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<p>This study was motivated by the persistent challenge of low and unsustainable smallholder agricultural productivity in Ethiopia, despite continued investments in agricultural extension services, input delivery systems, and rural development programs. Existing studies largely examine these factors independently, with limited empirical evidence on how they interact to influence sustainable agricultural productivity. This study fills this void by using the 2018/19 Regional Agricultural Household Survey, which includes 21,400 households and 25,000 plots across 11 zones. Using descriptive statistics, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), log-linear regression, multilevel regression, interaction-effect models, and robustness checks, the study analyzes relationships among institutional support systems, farmer capital assets, and sustainability indicators, including crop yield, input-use efficiency, crop diversification, irrigation adoption, and land tenure security. The econometric findings show that fertilizer use, improved seed adoption, extension contact, irrigation use, landholding size, and credit access are positively and significantly associated with sustainable agricultural productivity outcomes. Human capital (β = 0.132, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.05), physical capital (β = 0.243, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.01), and social capital (β = 0.144, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.05) increase productivity. The interaction-effects analysis—one of the study’s major novel contributions—reveals that the positive association between extension services and productivity becomes substantially stronger when farmers have better access to agricultural inputs and land resources, providing empirical evidence of institutional complementarities in smallholder farming systems. The results further demonstrate that extension services strengthen human, physical, social, and financial capital, thereby supporting sustainable agricultural intensification and resilience. The findings support the proposed Extension–Capital–Productivity pathway and contribute to the theoretical integration of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework with institutional complementarity theory. The study underscores the need to implement integrated rural development policies that simultaneously address institutional, infrastructural, and farmer-capacity constraints to improve food security, rural incomes, and long-term agricultural sustainability in Ethiopia.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>

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Institutional and resource drivers of sustainable smallholder agricultural productivity in Ethiopia

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月6日

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  • Teklu Gebretsadik,
  • Tsadiku Alemu

摘要

This study was motivated by the persistent challenge of low and unsustainable smallholder agricultural productivity in Ethiopia, despite continued investments in agricultural extension services, input delivery systems, and rural development programs. Existing studies largely examine these factors independently, with limited empirical evidence on how they interact to influence sustainable agricultural productivity. This study fills this void by using the 2018/19 Regional Agricultural Household Survey, which includes 21,400 households and 25,000 plots across 11 zones. Using descriptive statistics, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), log-linear regression, multilevel regression, interaction-effect models, and robustness checks, the study analyzes relationships among institutional support systems, farmer capital assets, and sustainability indicators, including crop yield, input-use efficiency, crop diversification, irrigation adoption, and land tenure security. The econometric findings show that fertilizer use, improved seed adoption, extension contact, irrigation use, landholding size, and credit access are positively and significantly associated with sustainable agricultural productivity outcomes. Human capital (β = 0.132, p < 0.05), physical capital (β = 0.243, p < 0.01), and social capital (β = 0.144, p < 0.05) increase productivity. The interaction-effects analysis—one of the study’s major novel contributions—reveals that the positive association between extension services and productivity becomes substantially stronger when farmers have better access to agricultural inputs and land resources, providing empirical evidence of institutional complementarities in smallholder farming systems. The results further demonstrate that extension services strengthen human, physical, social, and financial capital, thereby supporting sustainable agricultural intensification and resilience. The findings support the proposed Extension–Capital–Productivity pathway and contribute to the theoretical integration of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework with institutional complementarity theory. The study underscores the need to implement integrated rural development policies that simultaneously address institutional, infrastructural, and farmer-capacity constraints to improve food security, rural incomes, and long-term agricultural sustainability in Ethiopia.

Graphical Abstract