The Effect of Age on Agricultural Technology Adoption by Smallholder Farmers in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

In Ethiopia, agricultural technology adoption is an important strategy to improve agricultural production and productivity of smallholder farmers. However, the effect of age on farmers’ agricultural technology adoption is a controversial issue. To evaluate the total effect, a systematic review and meta-analysis are designed through systematically searching studies by following a PRISMA guideline. Finally, 25 articles were included. Using STATA version 17 software, the inconsistency indices tau2, I2, and H2 were used to estimate the heterogeneity across the studies. The results of the random effect model indicated that farmers’ adoption of technology was constrained by the influence of aging by 1.38 units (95% CI: −2.48, −0.27). Furthermore, the meta-regression result revealed that distance from the market, extension contact, education, and family size are important moderators that determine heterogeneity in the effect of age on farmers’ agricultural technology adoption. It is concluded that building public social networking platforms, cooperative organizations, and mutual aid agencies within the community are crucial to supporting older farmers and reducing the negative effect of age on farmers’ agricultural technology adoption. Therefore, in order to increase the rate of agricultural technology adoption in Ethiopia, the government must take into account factors, such as age variations in adoption, the skills of older farmers, and the features of agricultural technology used by smallholder farmers.