Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Vol. 7(3), pp. 013-022, Serptember 2018 ISSN 2327-3151 ©2018 Academe Research Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Determinants of intensity of market participation of smallholder rice producers: The case of Shebe Sombo District, Southwest Ethiopia.

Ibrahim Aliyi^*, Beyene Tadesse², Tinsae Demise³

¹ Department of Agricultural Economics and Value chain management, Jimma University, Box 307, Jimma, Ethiopia.

²Loya consultant manager, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

³Department of Agricultural Economics and Value chain management, Jimma University, Box 307, Jimma, Ethiopia.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: ibrahimaliyi0202@gmail.com.

Accepted 17 August, 2018 

Abstract

The study aimed at identifying factors affecting intensity of market participation of smallholder rice producers in Shebe Sombo district, Southwest Ethiopia. Multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to draw a sample of 148 rice producers from four kebeles (Urban dwellers' associations). Both qualitative and quantitative types of data were collected from primary and secondary sources by using a structured and semi- structured questionnaire; focus group discussion and key informant interview were conducted by using checklist. Tobit model was used to identify factors affecting intensity of market participation. The result obtained from Tobit regression indicated that variables such as family size, non-farm income, livestock holding  and distance to the nearest market determined intensity of market participation negatively while variables such as education of households, farming experience, land allocated for rice, value adding activities, number of extension contacts, amount of credit used, membership in cooperative and access to market information determined intensity of market participation positively at different significance level. Therefore, promoting family planning, create reliable market information, provide good transport facilities for farmers through development of infrastructure, strong extension intervention, strengthening education and credit used are quite important for promoting intensive involvement of the farmers in the market.

Key words: Market participation, rice, Tobit model