Determinants of Farmers’ Crop Choices on Irrigated Agriculture of Halaba and Meskan Districts of Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Despite Ethopia’s potential to enhance crop production through irrigation, food insecurity has been a defining feature of its poverty for decades. Halaba and Meskan districts are some of the areas with potential for improving crop production through irrigation. However, the potential remains untapped as a result of dependence on rain fed agriculture and farmers’ low understanding of irrigation and its proper management. The low utilization of the irrigation potential, has affected farmers’ crop choice and their productivity. Crop choice analysis is found to be very important for increasing farm productivity in Ethiopia.  However, empirical studies on factors that affect farmers’ crop choice are scanty. Hence, this study aims to identify determinants of farmers’ crop choice decisions. The study employed Multinomial Logit Model (MNL) to analyze determinants of crop choice.  Cross-sectional survey data collected from randomly selected 265 farm households of the total sample households, 136 farming households have access to irrigation. The MNL result shows that male headed households have a higher probability (7.14 %.) of farming cereal crops with vegetables and ‘khat’ in combinations. Larger farming families were more likely to choose practicing irrigation for growing cereal crops with vegetables.  Costs on fertilizer have significant results (0.07%, -0.04% and -0.03%) in the probability of planting cereals with vegetables, pulse-vegetables and ‘khat’ in combinations respectively. Cost incurred on agro-chemicals (herbicide and pesticide) were only significant and negative for cereals-pulse-vegetables choice and vary with 3.9%. Older farmers were more likely to choose cereals combined with vegetables - pulses and with ‘khat’. The coefficient on education is positive and significant for cereals with khat.  It is suggested that agricultural extension personnel need to focus on the factors that affect farmers’ crop choices that entails multiple crop through irrigation turns to high farm productivity and improving food security status of the area.

Keywords: irrigation, crop choice, Multinomial logit model