factors affecting agricultural production in

249 Pages·2015·1.55 MB·English

FACTORS AFFECTING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN
TIGRAY REGION, NORTHERN ETHIOPIA

by

BIHON KASSA ABRHA

Submitted in accordance with the requirement for the degree of

DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY

in the subject

DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

at the

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA

SUPERVISOR: PROF. ESTHER KIBUKA-SEBITOSI

July 2015
Student Number: 4551-821-1
DECLARATION

I, Bihon Kassa Abrha, declare that this PhD Thesis entitled “Factors affecting agricultural
production in Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia” is my own work and that all the sources
that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete
references. I also declare that this work has not been submitted before for any other
degree at any other institution.

_________________________ ___________________
Bihon Kassa Abrha Date

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DEDICATION

This study is dedicated to my parents

Amete Temelso (1930-2003) and

Kassa Abrha Tekle (1919-2015)

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Almighty God for His love,
benevolence, forgiveness and generosity.

I am sincerely and heartily grateful to my supervisor Professor Esther Kibuka-Sebitosi
for the support and scientific guidance she showed me throughout my thesis writing. I am
sure it would have not been possible without her unreserved help and encouragement.

It gives me great pleasure to present my sincere thanks for the support I got from the
Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tigray, Agricultural and Rural
Development Offices of Kilte Awlalo and GantaAfeshum weredas.

I am very much grateful to all respondents from tabia Genfel, Adiksanded and Mesanu of
Kilte Awlalo wereda and Gola Genahti, Sasun Bethariat and Buket of Ganta Afeshum
wereda. They are highly appreciated for their willingness and patience in providing
answers to all of the questions in the questionnaire.

I am also truly indebted to Mekelle University for providing me enough funds for the
study. My University has also provided additional support that allowed me to attend the
PhD proposal development program organized by UNISA-SANTRUST for a total of
eight weeks in Addis Ababa.

It gives me a great pleasure to present my sincere thanks to all Professors who have
participated in the workshop organized by UNISA-SANTRUST: Professor Sarah Hawie,
Professor Frans Schuurman, Professor Brigitt Smit, Professor Thokozani Xaba and Dr
Kutlwano Ramaboa. We have also benefited from the additional workshops provided by:
Professor Kitty Dumont, ProfessorVusi Mncube, Dr Nisa Paleker, Professor Tayo
Awofolu and Professor Hester Nienaber.

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I would also like to extend my appreciation to my postgraduate extension students in the
Development Studies Program for helping me to find different documents from various
offices in the region.
I would also like to extend my appreciation toGirmay Berhe and Teklehaymanot
Woldegebrial. Finally, it is my great pleasure to thank all of my friends and colleagues in
Mekelle University College of Business and Economics.

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ABSTRACT
This study investigates the factors affecting agricultural production of farm households in
the National Regional State of Tigray, Ethiopia. The major primary sources of data for
the study were farm household surveys, focus group discussions and key informant
interviews. The study revealed that the annual average crop production of respondents
was found to be below the standard annual food requirement recommended by the
international organizations. The proportion of irrigated land to total cultivated land was
only 11per cent. The proportion of irrigated land in the two districts is lower than 11.27
per cent at the regional level. The utilization of chemical fertilizers for the majority of the
respondents was below the recommended standard for the region. Although the farmers
were interested in using improved seeds, the supplied varieties were not based on their
preferences. Extension agents were mainly engaged in activities which were not related
to their professions.
The farm income model result showed that landholding size (p<0.0001), possession of
oxen(p<0.0001), amount of fertilizer(p=0.010), improved seeds(p=0.002),
irrigation(p=0.028), soil quality(p=0.019), village distance to the district
market(p=0.066), average distance of plots from the homestead (p=0.023) and crop
rotation(p=0.016) were determinant variables. Farmers were engaged in off-farm
activities to fulfill the cash requirements in credit constrained conditions. The laws of the
region do not allow farmers to be out of their localities for more than two years and the
farmerswere restricted to renting out only half of their land. This discouraged farmers
from off-farm participation for fear of land confiscation. In the Probit model, the
determinant variables of off-farm participation were: irrigation (p=0.001), age
(p=0.007), amount of money borrowed (p=0.078), village distance to the wereda market
(p=0.055), fear of land confiscation (p=0.023) and access to electricity (p=0.044).
It is recommended that if farmers are to use chemical fertilizers, they should be supplied
with High Yielding Varieties (HYV)and enough water through access to irrigation.
Furthermore, farmers should be allowed to have long term off-farm employment to
augment the farming sector.
Key words: Agriculture, production, factors, farm households, Tigray, Ethiopia
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ABBREVIATIONS

ADDP Ada District Development Project
ADLI Agricultural Development Led Industrialization
BoARD Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development
CADU Chilalo Agricultural Development Unit
CSA Central Statistics Agency of Ethiopia
EPID Extension and Project Implementation Department
EPRDF Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary and Democratic Front
FDRE Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GTP Growth and Transformation Plan
MoARD Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
MoFED Ministry of Finance and Economic Development
MPP Minimum Package Program
PADEP Peasant Agricultural Development Extension Program
PADETES Participatory Demonstration and Training Extension System
PASDEP A Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty
PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
PSNP Productive Safety Net Program
SDPRP Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Program
SG Sasakawa Global
SIDA Swedish International Development Agency
SPSS Statistical Package for Social Scientists
UNECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
UNFPA United Nations Population Fund
USAID United States Agency for International Development
WADU Wolayita Agricultural Development Unit

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DEFINITION OF LOCAL TERMS

Zone Government structure which consists of many weredas under it
Wereda District level administrative hierarchy including many tabias
Tabia A sub-district level administrative hierarchy including many Kushets
Kushet A sub-division of tabia
Tsimad Unit of cultivable land which is one fourth of a hectare
Belg The secondary season in Ethiopia which covers the period from the month
of March (Megabit) to May (Ginbot)
Meher The main crop season in Ethiopia which covers the period from the month
of June (Sene) to September (Meskerem)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION .............................................................................................................. ii
DEDICATION ................................................................................................................. iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... iv
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... vi
ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................... vii
DEFINITION OF LOCAL TERMS ............................................................................ viii
LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... xii
LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... xiv
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 1
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY ........................................................................ 1
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT ...................................................................................... 4
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ............................................................................. 7
1.3.1 General objective .............................................................................................. 7
1.3.2 Specific objectives ............................................................................................ 8
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ...................................................................................... 8
1.5 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY .................................................... 9
1.5.1 Scope of the study ............................................................................................ 9
1.5.2 Limitations of the study .................................................................................... 9
1.6 IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY........................................................................... 9
1.7 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS ........................................................................... 10
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................... 12
2.1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................. 12
2.2 DEFINITION OF KEY CONCEPTS .................................................................... 14
2.3 GENERAL ISSUES OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION .............................. 15
2.4 FACTORS AFFECTING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND FARM
INCOME ................................................................................................................ 17
2.4.1 Household characteristics of farm operators .................................................. 18
2.4.2 Agricultural production technologies ............................................................. 22
2.4.3 Credit markets/agricultural loans ................................................................... 30
2.4.4 Environmental factors .................................................................................... 32
2.4.5 Physical and institutional infrastructure facilities .......................................... 33
2.5. FACTORS AFFECTING AGRICULTURAL MARKETING ............................. 35
2.6 DETERMINANT FACTORS FOR OFF-FARM ACTIVITIES AND OFF-
FARM INCOME .................................................................................................... 39
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2.6.1 Age, education, gender and family size and off-farm activities ..................... 42
2.6.2 Land holding size, land ownership security and off-farm activities .............. 43
2.6.3 Access to formal credit, information and distance to the town and off-farm
activities ......................................................................................................... 44
2.6.4 Access to electricity and off-farm activities ................................................... 44
2.7 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................... 45
CHAPTER 3: AGRARIAN POLICIES AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
IN ETHIOPIA ............................................................................................................ 48
3.1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY AREA.................. 48
3.2 AGRARIAN POLICIES AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION DURING
THE IMPERIAL REGIME (PRE-1974). ............................................................... 49
3.3 AGRARIAN POLICIES AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION DURING
THE DERG REGIME (1974-1991) ....................................................................... 53
3.4 AGRARIAN POLICIES AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION DURING
THE ETHIOPIAN PEOPLE’S REVOLUTIONARY AND DEMOCRATIC
FRONT (EPRDF) REGIME (SINCE 1991) .......................................................... 57
3.5 BRIEF BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY AREA .............................................. 61
3.6 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................... 65
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ............................... 69
4.1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................. 69
4.2 RESEARCH DESIGN ........................................................................................... 69
4.3 DATA TYPE .......................................................................................................... 69
4.4 DATA SOURCES .................................................................................................. 71
4.5. MODELS AND OPERATIONALIZATION OF VARIABLES .......................... 73
4.6 SAMPLING DESIGN AND SAMPLING METHODS ........................................ 83
4.7 DATA PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS ............................................................. 86
4.8 ISSUES OF VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY ..................................................... 86
4.9 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................... 87
CHAPTER 5: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................ 88
5.1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................. 88
5.2 SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF RESPONDENTS .................... 88
5.3 THE FACTORS AFFECTING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND
THEIR IMPACT ON THE INCOME OF THE FARM HOUSEHOLDS ............. 90
5.4 THE MAJOR CHALLENGES OF THE HOUSEHOLD HEADS IN
MARKETING THEIR PRODUCE ...................................................................... 123
5.5 THE MAJOR DETERMINANT FACTORS OF FARM OPERATORS TO
PARTICIPATE IN OFF-FARM ACTIVITIES AND THEIR IMPACTS ON
THE OFF-FARM INCOME................................................................................. 129
5.6 A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN THE
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