Determinants of Commercialization of Tef: The Case of Smallholder Farmers in Dendi District of Oromia, Central Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, tef is economically and socially important cereal crop, particularly in Dendi district it is source of food and cash income for majority of the smallholder farmers. However, the supply of tef in the study area still can’t satisfy the existing market demand. The study aimed at analyzing the commercialization level and factors affecting the commercialization of tef producers. The study largely uses primary data that was collected from 210 randomly selected farmers through structured and semi-structured questionnaire. Both descriptive statistics and econometric models were used. Tobit model were used to identify the determinants of commercialization. Results of the descriptive statistics indicated that 12.38% of sample households are subsistent, 3.33% are less-commercial, 43.81% are semi-commercialized and 40.48% are commercialized farmers. The average commercialization level of tef producers in the district was 46%. The result of Tobit regression model revealed that educational level, livestock owned, land under tef , agricultural extension, sex of household head, household size and off/non-farm income significantly affect commercialization level of tef producers. Therefore, the findings suggest that strategies aiming at promoting tef producers’ commercialization should focus on strengthening the technical, resource base and institutional capacity of smallholder farmers. Keywords: Smallholders, Commercialization, Tobit, Tef , Dendi DOI : 10.7176/JAAS/56-01 Publication date :June 30 th 2019