Determinants of Soybean Production Package Utilization Among Smallholder Farmers in Ethiopia

This study examined the magnitude and determinants of soybean production package utilization among smallholder farmers in Ethiopia using a convergent parallel mixed‐methods approach. The empirical design integrated a cross‐sectional survey of 304 soybean‐producing households selected through a multistage sampling technique across three districts in the Sidama Region, supplemented by six focus group discussions (FGDs) to contextualize quantitative findings. To evaluate adoption intensity, a composite soybean production package utilization index (SPPUI) ranging from 0 to 1 was constructed across 14 extension‐recommended practices. A fractional logit model was used to identify the determinants of soybean production package utilization among smallholder farmers. The results showed a mean SPPUI of 0.61, indicating moderate overall utilization with substantial variation among farmers. Utilization was relatively high for basic agronomic practices, including proper land preparation (78.3%), improved/certified seed use (73.7%), timely weeding (71.1%), and row planting (69.7%), but was comparatively lower for moisture conservation (43.4%), improved storage (49.0%), and sorting and grading before marketing (46.4%). Econometric estimates demonstrated that education level, landholding size, input availability, credit access, product bargaining power, and market information access significantly increased package utilization intensity. Conversely, demographic variables were not statistically significant, underscoring that adoption intensity is predominantly governed by structural resource constraints and market incentives. The findings suggest that improving soybean production package utilization requires an enabling environment that combines human‐capital development, reliable input and financial services, stronger market information and bargaining opportunities, and improved postharvest infrastructure.