Poverty, Land Resource Management and Gender Participation in Libokemkem District of Northern Ethiopia

High population pressure and land degradation are threats of food security in the highlands of Ethiopia. Poverty and food insecurity are closely related phenomena.Both of them compel poor farmers to practice unwise use and resource management, which lead to low resource productivity. This study examines the various factors determining poverty and resource management at a household level with gender perspective in Libokemekem district of Ethiopia. Farm level diversification of crops and mitigating food insecurity is highly constrained due to lack of farm resources principally limited land size. Consequently, households with large family sizes and limited resources are vulnerable to food insecurity. Although households practice various coping mechanisms and alternative resource management strategies, they are not sufficient to curb household food security. The magnitude however, varies between female and male-headed households.Socioeconomic factors such as age, soil type, farm size, sex of household heads, area under rice production, number of oxen, and slope of the land are among the major factors to influence and discriminate between female and male-headed households. This study concludes by highlighting and indicating possible direction for policy intervention in view of enhancing food security and sustainable resource management

Determinants of Land Contracts and Efficiency in Ethiopia: The Case of Libokemkem District of Amhara Region

The land policy reform that took place in the 1990s in northern Ethiopia has resulted in various forms of land contracts and efficiency. As a policy measure, sale of land is officially prohibited while leasing and inheritance are allowed in one form or another. This paper attempts to assess the efficiency of the different forms of tenure arrangements emerging in Libokemkem district of the Amhara region, northern Ethiopia, and their implication for land tenure policies. With the help of maximum likelihood estimates the effect of various factors on total operated fields was examined. The maximum likelihood result indicates that oxen ownership, family size, age, and total income determine the total cultivated land. It was also shown that choice of crops (tef and wheat) resulted in positive estimates indicating that crop types determine the land area operated. Choice of tenure arrangement on the other hand depends on livestock units, large family size and food shortages, and access to markets. This finding calls for a kind of intervention, which can support operation of informal land markets to be more efficient than the prevailing situation

Phosphorus Availability Studies on Ten Ethiopian Vertisols

Three chemical extraction methods (Olsen, Truog, and Warren and Cooke) were earlier recommended for soil available P determination on Ethiopian soils. In the present study, the applicability of these methods and two others ( Bray II and CAL methods) on ten Ethiopian Vertisols was tested using durum wheat and chickpea, which are traditional Vertisol crops in Africa. Results showed that the magnitude of soil available P extraction was in the order Truog CAL Olsen Bray II Warren and Cooke. The four methods excluding the CAL were highly significantly (P0.001) correlated with each other and also with crop P uptake. The CAL method was also correlated with most of the parameters, but the significance was not as high as that with the other extraction methods. The highest correlation was also obtained between wheat P uptake and the four extraction methods. None of the correlations involving dry matter yield were significant. Based on the results it can be generalized that wheat is a better indicator for P availability than chickpea. The results also show that the earlier recommended three methods are applicable to Vertisols and each method may be used in substitution of the other (with the exception of the Warren and Cooke method , the applicability of which on high pH soils may be limited) in case of need. Due to the shortage of chemicals often encountered in soil laboratories in Ethiopia, the need for testing multi-element extraction methods is recommended

Effect of Zinc Containing Fertilizers on Yield and Grain Quality of Tef [(Eragrostis Tef (Zucc.) Trotter] in some Soils of Tigray Region, Ethiopia

አህፅሮት የዚንክ ንጥረ ነገር ለአዝርእት እድገትና ለሰዉ ምግብነት በጣም ጠቃሚ ነዉ፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ በትግራይ ክልል አፈር ውስጥ የዚንክ እጥረት በስፋት እንዳለ በጥናት ተረጋግጠዋል፡፡ ይህ መነሻ በማድረግ የዚንክን ማዳበርያ በጤፍ ምረታማነትና የዚንክን ይዘት ያለዉ ለመዳሰስ ከአስር የዚንክ እጥረት ያላቸዉ ቦታዎች አፈር በመሰብሰብ አምስት የዚንክ መጠን በሶስት ድግግሞሽ በኮምፕሊትሊ ራንደማይዝድ ዲዛይን በቤተ ጥናት ግሪንሃዉስ ተዘርቶ ተሰርተዋል፡፡ የዚንክ መጠኖች 0 ዚንክ፣ በ100 ኪ.ግ NPSZn ማዳበርያ የሚገኝ ዚንክ በሄክታር፣ 100 ኪ.ግ NPSZn ማዳበርያ + 2 ኪ.ግ ዚንክ በሄክታር፣ 100 ኪ.ግ NPSZn ማዳበርያ + 4 ኪ.ግ ዚንክ በሄክታር እና 100 ኪ.ግ NPSZn ማዳበርያ + 8 ኪ.ግ ዚንክ በሄክታር ናቸዉ፡፡ ተጨማሪ 4 ኪ.ግ ዚንክ በሄክታር በአፈር በመጨመር የጤፍ ጠቅላላ ምርት በ 36%፣ ምርት በ 27% እንዲሁም የጤፍ የዚንክን ይዘት በ 15% አድርገዋል፡፡ ሆኖም ከ 2 ኪ.ግ ተጨማሪ ዚንክ በሄክታር ጋር ሲወዳደር የጎላ ልዩነት አላሳየም፡፡ ይህን የሚያመለክተዉ  ከ 2 እስከ 4 ኪ.ግ ዚንክ በሄክታር ተጨማሪ በ100 ኪ.ግ NPSZn ማዳበርያ ከሚገኝ ዚንክ መጨመር ያስፈልጋል፡፡ በተቃራኒ በ100 ኪ.ግ NPSZn ማዳበርያ ከሚገኝ ዚንክ በላይ መጨመር የጤፍ ዚንክ ይዘት ከዚንክ መጨመር ተመሳሳይነት አለዉ፡፡ ዚንክ ካልተጨመረበት ጋር ሲወዳደር ከፍተኛዉ ዚንክ መጠን የጤፍ ዚንክ ይዘትን በአማካይ ከ 18.04 ወደ 23.4 ሚ.ግ በ ኪ.ግ አሳድገዋል፡፡ ጠቅላላ ጥናቱ የሚያመለክተዉ ዚንክ ወደ አፈር መጨመር ለጤፍ ምርትና ምርታማነት ማሳደግ በጎ ተፅእኖ ቢኖሮዉም ለሰዉ ምግብነት የሚፈለገውን ያህል አስተዋፀኦ አላደረገም፡፡ ሰለዚህ በአፈር ዚንክ መጨመር እና የተለያዩ የአዝርእት እንክብካቤ ስራዎች በማጣመር ለጤፍ ምረታማነትና ዚንክ ይዘት ሊጨምሩ ይችላሉ፡፡  Abstract Zinc is an essential micronutrient for crop growth and human diet. Its deficiency is widespread in soils of Tigray Region. To evaluate the effects of Zn fertilizers on yield and quality of tef in ten Zn deficient soils of Tigray, greenhouse experiment composed of five treatments in a completely randomized design with three replications were conducted. Treatments were 0 Zn, Zn in 100 kg NPSZn ha-1, (100 kg NPSZn + 2 kg Zn) ha-1, (100 kg NPSZn + 4 kg Zn) ha-1 and (100 kg NPSZn + 8 kg Zn) ha-1. Although the increases were not statistically different from the treatment with 2 kg ha-1 Zn, biomass and grain yields and grain Zn concentration of tef increased significantly by 36, 27 and 15% over the control with additional Zn of 4 kg ha-1. This indicates that additional 2 to 4 kg Zn ha-1 might be needed beyond the Zn content in the 100 kg NPSZn compound fertilizer. In the contrary, grain Zn concentration increased linearly with Zn application rates beyond 100 kg NPSZn application. Compared with no application, Zn fertilizer at the highest rate increased grain Zn concentration from 18.04 to 23.4 mg kg-1 on average. The findings suggest that soil applied Zn is important to maintain sufficient yield, but has a modest biological impact on human health. Integrating soil Zn application with other agronomic practices might improve both yield and grain Zn of tef

Soil fertility status and wheat nutrient content in Vertisol cropping systems of central highlands of Ethiopia

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Achieving food security in the face of climate change: Final report from the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change

To bring our interconnected food and climate systems within a ‘safe operating space’ for people and the planet, the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change has outlined seven major areas for policy action. Throughout 2011, the Commission worked to harvest the practical solutions detailed in the many recent authoritative reports on food security and climate change. By combining this thorough review of the substantive evidence base with the diverse perspectives and disciplinary expertise, the 13 Commissioners have crafted a succinct roadmap for policy makers. The Commission offers no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution, but rather points the way forward to foster national, regional and sectoral innovation that can aggregate up to meaningful global change

Achieving food security in the face of climate change: Summary for policy makers from the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change

The Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change has reviewed the scientific evidence to identify a pathway to achieving food security in the context of climate change. Food systems must shift to better meet human needs and, in the long term, balance with planetary resources. This will demand major interventions, at local to global scales, to transform current patterns of food production, distribution and consumption. Investment, innovation, and deliberate effort to empower the world's most vulnerable populations will be required to construct a global food system that adapts to climate change and ensures food security while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions and sustaining our natural resource base. Greatly expanded investments in sustainable agriculture, including improving supporting infrastructure and restoring degraded ecosystems, are an essential component of long-term economic development. The sooner they are made, the greater the benefits will be

Farmers’ soil knowledge, fertility management logic and its linkage with scientifically analyzed soil properties in southern Ethiopia

Abstract Background Farmers’ locally have acquired knowledge from generations of experience and experimentation that fit local conditions. Yet, the scientific approach less used farmers’ soil knowledge (FSK) and site-specific soil information. The objectives of this study were to investigate FSK and rationality; to demonstrate how FSK relates to scientifically analyzed soil properties; and to explore the implemented soil management practices and crop performances in selected districts of Wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia. A total of 789 farmers were included, and their fields were evaluated. Data on farmer’s soil nomenclature, soil physicochemical property, soil fertility management practices and crop yield performance were recorded and analyzed. Results Farmers describe and classify their soils using holistic approach. Soil nomenclature and classification indicators are relatively homogeneous over large area. Accordingly, seven soil types common over large area were identified. Mostly, soil types perceived fertile by farmers (e.g., Arrada bita) were found better in measured physicochemical properties than infertile soil types (e.g., Lada bita, Zo’o bita). Simple regression analysis revealed a declining trends of soil properties with a decrease in fertility of farmers soil types such as soil bulk density (r 2 = 0.78), pH (r 2 = 0.53), available phosphorous (r 2 = 0.83), total exchangeable bases (r 2 = 0.71), copper (r 2 = 0.64) and zinc (r 2 = 0.69). Farmers are rational to allocate the scarce fertilizers. They apply more chemical fertilizer when soil type was getting poor in soil fertility (r 2 = 0.61), whereas it was opposite for manure (r 2 = 0.85). Furthermore, crop response and farmers’ soil type also demonstrated an observable relationship where yield was declining with a decrease in fertility level of farmers’ soil types. Conclusions Farmers understand within farm soil variability and exploit soil fertility differences of their field. This is supported with noticeable relationship with scientifically analyzed soil properties, fertility management strategy and crop responses. It suggests that FSK is relevant for site-specific soil management. Yet, FSK is deficient to identify yield-limiting nutrients, implying it has to be complemented with scientific soil knowledge. Additionally, further investigation to systematically link both approaches is also suggested

Optimum potassium fertilization level for growth, yield and nutrient uptake of wheat (Triticum aestivum) in Vertisols of Northern Ethiopia

Potassium fertilization was started in 2014 using K containing blended fertilizers in Ethiopia. However, there was no evidence whether the recommended rates of K in the blended formula (which is between 7 and 12 kg/ha in the form of K2O) meets the crop demand on different soil reference groups or not. So, a field experiments were conducted to determine the optimum rate of potassium for yield and nutrient uptake of wheat in Vertisols of northern Ethiopia. The experiments were laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with 4 levels of potassium (0, 30, 60, 90, of kg/ha K2O) in three replications. Results depicted that the highest biological yield (straw + grain) and grain yields of wheat were increased with K rates. But, the partial budget analysis revealed that 60 K2O kg/ha is economically feasible rate for wheat in Vertisols of the area. On the other hand, the highest apparent K recovery and agronomic use efficiencies were found at 30 kg/ha K2O. Then it is concluded that the level of K in the blended formula was not enough to meet the yield requirement of wheat. Therefore, K should be applied independently rather than in blended for Vertisols of the area studied

Response of some varieties of durum wheat and tef to salt stress

Response to salinity of four varieties each of durum wheat (DZ-04-118, DZ-320, DZ-918, and Tob-2) and tef (DZ-01-354, DZ-010787, DZ-01-1445 and DZ-Cr-370) at germination and late vegetative stages was studied using four salinity levels (0, 2, 4 and 8 dSm-1 NaCl). Results showed that genotypic differences existed in the response to salinity within both crops; germination at the maximum salt level was comparatively higher in durum wheat than in tef. Varietal differences were only significant in durum wheat. In both crops, tolerance to NaCl at germination stage was not confirmed at maturity; at the same time, all plant parameters (plant height, and shoot and root dry weights) were significantly reduced by NaCl application, especially above the 4 dSm-1 level. Shoot and root NA contents increased while K contents decreased in response to increasing NaCl application. Among the durum wheat varieties, DZ-04-118 was the most sensitive and DZ-01-320 the most tolerant at high levels of NaCl. At the germination stage, tef variety DZ-01-1445 was the most sensitive while DZ-Cr-37 was the most tolerant. It is recommended that further studies should involve screening from large genetic populations of both crops in order to identify more salt tolerant lines that may be used in breeding activities.Le resultat de quatre varietes du ble (DZ-04-118, DZ-918, et TOB-2). et (DZ-01-354, DZ-010787, DZ-011445 et DZ- cr 370 a la germination et les etapes vegetatives 8 dSm-1 NaCl). Les resultats ont indique que les differences des genotypes ont existe dans le resultat a la salinite dans toutes les cultures; la germination jusqu'au niveau eleve du sol etait comparativement superieure dans le ble. Les differences des varietes etaient considerables dans le ble. Dans les deux cultures, la tolerance a la NaCl a l'etape de germination etait confirmee a la maturite; au meme moment, tous les parametres des plantes (la hauteur relative de la plante, poids relatifs de la pousse et racine de la plante) etaient considerablement reduits de l'application du NaCl, specialement au dessus du niveau de 4 dSm-1. Les elements de la pousse et racine ont augmente pendant que les elements de k ont diminue en reaction a l'augmentation de l'application du NaCl. Parmi les varietes du ble DZ-04-118 etait la plus sensible et DZ-01-320 est la plus tolerante aux niveaux eleves du NaCl. A l'etape de la germination, les varietes Tef DZ-01-1445 etait la variete la plus sensible pendant que DZ-Cr-37 etait la plus tolerante parmi les quatre varietes. Il a ete recommande qu'en vue d'utiliser le test pour distinguer les populations genetiques em gramole quantite des cultures pour identifier les lignes les plus tolerantes qui pourront etre utilisees dans les activites de la reproduction