the district. Random sampling was employed to select two kebele administrations and respondents. Data collection was conducted by rural household questionnaires, participatory rural appraisal, questionnaires for local and woreda extension staff, secondary data resources and field observation. A sample of 12 key informants, 6 extension staff and 182 households was used in the data collection. Chi square test was used to determine significant relationships between adoption of agroforestry and 15 selected variables. Of these, eleven were found to be significant in affecting farmer’s willingness to adopt the practices. The study also identified various factors that result in low adoption rates of agroforestry. To improve farmer adoption rates, the factors identified should be addressed properly by launching a series of ongoing outreach extension programs appropriate and suitable to farmers’ needs.