The impact of Ethiopia’s direct seed marketing approach on smallholders’ access to seeds, productivity, and commercialization
Several factors contribute to the low level of improved variety use in Ethiopia. Among those, on the supply side, is the limited availability of seed in the volumes, quality, and timeliness required by farmers, which is partly a result of limited public and private investment in the sector. Beginnin...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Artículo preliminar |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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International Food Policy Research Institute
2021
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| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143446 |
| _version_ | 1855530331439890432 |
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| author | Mekonnen, Dawit Kelemework Abate, Gashaw T. Yimam, Seid Benfica, Rui Spielman, David J. Place, Frank |
| author_browse | Abate, Gashaw T. Benfica, Rui Mekonnen, Dawit Kelemework Place, Frank Spielman, David J. Yimam, Seid |
| author_facet | Mekonnen, Dawit Kelemework Abate, Gashaw T. Yimam, Seid Benfica, Rui Spielman, David J. Place, Frank |
| author_sort | Mekonnen, Dawit Kelemework |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Several factors contribute to the low level of improved variety use in Ethiopia. Among those, on the supply side, is the limited availability of seed in the volumes, quality, and timeliness required by farmers, which is partly a result of limited public and private investment in the sector. Beginning in 2011, the Government of Ethiopia introduced a novel experiment-the Direct Seed Marketing (DSM) approach-to reduce some of the centralized, state-run attributes of the country’s seed market and rationalize the use of public resources. DSM was designed to incentivize private and public seed producers to sell seed directly to farmers rather than through the state apparatus. This study is the first quantitative evaluation of DSM’s impact on indicators of a healthy seed system: access to quality seeds, on-farm productivity, and market participation of smallholders. Using a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences approach, the study finds that DSM led to a 26 percent increase in maize yields and a 5 percent increase in the share of maize harvest sold. DSM also led to improvements in seed availability for all three of Ethiopia’s major cereals: maize, wheat, and teff. However, DSM’s effects on yields and share of harvest sold are not statistically significant for wheat and teff. These crop-specific differences in performance are likely explainable by biological differences between hybrid maize and openly pollinated varieties of wheat and teff that incentivize private sector participation in maize seed markets over wheat and teff seed markets. These differences demand different policies and perhaps even institutional approaches to accelerating adoption between hybrids and OPVs. |
| format | Artículo preliminar |
| id | CGSpace143446 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateRange | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| publisherStr | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1434462025-12-02T21:03:03Z The impact of Ethiopia’s direct seed marketing approach on smallholders’ access to seeds, productivity, and commercialization Mekonnen, Dawit Kelemework Abate, Gashaw T. Yimam, Seid Benfica, Rui Spielman, David J. Place, Frank seed systems seed quality seeds direct marketing crops maize crop production smallholders marketing seed production productivity commercialization Several factors contribute to the low level of improved variety use in Ethiopia. Among those, on the supply side, is the limited availability of seed in the volumes, quality, and timeliness required by farmers, which is partly a result of limited public and private investment in the sector. Beginning in 2011, the Government of Ethiopia introduced a novel experiment-the Direct Seed Marketing (DSM) approach-to reduce some of the centralized, state-run attributes of the country’s seed market and rationalize the use of public resources. DSM was designed to incentivize private and public seed producers to sell seed directly to farmers rather than through the state apparatus. This study is the first quantitative evaluation of DSM’s impact on indicators of a healthy seed system: access to quality seeds, on-farm productivity, and market participation of smallholders. Using a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences approach, the study finds that DSM led to a 26 percent increase in maize yields and a 5 percent increase in the share of maize harvest sold. DSM also led to improvements in seed availability for all three of Ethiopia’s major cereals: maize, wheat, and teff. However, DSM’s effects on yields and share of harvest sold are not statistically significant for wheat and teff. These crop-specific differences in performance are likely explainable by biological differences between hybrid maize and openly pollinated varieties of wheat and teff that incentivize private sector participation in maize seed markets over wheat and teff seed markets. These differences demand different policies and perhaps even institutional approaches to accelerating adoption between hybrids and OPVs. 2021-01-01 2024-05-22T12:14:12Z 2024-05-22T12:14:12Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143446 en https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133289 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/151335 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134441 https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.312925 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Mekonnen, Dawit Kelemework; Abate, Gashaw Tadesse; Yimam, Seid; Benfica, Rui; Spielman, David J.; and Place, Frank. 2021. The impact of Ethiopia’s direct seed marketing approach on smallholders’ access to seeds, productivity, and commercialization. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1998. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134247. |
| spellingShingle | seed systems seed quality seeds direct marketing crops maize crop production smallholders marketing seed production productivity commercialization Mekonnen, Dawit Kelemework Abate, Gashaw T. Yimam, Seid Benfica, Rui Spielman, David J. Place, Frank The impact of Ethiopia’s direct seed marketing approach on smallholders’ access to seeds, productivity, and commercialization |
| title | The impact of Ethiopia’s direct seed marketing approach on smallholders’ access to seeds, productivity, and commercialization |
| title_full | The impact of Ethiopia’s direct seed marketing approach on smallholders’ access to seeds, productivity, and commercialization |
| title_fullStr | The impact of Ethiopia’s direct seed marketing approach on smallholders’ access to seeds, productivity, and commercialization |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of Ethiopia’s direct seed marketing approach on smallholders’ access to seeds, productivity, and commercialization |
| title_short | The impact of Ethiopia’s direct seed marketing approach on smallholders’ access to seeds, productivity, and commercialization |
| title_sort | impact of ethiopia s direct seed marketing approach on smallholders access to seeds productivity and commercialization |
| topic | seed systems seed quality seeds direct marketing crops maize crop production smallholders marketing seed production productivity commercialization |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143446 |
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