The impact of adopting crossbreed dairy cows on rural household livelihood in Southwest Ethiopia

Despite increasing efforts to promote crossbred dairy cow adoption in Ethiopia, evidence on its livelihood impact remains limited, particularly in the Bench Sheko Zone of Southwest Ethiopia. This study investigates the impact of adopting crossbreed dairy cows on rural household livelihoods, focusing on milk income and production. The analysis uses cross-sectional data from 344 smallholder farmers (162 adopters and 182 non-adopters) collected in 2023. To address selection bias, the study employs Propensity Score Matching (PSM). The results reveal that adopters earn 73.90% more income from milk sales and produce 65.44% more milk annually compared to non-adopters. Key factors driving adoption include education, land size, access to credit, extension services, and improved forage. These findings highlight the potential of improved dairy technologies to support Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), by enhancing food security and rural livelihoods. The study recommends strengthening institutional support, improving access to productive inputs, and developing tailored capacity-building strategies to encourage smallholder adoption.