International Scholars Journals African Journal of Agriculture and Food Security ISSN 2375-1177 Vol. 8 (12), pp. 001-010, December, 2020. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. Full Length Research Paper Adoption of irrigated wheat varieties among agro- pastoralists; The case of Fentale District, Upper Awash Valley of Northeastern Ethiopia Getinet Belay Wondim 1* , Adem Kedir 2 and Rehima Musema 2* 1*2 Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Werer Agricultural Research Center, Werer, Ethiopia. 2* Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Accepted 21 September, 2020 This study was intended to examine the rate at which the hitherto pastoralist communities are adopting the newly popularized irrigated wheat varieties, and the factors influencing adoption decisions. The study employed multi-stage sampling procedures to select 120 sample respondents from four pastoral kebeles in Fentale district of northeastern Ethiopia. Logit model was used to analyze the determinants of adoption while simple descriptive analysis of percentage, mean, frequency as well as chi-square and t-tests were used to describe the characteristics of sample households. The study reveals that the rate of adoption of irrigated wheat varieties among farmers is 18%. The logit estimate showed that level of education of household head, family size in adult equivalent, extension access to wheat, access to training and presence of off-farm activities have positively and significantly influenced the probability of being adopter. However, age of household head and distance to the main irrigation water source (main canal) had negative effect on the decisions of farmers to adopt irrigation wheat varieties. Strengthening extension services, providing comprehensive and continuous practical and theoretical trainings and improving irrigation water distribution through maintaining secondary and tertiary canals are areas of intervention for rapid and continuous adoption of irrigated wheat varieties. Keywords: Adoption, Irrigated wheat, Upper Awash, Fentale, Northeastern Ethiopia, Logit. INTRODUCTION Agriculture plays an important role in economic growth, enhancing food security, poverty reduction and rural development. Most Sub-Saharan African countries are characterized by low agricultural productivity. One of the reasons for poor production is that African agriculture is predominantly rainfed, which is in most cases unreliable resulting in poor yields and the changing weather conditions would further exacerbate the situation, exposing smallholders to negative impact of climate change (Todaro, M et al., 2012). This is also concerning the context of Ethiopia. *Corresponding Author E-mail: belaygetinet@gmail.com Agricultural activities are engaged by 80 percent of Ethiopia‟s population and 70% of export earnings (African Economic Outlook, 2015). In Ethiopia, the economy depends on agriculture, in that the sector contributes about 36 percent of the national income which is derived from agricultural commodities (i.e. coffee, oil seeds, and sesame). Despite its importance, the agricultural sector of the country is characterized by subsistence-oriented production system dominated by smallholder farming entirely reliant on rain. To reach the objectives of food security and nutrition for all as well as to reduce poverty, there is a need to progressively transform the agricultural sector by increasing productivity through diffusion and adoption of modern agricultural technologies.