The search for effective mechanisms in technology adoption is high on the agenda of researchers and policy makers. In Ethiopia, adoption of technologies followed the diffusion of innovation information through public extension agents, cooperatives and their unions. The use of statutory channels evidenced to largely limit the innovation diffusion and the timely reach of technologies to the end user farmers for adoption due to their operational inefficiencies and bureaucracies emanating from statutory rules and regulations. This raises concerns how innovative ways of intermediating such technologies can be developed in a way that users trust and make informed decisions about the adoption of technologies. Thus, this study explains the roles of Afoosha social networks for technology uptake. Afoosha social network functions on the basis of orders in the predominant social capital, trustworthiness, altruism and with no self-centeredness. The existence of Afoosha social networks in the rural villages of Ethiopia would provide complementary pathways for effective diffusion of innovation and adoption of technologies. This study, therefore, generates a shred of evidence for the innovative mode of diffusing innovation concepts and adopting technologies that help to design policies that integrate the customary and statutory approaches for better technology adoption.

The disposal of wood waste at facilities for incineration in Sweden is the only applied management practice today. Energy production from biomass has gained attention for its potential to recover energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, besides being a valuable source for energy generation, wood waste can be effectively recycled into new products. Specifically, recycling wood waste into particleboard is the widely practiced method in Europe, while its benefits have not been explored in the country so far. The objective of this study is to assess the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of producing particleboard and generating energy from wood waste in Sweden. This research investigates four alternative systems for wood waste disposal. The first system involves the production of heat, the second system involves heat and power by wood waste, while the third and the fourth systems, in addition to energy recovery, include partial recycling of wood waste in particleboard production. A life cycle sustainability assessment covering all three pillars (environment, social, and economic) of sustainability was conducted to compare these systems. The results show that adding recycling schemes to incineration in wood waste management practices strengthens the sustainability for all three aspects, and hence, these management methods can be considered as complementary methods rather than competing methods. When all sustainability categories are considered, alternative three (heat recovery and recycling) comes forward as the best option in 11 out of 16 impact categories.

Much of the sustained agricultural growth necessary for poverty reduction and sustainable development comes from adequate and expanded improved agricultural inputs use like hybrid seeds, pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and inorganic fertilizer. However, smallholder farmers faced various and empirically unidentified constraints in the sustainable use of improved agricultural inputs. This study, therefore, is to examine the trends and challenges farmers faced to use improved inputs. The study has used secondary data from various databases such as FAOSTAT, World Bank, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research and agricultural statistics. Simple graphical sketch, tabular and percentage analysis was employed for interpretation of the data. The study revealed that the trends in the use of various improved inputs are not based on the regular basis. The sustainable improved input intensification by smallholder farmers was influenced by various socio-economic, physical, and institutional factors. Understanding trends and challenges in input utilization provide baseline information for input intensification policies and strategies. Therefore, this review pointed out that it is possible to increase inputs intensification by smallholder farmers.

Agricultural innovations can be triggered by the social networks in which farmers have purposefully organized to support themselves. This paper, therefore, explores the values of social connectedness within locally established societies’ mutual support associations for agricultural innovations. This study explains how mutual support social network associations trigger agricultural innovations and the way farmers utilize such networks to spiral agricultural innovations. Indigenous mutual support associations like Guuza, Iqubi and Afoosha function in trust-based self-enforcing orders, social networks and relationships in a more flexible and reciprocity-based order. These informal social networks are employed by farmers to collaborate on society’s mutual support practices. Trust, norms and group membership are the key components of social capital within indigenous mutual support associations. The social connectedness within the sort of labor-sharing arrangement, informal financial group, funeral association and inter-village link aids member’s collective capacity to figure the development of agricultural innovations. Inherently embedded social networks, mutual support, information sharing, interaction and trust among the members within mutual support associations are the values for the event of agricultural innovations. Therefore, this study concludes that stakeholders within extension systems should support and strengthen the locally established society’s associations to broaden agricultural innovations. In general, this study recommends the necessity to integrate the applications of society’s mutual support associations for the development of agricultural innovations.

Agricultural productions of smallholder farmers are vulnerable to rainfall shortage and variability in Ethiopia. Thus, this study was aimed to examine water storage strategies practiced by farmers for small-scale irrigation systems in East Hararghe zone, Ethiopia. Data were collected from 300 irrigation user households using an interview schedule. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate probit (MVP) model. The research findings revealed that about 62.67, 54.33, 20.33 and 17.67% of households have used borehole, shallow wells, hand-dug, and farm pond water storage practices for small-scale irrigation, respectively. The finding of the MVP model showed that the choice of using borehole water storage practices affected by education level and frequency of extension contacts. The choice of shallow wells to store water was influenced by livestock size, participation in non-farm activities, and the use of the improved seed. Furthermore, the choice of using hand-dug is affected by household size, farm size, access to training, external support, and weather information. Finally, the size of livestock ownership influenced the choice of ponds for small-scale irrigation. Therefore, various stakeholders should work to enhance the water storage capacity of the farmers by reducing the hindrances and strengthening enabling factors in the study areas.