Impact of Agricultural Technology Adoption on Food Consumption Expenditure: Evidence from Rural Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of agricultural technology adoption on household food consumption expenditure in rural Amhara regional state, Ethiopia. The study is based on the data obtained from the Ethiopian Socioeconomic Survey collected in 2015/16. Household-level data were taken from 656 rural farm households in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. The study used the endogenous switching regression model to estimate the impacts of agricultural technology adoption on household food consumption expenditure per adult equivalent per annum. The result of the study reveals that adopting agricultural technology significantly increases household food consumption expenditure per adult equivalent. Moreover, the difference in household food consumption expenditure per adult equivalent between the actual and counterfactual scenarios is very high. The findings of the study reveal that broader investment in agricultural technology and increased access and adoption of agricultural technologies significantly improve the welfare of farm households.

Keywords:

• Agricultural technology
• adoption
• endogenous switching model
• consumption

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

Agriculture is the mainstay of the Ethiopian economy. But its productivity is very low, in return, lower food consumption. So, this study tried to examine the impact of agricultural technology adoption on food consumption expenditure in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia. The results revealed that the adoption of agricultural technology significantly increases household food consumption expenditure and thereby improves the welfare of rural households.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their supportive comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Mesele Belay Zegeye

Mesele Belay Zegeye is a lecturer at Debre Berhan University, Ethiopia. His research interest includes the effect and effectiveness of policies, poverty, food security, technology adoption, and agricultural innovations and extensions, and agricultural productivity.

Abebaw Hailu is a lecturer at Debre Berhan University, Ethiopia. His current research interests are development issues like urban and rural development, agricultural economics, food security, microeconomic, and macroeconomics policy analysis.

Anteneh Bezualem Assefa is a lecturer at Debre Berhan University. His research interest includes macroeconomics policy analysis and international trade.