Socio-Economic Determinants of Movable Frame Hive Technology Adoption in Gamo Gofa Zone of the Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Beekeeping is a well established traditional farming enterprise and income generating activity since long time in Gamo Gofa Zone. Many attempts have been made to introduce improved beekeeping and modernize the production system so as to improve productivity and the benefit thereof. However, the attempts hadn’t been met to the desired level and no technical study has been made so far to identify the gaps in promotional effort and farmers’ response to it. The objectives of this study were identifying socio-economic determinants of movable frame hive technology adoption and measuring their responsiveness. Proportionate random sampling was employed to get sample respondents and they were categorized in-to non-adopters and adopters of movable frame hive technology. Out of the total 168 sample respondents, 99 were non-adopters and 69 were adopters of movable frame hive technology. The data were collected through semi-structured questionnaire interview. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, binary probit model and partial effect analysis. The results of the binary probit model indicated that age, formal education, traditional beekeeping experience, availability of movable frame hive accessories, livestock holding, income and demonstration didn’t have significant influence on movable frame hive technology adoption. While: wealth status, market access, extension service and training were found to influence significantly. The partial effect analysis revealed that wealth, market access, extension service and training influence movable frame hive adoption decision by 26.043%, 23.876%, 15.390% and 29.982% respectively. Therefore, different stakeholders working to improve the productivity of the sub-sector and promote movable frame hive technology should focus on these determining factors to achieve the intended goal.

Keywords: Adoption, Constraints, Determinants, Movable Frame Hive