Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Drawing from in-depth interviews with farmers who have implemented the Push-Pull Technology in South Wollo, Ethiopia, this thesis focuses on understanding both local driving forces for changing farming practices and patterns of decision-making. This thesis argues that farmers’ decisions are based on more than rational choice, and that there is a complex web of social and institutional patterns which affects their actions and attitudes towards changes of farming practices and use of new technologies. There are many different reasons why farmers change their farming practices, including both voluntary and involuntary actions; some of them are planned strategies, while others are reactions to a dynamic and changing environment. This thesis draws on the work of Ian Scoones, Frank Ellis and David Mosse to argue for the importance to see beyond idealistic liberal analyses that ignore the structural forces affecting decision-making. A number of core challenges for the implementation of Push-Pull Technology are identified, centring on the need to meet the requirements of the households with poor social status.