Authors : Ngendakumana Serge; Nahimana Amidou; Bararyenya Astère; Gahiro Leonidas

Volume/Issue : Volume 10 - 2025, Issue 1 - January

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/293nzrsk

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/5fnpn8az

DOI : https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14759731

Abstract : Agricultural innovation helps to improve productivity, increase income and ensure food security. Burundi, like other countries, invests in agricultural research and development. However, the adoption of new agricultural technologies remains low, resulting in average yields below the potential of improved varieties and in particular hybrid maize seeds. This study aimed to assess the impact of hybrid maize seed adoption on production, farm income and food security of Burundian farm households. A field survey was conducted on a sample of 87 individuals comprising adopters (treatment group) and non-adopters (control or comparison group) of hybrid maize seed. This was done with a view to comparing the agricultural performance of the two groups and drawing conclusions based on the similarity of observable characteristics. For this purpose, the propensity score matching method was used in the econometric analysis of the data. The impact of adoption was then estimated on maize production and household farm income. The econometric results show that the adoption of maize hybrids has a positive and significant impact on the agricultural production and income of Burundian farmers. Indeed, the impact on production or ATT (Average Treatment for the Treated) is 1233 Kg with a T-test of 5.076 while the impact on agricultural income (ATT) is 2,271,261 BIF with a T- test of 4.901. In terms of technical efficiency, it should be noted that the average technical efficiency of hybrid producers is 0.90, while it is 0.45 for producers of 'all maize'. The major constraints mentioned are the unavailability of seed and the high cost of hybrid maize seed.

Keywords : Seed, Hybrid Maize, Common Maize, Impact, Production, Income.

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