Socio-economic assessment of two small-scale irrigation schemes in Adami Tullu Jido Kombolcha Woreda, Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia

The sustainability of irrigated agriculture is questioned and the challenge is to increase simultaneously land and water productivity in the face of the limited availability of land and water in the CRV, the Central Rift Valley. The aim of this research is to assess the social-economic performance of two communitybased small-scale irrigation schemes in Adami Tullu Jido Kombolcha Woreda (ATJK) and to identify options to improve irrigation performance and resource managemen

Investigations of Latrine Coverage and Associated Factors Among Debretabor Town, Amhara Region North West Ethiopia

Studies in a number of countries have shown that wherever inappropraite waste disposal morbidity and mortality rates are high. Although latrine coverage is an important indicator for measuring success of the health service program; data on latrine coverage scarce in the study area. Objective: To investigate latrine coverage and associated factors in among households of Debretabor town, Amhara region, Ethiopia. Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted in Debretabor town from September 1-30, 2013. A total of 422 households were included in the study using systematic sampling technique. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Degree of association between independent and dependent variables was assessed with a 95% confidence level and p-value less than 0.05 was used to detect statistical significance. Result: In this study. Ninety three point five percent of households have latrine. Graduated as model family was predictor for availability of latrine (AOR= 3.18,). Income and house ownership were also found to be predictors for availability of latrine (AOR=3.70), (AOR=8.46), respectively. Educational status of respondents was found to be predictors for availability of latrine (AOR= 2.65). Conclusion: latrine coverage was relatively lower from the national target of 100%, still there are households that use open defication. Educational status, house owner shipe, income and graduated as model family were main factors affecting latrine availability. Improving socio economic status of households, provision of continuous advice and technical support at household level on the availability of latrine are recommended

Ethiopia’s Investment Prospects: A Sectoral Overview*

Ethiopia is in the midst of a sustained growth surge that is becoming increasingly broadbased, building on major improvements in educational attainment, improved health outcomes, and infrastructure capacity in terms of access to power, transportation and telecommunications. The Government’s Growth and Transformation Plan sets ambitious targets for further improvements in these areas, together with significant reforms aiming to improve trade logistics, by rolling-out the authorized economic operator program across export-oriented industry parks and improving the main export corridor to Djibouti. This industrialization push coincides with global trends that provide Ethiopia an opportunity to integrate its economy into the modern “Made in the World” production system, including by attracting labor-intensive production, which is leaving China and other East Asian economies due to their rising wage rates. This paper considers Ethiopia’s prospects to succeed in this endeavor. It reviews overall economic management and performance indicators and provides a horizontal overview of the investment framework. It then summarizes the investment prospects in several major sectors of the economy, in light of Ethiopia’s emerging capacities and global developments: agriculture, mining, oil & gas, economic infrastructure, manufacturing, and selected services, including health and tourism. Keywords: Ethiopia, investment, growth and transformation pla

Genetic variability in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) landraces from Ethiopia as measured by morphological characters and SDS-page of seed storage proteins

Data on 44 barley landraces comprising collections and farmers’ cultivars from north Shewa, Ethiopia were studied for variability in morphological characters and Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate Polyacrylamide Gel Electophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of seed storage proteins. The phenotypic frequencies of morphological characters (qualitative and quantitative) were analysed by the Shanon Weaver diversity index (H’) to estimate within landrace genetic variability for individual characters. Variability for seed protein banding patterns was assessed by SDS-PAGE. Both morphological and SDS-PAGE data demonstrated the variability existing in the landraces. H’ values pooled over morphological characters ranged from 0.12 to 0.58. Among the qualitative characters, landraces showed higher levels of polymorphism for spike type than for kernel color, spike density and caryopsis type (covered or naked). Caryopsis type was the least diverse character observed. Diversity for quantitative characters pooled over landraces was generally very high especially for number of seeds spike-1 and days to maturity with respective H’ values of 0.90 and 0.98. DS-PAGE data based on representative lines from each landrace showed very low to high within landrace variability for banding patterns. Lines from landraces differed from each other in number and migration distances of bands. Some landraces that looked uniform for spike morphology also showed differences in banding patterns. It was also observed, on the other hand, that some landraces displaying different spike characters and hence assumed to exhibit differences of comparable magnitude in storage protein variability did not reveal much differences. Variability between landraces was higher than within landraces and variability within farmers’ cultivars was lower than within accessions. Clustering results of landraces from SDS-PAGE data were different in composition from those formed by morphological characters. Clustering from morphological data highlighted distinct grouping of landraces based on similarities in morphological characters whereas SDS-PAGE data did not depict such distinctness

Occurrence of fungal diseases of Coffea arabica L. in montane rainforests of Ethiopia

Coffee Berry Disease (CBD), Colletotrichum kahawae, Coffee Wilt Disease (CWD), Gibberella xylarioides and Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR), Hemileia vastatrix are the three major diseases reducing production and consumption of coffee in Ethiopia. A survey was conducted from July to September 2005 for CBD and CWD and from 2003 until 2007 for CLR in montane rainforest coffee areas of Ethiopia to estimate the occurrence and distribution of these diseases. Diseases were prevalent in all the surveyed forest coffee areas of Ethiopia: Harenna, Bonga, Berhane-Kontir and Yayu. Depending on the forest coffee area the mean percent incidence of CBD ranged from 2 to 40 % in general and from 2 to 17.9 % at Berhane-Kontir and Bonga, respectively. The mean incidence of CWD varied from 2.4 % at Berhane-Kontir to 16.9 % at Yayu forest coffee areas. The mean incidence of CLR also varied for instance in 2005 from 32.2 % at Berhane-Kontir to 96 % at Harenna forest coffee areas. The detection of the diseases during our surveys requires an integrated management of major coffee diseases for a sustainable conservation and wise use of coffee in montane rainforests of Ethiopia

Nutritional, eco-physiological and symbiotic characteristics of rhizobia nodulating faba bean (Vicia faba L.) collected from acidic soils of Ethiopia

Characterization of root nodule bacteria is used for selecting and using them as inoculants to improve legume production. To this end, faba bean (Vicia faba L.) rhizobia were isolated from nodules collected from acidic soils of Central and Southern-Western parts of Ethiopia. A total of hundred rhizobial isolates were collected and characterized based upon their nutritional, ecophysiological and symbiotic characteristics. The isolates produced low to copious amount of extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) and attain colony sizes ranging from 2 to 7 mm with generation time ranging 0.75 to 3.9 h. Most of the isolates were grown at different pH levels ranging 4.5 to 7.0 and temperatures between 4 and 45°C. They were also capable of growing on many carbon sources and most of the nitrogen sources, and showed significant variations in resisting different types of antibiotics and heavy metals. Based on symbiotic efficiency (SE), 56% of the isolates were found to be very effective when applied with both Degaga and Dosha varieties. All taken together, two isolates, HUGAVf1 and HUCDVf5 were nutritionally versatile, showed a wide range of tolerance to the stress in many of the ecophysiological characters and very effective symbiotic performance should be utilized in future faba bean inoculants production.Key words: Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar. viceae, antibiotic tolerance, carbon utilization, fast growing, heavy metals, temperature tolerance

The uniqueness of the Ethiopian demographic transition within sub-Saharan Africa: multiple responses to population pressure, and preconditions for rural fertility decline and capturing the demographic dividend

The findings of our new book on population and development in the second largest country, Ethiopia, are presented. We highlight its uniqueness in demographic transitions among countries in sub-Saharan African. Ethiopia has the largest rural-urban fertility gap (with below replacement fertility for Addis Ababa), the lowest maternal health service coverage by far, the highest percentage of illiterate mothers, the largest number of food insecure people, and 83% of the population concentrated mainly in densely populated rural areas. We present a new framework for the study of both poverty and development-driven causes and demographic responses to frequent hazards common in the fragile Horn of Africa. Multiple vulnerabilities and responses are rigorously documented, with migration and off-farm labor mobility, female education, delayed marriage, and lower family size norms predisposing a predicted acceleration of the rural fertility decline. We propose numerous policy and research implications to evaluate progress on what may now be reachable 2015 population policy targets in TFR and CPR, and to prepare for a potential demographic dividend