The impact of training on the application of modern agricultural inputs: evidence from wheat and maize growers in Northwest Ethiopia

ABSTRACT

This study aims to evaluate the impact of training on the use of modern agricultural inputs in comparison to the recommended amount for wheat and maize production in Gozamin and Machakil Woredas in Northwest Ethiopia. The study employs a mixed-methods research design. The propensity score matching and thematic methods of analysis were used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. The study finds that trainees reduced the excess application of wheat seed by 11.66% to 15% ha-1. In Machakil, they tended to reduce excess NPSB application by 21% and increase urea by 52.17% for wheat. But, the NPSB rate was found to increase by 100.4% above the recommended rate in Gozamin. For maize, the trainees increased urea by 12.42% ha-1 in both Woredas. The study recommends the provision of consecutive practical training and demonstrations till farmers get convinced that applying the recommended rates of inputs significantly enhances crop productivity.

KEYWORDS:

• Agricultural training
• training impact evaluation
• modern agricultural inputs
• input application rate
• propensity score matching
• Ethiopia

Acknowledgments

The authors want to acknowledge both the interviewers and the interviewees who devoted their time to participate in the study. We also need to extend our deepest gratitude to Woreda-level extension team leaders and training experts involved in the primary and secondary data provision and supervision of the survey. We are also thankful to the Federal Ministry of Higher Education and Debre Markos University for providing the research scholarship to the first author to undertake this study.

Disclosure statement

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

Data availability statement

The data will be available on request from the corresponding author.

Notes

1. ‘NPSB’ is a blended fertilizer prepared from nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and boron minerals.

2. ‘Woreda’ is the 4^th level administrative unit in Ethiopia equivalent to a county.

3. ‘Kebeles’ in Ethiopia are the smallest administrative units responsible for local governance and service delivery. They are run by an elected council and have a wide range of responsibilities from healthcare, education, sanitation, and infrastructure services to public safety and security. Kebeles fall under the jurisdiction of the Woreda and zonal administrations and form part of the wider governance structure of Ethiopia. The Kebele administration plays a crucial role in the delivery of education and training services, such as attending to primary education and early childhood development programs, skills training, and vocational education.

4. The training was given to household heads.

5. Man equivalent is a unit used to measure the total size of a given family based on a weight given to each family member by age and sex category. It is helpful to have a common standard measurement unit for the size of households with different sex and age compositions. See Haile-Gabriel (2000) for the weights given to family members by age and sex category to compute the family size in a given household.

Additional information

Funding

This research received no external funding.