Determinants of Farmers’ Seed Replacement Rate of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in Central Ethiopia

Abstract

Chickpea is a prominent pulse crop in Ethiopia, accounting for over 17% of the nation's total legume production. Farmers’ seed replacement rate plays a crucial role in providing valuable insights for planning the area dedicated to quality seed production. An increase in the seed replacement rate is essential for enhancing crop productivity. This study was designed to examine determinants of farmers’ seed replacement rate of chickpeas in Ethiopia. The study was conducted in six districts located within three administrative regions of Ethiopia namely, Amhara, Oromia, and Central Ethiopia. Primary data were collected from random samples of 128 farm households, and data were subject to descriptive analysis using the SPSS Software. The demographic result indicated that a majority of chickpea-producing farmers (64.8%) are in the active labor force though most of the household heads (~78%) are illiterate or only educated up to primary grades. The study indicated that the seed replacement rate for chickpea seed with the maximum five years and minimum of two years replacement interval and about 43 % of the respondents replace their seed with in three years. The findings  from the cross tabulation analysis using chi square test showed a statistically significant variance between chickpea seed replacement and land holding of the household head, sex of the household and variety preferences of the household head  at a significance level of (P < 0.01). The absence of reliable seed sources, seed quality and related problems, and increasing seed prices were also indicated as bottlenecks for chickpea seed replacement in the study areas. Therefore, the determinants of the seed replacement rate should be carefully observed by the responsible institutions in accessing quality chickpea seed