Multiple solutions for rice farmers production constraints in Ethiopia: Cost efficient methods of sheath rot disease management

Rice sheath rot disease is one of the obstacles in Fogera plain of rain-fed rice production system. A cultivar called X-Jigna has been used by small scale farmers based on mono-cropping system for over two decades. This production system contributed to the disease occurrence and adversely impacted the production and productivity. So far, there were no any effective measures taken as research remedies in the rain-fed production areas. Since the disease is seed-borne, recently, effective seed treatment methods were identified and evaluated at farmers’ fields. Partial budget analysis was employed to estimate economic costs and benefits to realize the seed treatment methods were economically viable or not. The yield responses from fungicide and hot water treatments were higher than the control check. Marginal rate of return of hot water and fungicide treatment methods were higher than untreated production. Sensitivity analysis was used to evaluate the resistance and responses to the changes in prices and yields of new production method. The result shows that marginal rate of return was declining with an increasing price change of fungicide. Marginal rate of return was highly sensitive to decreasing level of yields but not strongly sensitive to the different level of price changes of fungicide. When farmers change their production method from use of untreated to treated seed, the yield loses could be dramatically decreased and marginal rate of return were considerably increased. The result ascertained that seed treatment methods were found to be effective, economically feasible and highly recommended for rice producing farmers.