Die Bodenkultur - Journal for Land Management, Food and Environment

I. Darnhofer, R. Gretzmacher and W. Schneeberger:

Modeling farmers' decisions: a comparison between HDM and CART for oats-vetch adoption in the Ethiopian Highlands

Summary

Farmers' decision to adopt an improved feed (oats-vetch) is modeled with the help of two methods; Hierarchical decision trees (HDM) and classification and regression trees (CART). The models are used to help explain why oats-vetch was not adopted by farmers in the Ethiopian highlands to the anticipated extend, and can be used to provide a guide for future extension efforts. The strengths and weaknesses of the two methods are compared. Both are found useful for compiling information about farmers' opinions, attitudes and actions in a meaningful manner. Key words:  adoption decision, HDM, CART, Ethiopia, oats-vetch.