Commercialization of Small Scale Agriculture: Cash Crop Production Effect on Household Welfare, Technical Efficiency and Power Relation of the Family in the Case of Were Baye Tabia of Raya Azebo District in Southern Tigray

Abstract

We found that while chat commercialization is market and culture driven; joint commercialization is state driven. The most important factor to promote commercialization is promotion of none rain water. Commercialization while increasing income by more than two fold is not able to improve over all family consumption and wealth except access to aluminum roofed house. But commercialization is able to lead to more saving in form of cash among commercial farmers. Most importantly commercialization is observed to reduce the power of female in family though not in way expected in theory. Its effect on technical efficiency was not conclusive given the methodological problems. The best conclusion we can give on this issues is commercialization will improve efficiency of teff and sorghum but not all stable crops, in which it is possible it could have negative effect.