Participatory Evaluation of Herbage Composition, Biomass Yield, and Management Practices of Natural Grazing Lands in Sidama Highlands of Southern Ethiopia

Natural grazing land is the dominant source of feed for ruminant livestock in Ethiopia (Alemayehu, 2003; Zewdie and Yoseph, 2014). However, the production capacity and quality of natural grazing lands has been deteriorating over time and could not support optimum livestock production. Overgrazing the natural grazing lands due to poor grazing land management is among the major contributing factors (Alemayehu, 2003). Although previous studies focused on the evaluation of native grass lands it was either limited to arid and semi-arid agro-ecology or undertaken under different settings (Ayana, 2010; Diriba et al., 2012). Moreover, it did not involve the community in the evaluation process. Natural grazing lands are spatially and temporally heterogeneous (Eaton et al., 2011) and its composition varies with altitude, rainfall, soils, cropping intensity, and grazing land management (Alemayehu, 2003). Thus, understanding the current status of natural grazing lands is important to design pertinent strategies to improve the condition of the grazing land and thereby ensure sustainable utilization. The present study, therefore, examined botanical composition, biomass yield and management practices of natural grazing land under sub-humid and cool humid agro-climatic zones of Sidama highlands

Participatory evaluation of herbage composition, biomass yield, and management practices of natural grazing lands in Sidama highlands of southern Ethiopia

Global Affairs Canad

Plant Diversity and Ethnoveterinary Practices of Ethiopia: A Systematic Review

The systematic review was conducted on Ethnoveterinary Medicinal (EVM) plants from the two (integrated and pastoral) majorly known livestock production systems (LPS) of Ethiopia. A total of 48 documents pertinent to EVM significance were assessed from different sources using Google search engine and local university websites. Search outputs were screened using the developed inclusion criteria, and only 26 documents were selected. Descriptive analysis measures, Document Consensus Factor (DCF), and rank of the collected data were analysed using SPSS version 20 and Microsoft Excel. The result showed that females (33%), being below 40 years of age (27%), and educational level of above college (1%) healers participation was not significance. A total of 645 EVM plant species (from 133 families) were identified. Only 22 (16.54%) plant families were represented by one species. Leaf (47.8%) was the major plant part used to prepare remedies. The major administration route was oral route (58.2%). Blackleg 43 (0.188), diarrhea 25 (0.110), and wound 18 (0.079) were the most commonly treated livestock ailments. Solanaceae and Fabaceae were the frequently utilized EVM plant families in integrated and pastoral LPS, respectively. Croton macrostachyus (Bisana) and Solanum incanum (Embuay) were the most widely applied EVM plant species in integrated and pastoral LPS, respectively. Pastoral LPS were using higher number of specific EVM plants (DCF>0.5) compared to integrated LPS. Less than 40% (n< 10) of the collected documents were dealing with measurability and risk of toxicity, giving emphasis to indigenous plant and constraints of EVM plants use

Smallholders’ avocado production systems and tree productivity in the southern highlands of Ethiopia

Ethiopia is one of the top five avocado producers in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite increasing recognition for its nutritional value and economic importance, information on smallholder avocado production systems across agro-climatic zones and determinants for tree productivity are literally lacking. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to examine the determinants for avocado tree holdings by smallholder farmers and investigate the effect of avocado production systems and management conditions on fruit yield by individual avocado trees in Southern Ethiopia. Data required for the study was collected through a combination of focus group discussions, household survey and field tree inventories. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, analyses of variance and linear regression methods using statistical software for social sciences (SPSS version 20). In the study region, avocado is mainly grown as an integral component of the coffee- and enset-based agroforestry systems. The number of avocado trees owned by smallholder producers was related to district, sex of household head, age of household head, educational status, land holding size, pest and disease damage and access to extension services. Productivity of avocado was significantly (p < 0.05) different between production systems. The highest avocado fruit yield was observed from trees grown in the coffee and enset-based agroforestry systems. However, the smallholder producers complain that the yields of coffee and enset grown under avocado trees could be very low. The total height of avocado trees was significantly (p < 0.05) different across the different production systems. The mean heights of matured (21–25 years old) avocado trees were 17.57 ± 0.86 m (±SE; N = 20) under coffee-based agroforestry system and 14.93 ± 1.24 m when grown as individual trees around homes. Proper extension support is needed to disseminate improved production techniques: encompassing proper tree spacing, tree training, pruning, soil amendments, growing optimum number of trees for successful pollination and improved harvesting