Characterization of the Adoption of Village Poultry Technology Package Elements, Chicken Breeds and Forms in the Central Oromia Region, Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development developed and disseminated village poultry technology package containing improved chicken breeds, improved poultry feeding, housing, watering and disease control. This study was conducted to characterize the adoption status of the technology package elements, chicken breeds and forms in different agro-ecological zones of central Oromia Region, Ethiopia. One hundred eighteen (180) village poultry technology package participants were used for this study. Structured questionnaire, field observations and focus group discussion were employed to collect detail information. The study revealed that respondents received 4.7(0.80) pullets with cockerel and 10.1(1.25) only pullets for the technology but their demands were 64.0(6.11) and 97.9(16.27) pullets with cockerels and only pullets, respectively. As compared with other technology elements, improved chicken breed adoption was better. The overall adoption level of the technology elements was 39.4%, where better adoption (48.3%) was in the highland and the least (33.3%) was in the lowland agro-ecologies. The mean adoption index was not significant among the study agro-ecologies. The overall adoption index of the technology was 0.34(0.03). In conclusion, the adoption level of technology is categorized as low level. Therefore, to improve the technology adoption, much effort is needed from concerned organizations, professionals and famers. Keywords: Adoption; Technology element; Technology form; Package; Village poultry