Impact of improved potato varieties adoption on household resilience to food insecurity

The study aimed at investigating whether the adoption of improved potato varieties by smallholder farmers would enhance their resilience to food insecurity or not, based on evidence from Ethiopia. A cross-sectional comparative research design was employed, where smallholder farmers who have been utilizing three improved potato varieties were compared with those who did not. A multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to select four kebeles and 329 sample household heads. Primary data sources were generated using interview schedules, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, structural equation modeling (SEM), and the propensity score matching model (PSM). By food energy intake, about 53.19% of the households were food insecure, where 20.97% and 32.2%, respectively, were adopters and non-adopters. On average, the study households have achieved about 68.5% of the resilience level to food insecurity, while the figures for adopters and non-adopters are 0.540% and 0.332%, respectively. The result of the PSM showed that the adoption of improved potato varieties had a significant positive effect on household resilience to food insecurity. The adoption of improved potato varieties increases food security on average by 324.5 Kcal per adult per day. Moreover, the resilience to food insecurity of adopters has increased on average by 0.540 points relative to non-adopters. The finding showed that improved potato adoption had a positive impact on households' resilience to food insecurity. Therefore, governments, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders should promote access to improved potato varieties by smallholder farmers to improve household resilience to food insecurity.