Household level determinants of adoption speed of soil fertility boosting technology: a duration analysis approach of compost in Toke Kutaye District of West Shawa Zone, Oromiya, Ethiopia

In the study of technology adoption and determination of smallholder farmer’s adoption of an introduced technology at given point in time, the employment of ‘Binary settings of logit and probit’ is a commonly used methodology. This static approach of technology analysis, however, is found to be incapable of capturing the dynamic process of adoption. Adopters pass through stages of awareness, interest, evaluation and finally adoption. Thus, with a static point of view, one cannot study the speed of technology adoption, information that is highly demanded by researchers, policy makers and various stakeholders dealing with technology demand, development and uptake. Speed of adoption is much more valuable than a simplistic study of why one adopts. This study investigated determinants of adoption speed of compost technology adoption using the duration analysis approach and identified traditional and institutional barriers to accelerating the adoption of the technology. Based on the findings, recommendations for policy are highlighted.