Factors Affecting the Adoption of Innovative Technologies by Livestock Farmers in Arid Area of Tunisia

Despite the efforts to promote adoption of innovative technologies (IT) by the Government and
international development projects, the adoption rate among farmers has always been low in
Tunisia. This paper aims to investigate the determinants of farmer’s decisions to adopt IT in the
arid area of Tunisia. Economic, socio-demographic and institutional variables were selected as
factors. A sample of 200 farmers was considered; only half of them adopted the IT. A binary
logistic regression was used for the analysis. Regarding economic and socio-demographic
factors, farm education, size of cattle flocks and off-farm income were statistically significant
and positive influence on technology adoption while age and farm experience had significant
and negative effects on IT adoption decision. To enhance the adoption ofIT, Government should
firstly focus on educating young farmers with large cattle flock size and non-farm income. For
the institutional factors, member of association, extension services and source of technology
knowledge were significant factors and affected positively the adoption decision. In contrast, it
was found that labor and credit services do not significantly influence adoption of IT. Based on
these results, Government should intensify training programs for farmers and for extension
agents with the collaboration of the project manager. Decision makers should consider this
research for better targeting farmers and a better adoption and diffusion of IT in Tunisia. This
understanding could provide important clues for research and policy makers to devise better
strategies for the IT adoption, while helping rural farmers targeting their opportunities for a
better income.