Household adoption and the associated impact of multiple agricultural technologies in the western hills of Nepal

This paper summarises an adoption study of 15 improved technologies in agriculture, horticulture, livestock and forestry production conducted in the western hills of Nepal in 1994/ 1995. Data are analysed and interpreted using uni and multi-variate statistical methods to provide household adoption profiles and to identify important factors affecting adoption. Results are related to the findings of an extension impact study. Their implications for research and extension in hill farming systems and for conducting technology adoption and research impact studies with multiple- technologies are considered. Only 10% of households were multi-technology adopters (adopting four technologies) while 60% adopted two or less and 30% of households did not adopt any of the technologies. Across the technologies, trying a technology was the most constraining step in the adoption process with households who had not tried the technologies ranging from 25 to 70% of the sample. The level and distribution of technology adoption were significantly influenced by extension input, by ethnicity and by household food self-sufficiency. There was a positive and significant relationship between enhanced extension input to fanning households and the wider beneficial impacts perceived by these households, as a result of the adoption of the technologies. Benefits were skewed towards a small proportion of households more favoured by extension input and household resource base. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.