Assessment of challenges of Crop Production and Marketing in Bench-Sheko, Kaffa, Sheka, and West-Omo Zones of Southwest Ethiopia

Abstract

This study was conducted to identify the challenges of crop production and marketing in13 southwest Ethiopia. Primary and secondary sources of data were used. Qualitative and14 Quantitative data types were collected from 385 respondents through interviews, focus group15 discussion, key informant interviews, and observations. The collected data were analyzed by16 using descriptive statistics and econometric models. Crop productivity was analyzed by the Cobb17 Douglas model and its efficiency and determinants were identified by the stochastic frontier18 model. The major bottlenecks of crop production were the low attitude of farmers towards19 improved technology, low supply and usage of improved seed varieties (94.5%), low supply and20 use of fertilizers (95%), knowledge and skill gap of farmers (80.1%), poor extension service21 (57.3%), soil acidity (94.8%), diseases and insect pest(77.8%), conflict(84.9%) and the outbreak22 of human diseases(60%). Marketing challenges were poor infrastructure (87.3%), lack of market23 linkage (62.5%), and lack of credit services (70.6%). The Cobb Douglas model result revealed24 that land size, local seed, improved seed, repetition of weeding, and labor force influenced crop25 productivity. The mean level of crop technical efficiency was 51.3%. Education level, extension26 service, access to credit, cooperative membership, number of livestock owned, and soil fertility27 were influenced crop inefficiency negatively and distance to the farm was positively related to28 technical inefficiency. Improving extension services and skill of farmers through practical based29 training and building capacity of extension workers and systems to enhance the attitude of30 farmers towards technology usage and proper management practices, timely provision of farm