Determinants of sugarcane output variation among Farm units: Case of Finchaa Sugar Factory, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT: Sugarcane production in Finchaa sugar factory is going on in large scale farm with differentlevel of laborers of which farm units are the low level managers who do have decision power on their commandarea/farm land/ and on laborers they administer. The researcher used primary and secondary data. The data areanalyzed using descriptive statistics and econometric model. The F-value is 184.57 and is highly significant at1% level of significance, indicating that the regression model is well fitted. According to the MLRM estimation,the value of R2 is 0.94, which mean 94% Variation in the output of sugarcane is explained by the explanatoryvariables. The study reveals that land size, irrigation application, weed control, cane age at harvest, amount offertilizer and herbicide applied are significant variables to determine sugarcane output Variation among farmunits. In order to narrow the gap between the highest and the lowest output of sugarcane among farm units in thefarm estate, farm units should give due attention to the proper irrigation application, weed control at criticalperiod, recommended cane age at harvest, amount of fertilizer and herbicide applied as per agronomical science.

KEYWORDS: Sugarcane output, farm units, fertilizers, multiple linear regression model.