Heliyon (Aug 2023)
Farmers’ willingness to pay for metal silo cereal storage technology in northeast Ethiopia
Abstract
In Ethiopia, cereal crops play a significant role in food security and income for most smallholder farmers. In the Gubalafto district, the environment is ideal for growing vital cereal crops such as sorghum, maize, and teff. However, various factors such as weevils, rodents, mold infestation, and lack of suitable storage materials were blamed for a post-harvest loss of cereal at the storage stage in the district. Hence, this research study was intended to identify factors affecting households' willingness to pay for metal silo cereal storage technology and the maximum willingness to pay for the technology. The study used both primary and secondary sources to gather the data. A total of 385 sample households were selected using a systematic random sampling technique. The semi-structural questionnaire was used to collect the primary data during a face-to-face interview, and double-bounded questions were also followed by open-ended questions. Combinations of data analysis methods such as descriptive, inferential statistics, and econometrics models were used. a binary probit regression model was used to identify factors that influenced farmers' willingness to pay for metal silo cereal storage technology. A bivariate probit regression model was also used to estimate the household's willingness to pay for metal silo cereal storage technology. The survey results showed that the majority (71.69%) of the sample households were willing to pay for metal silo cereal storage technology due to the severity of cereal post-harvest loss. Moreover, the binary probit model results revealed that household educational status, total household annual income, market accessibility, and extension service positively and significantly affected the household's willingness to pay decisions. The mean willingness to pay of households in open-ended and double-bounded methods was 4157 Ethiopian birr and 5147 Ethiopian Birr (ETB), respectively. In general, the result of the study revealed that farmers were more willing to adopt metal silo cereal storage technology due to its high-storage quality. Therefore, as a part of the recommendations, there should be great integration among farmers, metal manufacturing factories, local and regional governments to supply and offer metal silos technology for farmers at a reasonable price and time. Moreover, training should be arranged on how to use the metal silo technology to prevent post-harvesting loss during the storage time.
