This article explores sources of risk information, determinants of access to it, its reliability and determinants of learning in the farming systems of Eastern Ethiopia. Social learning and cultural theories are used to guide the investigation using a mixed methodology of quantitative analysis and qualitative interpretation of data from formal and informal surveys. Hypotheses that access information and learning and differ according to age, gender, education, religious faith and other characteristics of households are examined. Logit regression analyses are applied to test the hypotheses. Results of the informal survey showed that information is the key to judgment in the context of rural households. Results also show that the collection and use of early warning information is one of the on-farm risk management strategies in the Eastern Highlands of Ethiopia. Logit functions have mirrored that distance from markets and number of plots owned have significant associations with access to information. Differences in gender and marital status of household head, educational level, number of cattle owned and farm size were found to significantly affect self-evaluation of knowledge. Agro-ecological zone, experience in farming, family size, number of plots owned and access to information are associated with the use of externally supplied farm inputs. The findings strongly suggest that risk information is important in decision-making for farming households where substantial risks strike frequently.
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