Farm-level determinants of output commercialization: In haricot bean based farming systems

Abstract

This study assesses the commercial behavior of smallholder farmers in the moisture-stress haricot bean based farming systems of central Ethiopia along with the determinants of smallholder farmers’ engagement in the sales of most important crops. Descriptive and Tobit regression analyses are used to determine the key factors that influence household participation in the market in terms of volumes of product sales. The study identified that among the interviewed farmers 90% have participated in selling out their crops and the level of participation was 45%. The key determinants of commercialization among haricot bean based farmers are family size, land size, age, livestock holding and dependency ratio. The study recommends that policy makers and development organizations should target on improving labor and land efficiency and asset accumulation in order to promote smallholder farmers' participation in greater crop sales and income generation and contribute to acceleration of agricultural production growth.