Impact of front-line demonstrations on yield enhancement of oilseed crops in tribal areas

Abstract:

Front-line demonstrations (FLDs) remain the sharpest transfer-of-technology tool in the Ethiopian public extension system, and this research set out to quantify their yield and adoption impact on three oilseed crops grown by smallholder farmers in the East Hararghe zone of Oromia region. A total of 60 demonstrations were laid out during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 crop seasons through the Agricultural Development Centre at Haramaya University, covering groundnut (25 sites), castor (20 sites) and sunflower (15 sites). Improved varieties (ICGV-SM 90704, ADK-1 and Olei respectively) were evaluated against local checks on farmers' fields, each demonstration covering 0.4 to 6.2 hectares. Data were pooled from pre-demonstration and post-demonstration yields and analysed along with farmers' adoption and perception using a structured schedule. Groundnut recorded a mean yield of 19.3 quintals per hectare against 13.7 quintals for the local check, a 40.9 per cent rise, while castor and sunflower recorded 32.4 and 27.8 per cent gains. The technology gap averaged 4.2 quintals ha⁻¹, extension gap 5.8 quintals ha⁻¹ and the technology index 21.3 per cent across the three crops. Eight of ten smallholder growers who took part in the demonstrations reported adoption of at least three components of the package in the season that followed, and net returns rose by ETB 28,400 per hectare on average. The research confirms that FLDs, when wrapped with simple farmer trainings and input support, are effective in closing the yield gap in smallholder rainfed tracts.