Socio-economic Factors Influencing Adoption of Hybrid Maize in Mbuye, Burundi

The introduction of new agricultural technology has great importance in increasing production and productivity and technology transfer helps to achieve economic growth for developing countries. The adoption of agricultural technological innovations is conditioned by various factors considered holistically. This paper aims to assess the factors influencing the adoption of hybrid maize in Mbuye, Burundi. Primary data have been collected from a random sample of 365 small-scale farmers in January 2024 complemented by secondary data. Data were analysed using logistic regression. The results showed that the factors significantly influencing the adoption of hybrid maize in the area are the accessibility to extension services (x_3) (β=2.0024,p<0.01), membership in small-scale farmers’ associations (x_9) (β=1.9976, p<0.01), non-agricultural activities (x_10)(β=-1.8275, p<0.05)), access to land (x_11 ) (β=1.0770, p<0.05), market orientation (sales) of production (x_12) (β=1.1049, p<0.01), market accessibility (x_13) (β=1.2771, p<0.01) and consumption (x_14) (β=-6.3716, p<0.01). The factors of the sex of the head of household (x_1 ), age of household head (x_2), size of arable land (x_4), level of education (x_5), experience (x_6), access to credit (x_7), and household size (x_8 ) have a non-significant influence on hybrid maize adoption. The distribution and sales of improved seeds should be preceded by an awareness-raising campaign of their advantages (productivity) and disadvantages (input requirements, cultivation techniques, prohibition of seed saving at harvest, etc.). Increasing the number of extension services and providing them with financial and material resources is a factor in adopting hybrid maize. Small-scale farmers’ organizations would facilitate the flow of information linked to disseminating new agricultural technologies