Review on Smallholders Agricultural Commercialization in Ethiopia

The agricultural production sector is a backbone of the Ethiopian economy. In Ethiopia 95% of the total area is cultivated by smallholder farmers and contribute 90% of the total agricultural output.  As reviewed from different literatures household demographic characteristics, household resource endowments, social, cultural, infrastructural, institutional and economic factors influence the level of smallholders’ commercialization. In this regard, to enhance smallholder’s commercialization generating improved high yielding varieties and adoption of these newly released technologies through agricultural research is crucial, public investments in infrastructural development and government policies that improve institutional arrangements are essential. Development agents at rural peasant association have to be properly advice farmers on agricultural production and marketing, farmers’ cooperative and farmers’ organization are required to enable smallholder farmers collectively accessing agricultural inputs, credit, information and marketing of their produce. In general, based on the review of smallholders’ commercialization rigorous efforts of all stakeholders including governments, research institutions, universities, farmers, NGOs, and development practitioners are essential to eliminate the existing bottlenecks to improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers. Keywords: Smallholders, Commercialization, Determinants and Impacts. DOI: 10.7176/JAAS/63-03 Publication date: April 30th 202

Farmer’s Perceptions on the Farmland Management Practices, Perceived Challenges and Prospects: The Case of Mareka District, Dawuro Zone, Southern Ethiopia

The present study was undertaken in Mareka District, Dawuro Zone, Southern Ethiopia to assess major types, perceived challenges and prospects of farmland management problems in the study area. Mixed research design was used, and both primary and secondary data were collected. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean, and percentage were used to describe the background information, types and prospects of major farmland management problems of sample households in the study area. The result of this study revealed that educational status, types of crops cultivated, population pressure, deforestation, culture, over grazing, lack of awareness, topography and poverty are among the challenges that affect farmland management practices in the study area. According to the perception of sample households, there are prospects like favorable government policies and strategies, availability of extension services and scaling up of best practices and establishment of farmer training centers. Thus, to secure sustainable farmland management practices proper monitoring and evaluation, conservation oriented crop combination land management, afforestation, agro-forestry, adequate training in farmer training centers, access to information and proper planning of the population growth are highly recommended for the study area. Keywords: Challenges, Prospects, Farmland Management Practices, Mareka District. DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/9-17-05 Publication date:September 30th 201

Statistical and Squeezing Proprieties of Superposed Single-Mode Squeezed Chaotic State

In this paper we have studied the statistical and squeezing proprieties of light produced by superposition of a pair of single-mode squeezed chaotic light beams. Applying density operator of single-mode squeezed chaotic state; we obtain the anti-normal order characteristics function which enables us to find the Q function. With the resulting Q function, we calculate the photon statistics and the Quadrature squeezing for single-mode squeezed chaotic light. Moreover applying Q function of single-mode squeezed chaotic state the superposed light beams would be driven. With the resulting Q function we calculated the photon statics and the quadrature squeezing for superposed light beams. To get the maximum squeezing to be 95%, for nth = 0 and r = 1.5. Keywords: squeezed chaotic state, superposed state, fluctuations DOI: 10.7176/APTA/78-03 Publication date:June 30th 201

Financing Small Famer Development in Ethiopia

Agriculture in Ethiopia is the most important sector, as measured by its contribution to total output, employment, and export earnings. Small –scale peasant farming is the most predominant mode of cultivation, and it is the peasant farmer who has suffered the most from the lack of capital, lack of technology and deterioration of the soil. Although agriculture remains the backbone of the Ethiopian economy, production has been declining since the 1960s while the rate of population growth has been steadily rising. Thus Ethiopia, which could once feed itself, has been importing food on a large scale. The fall in agricultural output could be attributed to low productivity, archaic land tenure system, weak infrastructure, and the low level of technology, political instability, recurrent drought, and above all wrong- headed economic Policy. Particularly note worthy is the lack of resources directed at increasing productivity or provision of adequate rural finance. A significant example of neglect is the woefully inadequate amount of agricultural credit available to the peasant sector and the total neglect of encouraging savings mobilization. The result is that 70% - 80% of Ethiopian peasant farmers do not receive institutional credit today. That means the majority either do not borrow or depend on the private money lender. Since 80 to 90 percent of food production is from the small farm sector, credit, along with improved technology must be provided in a form that can serve these farmers. They in turn, must increase production to keep pace with the productivity of urban population This requires the application of expensive technology. While it is widely recognized that the poor need credit for basic consumption and to finance working capital, unfortunately, they are often discriminated by commercial financial institutions because they do not have the necessary collateral and are considered “high risk” Contrary to common belief , small farmers have demonstrated their ability not only to pay high rates of interest but also to repay on time. What is needed is vigorous competition in the provision of credit through multiplicity of lenders, both public and private. The lack of or denial of capital to peasants and poor farmers by financial institutions is denying the majority of producers full participation within the productive sector. In loan decisions, the emphasis should be the productive capacity of the farmer borrower rather than on collateral

The Effect of Signal-signal and Signal-idler Modes on Squeezing and Entanglement Properties of Two-mode Light

Squeezed and entangled two-mode light can be generated by the combination of degenerate and nondegenerate parametric oscillators. The correlated signal-idler modes are not only enhance the degree of quadrature squeezing and entanglement properties of the two-mode light but they are also the cause of these properties. But the effect of signal-signal modes are to enhance the degree of quadrature squeezing and to reduce the entanglement property of the two-mode light. Keywords: signal-signal modes, signal-idler modes, quadrature squeezing, entanglement DOI: 10.7176/APTA/78-02 Publication date:June 30th 201

Impact of Land Acquisition on the Livelihoods: The Case of Gilibina-Akuna-Agita-Merewo-Besikiya Road Project Telemet Woreda, North Gondar Zone, Amhara region, Ethiopia

Gilibina_Akuna_Agita_Merewo_Besikiya road project is located in Amhara National Regional State, North Gondar Administrative Zone, Telemte woreda. The settlement pattern of the population residing in the project Woreda is dispersed and mainly concentrated in rural settlements that are mainly at lower level of socio economic status. The project influence Woreda lack adequate social services and other infrastructural services, such as road and communication networks. The total length of the road project is 98.06 km and is Design Standard (DC3). The construction of the project road as per the route selection study and Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) will improve the livelihood of the local populations that are crossed by the road project. It could also contribute to the growth and development of trade and urban centers, improvement of crop and livestock production and its marketing network. The natural resource and human resource potentials are also highly important in contributing to the development of the project area. The project road is expected to have both positive and negative impacts in the direct Project Influence Area (PIA), as well in the indirect influence area. The potential social impacts will be quicker felt in the direct influence area. The adverse (or negative) environmental and social impacts are very minimal and could not make significant impacts that will impede the life of the local population. The proposed project road is in harmony with all the national development policies and strategies of Ethiopia, and fulfils all requirements set forth both by the Federal and Regional Governments. The land acquisition report presents the policy, legal and Administrative framework; the valuation measures, the compensation payment to be made for the PAPs including restoration measures, and it also establishes methodologies for compensation estimate and payment. The basis of the land acquisition report is a socio economic assessment of the livelihoods that will be affected due to the construction of the project road which include the number of Project Affected Persons, the size of affected properties and asset. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/10-1-0

Quantum Natures of Single-Mode Displaced Squeezed Vacuum State

The displaced squeezed vacuum state is produced by application of displaced operator on squeezed vacuum state. With help of density operator we find Q function, with the Q function mean, variance and quadrature variance would be calculated. From this we can determine the system has superpoissonian statics, the squeezed parameter is direct proportion with both mean and variance of photon number, but inversely proportion with quadrature variance. The squeezing occurs in plus quadrature with the maximum squeezing of 99.7% for r=3. Keywords: Quantum nature, displaced state, squeezed vacuum state DOI: 10.7176/APTA/82-01 Publication date: January 31st 202

Role of Sugarcane Tops as Feed Resource in Two Sugar Estates of Central Ethiopia

አህፅሮት የዚህ ጥናት ዋና ዓላማ ከወንጂና መተሃራ ስኳር ፋብሪካዎች የሚገኘው የሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ ለእንስሳት አርቢዎች ያለውን የመኖ ጠቀሜታ ዳሰሳን መሠረት ያደረገ ነበር፡፡ ጥናቱም በስኳር ፋብሪካዎች አከባቢ ባሉ ከተሞች፤ ካምፖችና ቀበሌ ገ/ማህበራት የሚገኙ 308 እንስሳት አርቢ አባወራዎችን ለቃለ መጠይቅ ያሳተፈና ከፋብሪካዎች የተገኘን መረጃ ያካትታል፡፡ በጥናቱ የሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ የምርት መጠን ፤ የመኖ ጠቀሜታው፤ አያያዝና አመጋገብ ልምድ፣ ግብይት እና የአጠቃቀም ችግሮች ተዳሰዋል፡፡ ከየፋብሪካው ማሳ በዓመት የሚገኛው የሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ መጠን በዓመቱ ለስኳር ምርት ሲባል ታጭዶ ከሚፈጨደው የሸንኮራ አገዳ መጠን ጋር ቀጥተኛ ተዛማጅነት አለው፡፡ በዓመታዊ የምርት መጠን በእሳት የተለበለበው የአገዳ ጫፍ ካልተለበለበው የአገዳ ጫፍ ይበልጣል፡፡ ይህም የሆነበት ምክንያት ለስኳር ምርት የሚውለው ሸንኮራ አገዳ ከመቆረጡ በፊት ማሳው እሳት የምለቀቅበት በመሆኑና ያልተቃጠለው የአገዳ ጫፍ የሚገኘው በአገዳ ተከላ ወቅት ብቻ በመሆኑ ነው፡፡ የሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ በሁሉም አባወራዎች (100%) እንስሳት መኖነት ከመዋሉም በላይ ለማገዶና (50%) ለግንባታ ሥራዎች (37%) ያገለግላል፡፡ በአቅርቦትና በመኖ ተፈላጊነት ረገድ በእሳት የተለበለበ (የተቃጠለ) ሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ በእሳት ካልተለበለበው የአገዳ ጫፍ ብልጫ ያለው ሲሆን ይህም የመኖ እጥረት በሚታይበት ደረቅ ወራት አማራጭ የመኖ ግብዓት ነው፡፡ የሸንኮራ አገዳ ጭፍ በከተማ ለሚገኙ ከብት አርቢዎች በግለሰቦች አመካኝነት በሽያጭ የሚቀርብ ሲሆን ዋጋውም በስኳር ፋብሪካው፤ በአገዳው ዓይነትና በቦታው (ማሳ) ርቀት ይለያያል፡፡ በእሳት ካልተለበለበው አገዳ ይልቅ የተለበለበው አገዳ እንደዚሁም ከወፍራም አገዳ ይልቅ ቀጫጭን አገዳ ያላቸው ዝሪያዎች ለእንስሳት መኖነት የበለጠ ተፈላጊ ናቸው፡፡ የሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ በአብዛኛው ለእንስሳት የሚሰጠው ባለበት ሁኔታ ወይም በመጠኑ በመቀረጣጠፍ ሲሆን የተሰበሰበውም በበቂ ሁኔታ ሳይደርቅ በውጪ ይከማቻል፡፡ የሸንኮራ አገዳን ለእንስሳት መኖነት በይበልጥ ለመጠቀም የማያስችሉ ዋንኞቹ ማነቆዎች የመኖ ይዘቱ ደካማ መሆን (91.2%)፤ የቴክኒክ ድጋፍ እጦት (89%)፤ የማጓጓዣ እጥረት (26%)፤ በተመጋቢ እንስሳት ላይ የአፍ መቁሰል ችግር (16.2%) እና የሰው ጉልበትና ካፒታል እጥረት (11.7%) ናቸው፡፡ በመሆኑም በሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ አጠቃቀም፣ ጥራት ማሻሻል፣አያያዝ፤አመጋገብ ዘዴዎችና ግብይት ላይ ለአርቢዎች በቂ ተግባር-ተኮር ሥልጠና መስጠት አስፈላጊ ነው፡፡ በተጨማሪም የሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍን ለመቀርጠፍ የሚያግዝ ማሽን (ቾፐር) በተመጣጣኝ ዋጋ ለአርቢዎች ማቅረብ ያስፈልጋል፡፡   Abstract This study aimed to assess the production and utilization of sugarcane tops (SCTs) by livestock farms in and around Wonji-Shoa and Metehara sugar estates. A total of 308 households were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire, where data on household characteristics and acquisition, utilization, feeding practices, preserving, and marketing of SCTs were collected. Secondary data on sugarcane production were taken from the sugar factories. The estimated production of SCT is proportional to the volume of sugarcane produced or milled and the area of sugarcane field harvested, which was higher in Metehara compared to Wonji-Shoa sugar estate. The volume of burnt SCTs surpassed that of green SCTs as the pre-harvest burning practice of sugarcane fields favors the abundant availability of the former. Sugarcane tops were used as feedstuff by the entire surveyed households, primarily for ruminants feeding. Besides, a significant proportion of farmers reported using SCTs for other purposes viz. fuel source (50%) and construction (37%). Availability and feed use of the burnt SCT surpassed that of green SCT, mainly during the dry season, or dearth period. Sugarcane tops were sold to urban livestock producers, their price being varied with the sugar estate, SCT type, and distance from the source (field). Farmers preferred the burnt to green SCTs, and thin-stem to thick-stem varieties for livestock feeding. Sugarcane tops were usually fed to animals intact or chopped. Farmers practiced preserving intact SCTs by sun-drying and stored in open-air. Limitations in the feed use of SCTs in the study area included its low quality (91.2%), lack of technical supports (89%), lack of transport (26%), mouth injury on animals associated with feeding unprocessed SCTs (16.2%) and lack of family labor and capital (11.7%). In conclusion, SCTs are available year-round and contribute significantly as livestock feed in the study areas. However, it was poorly utilized due to the harvesting method employed by the industry, poor handling by farmers, and lack of technical supports. Therefore, intervention in areas of SCTs processing, conservation, feeding, and marketing is important to enhance its feed use by livestock farms around sugar industries or beyond

Review on Agronomic Practices for Improving Production and Productivity of Lentil in Ethiopia

Lentil is among the most important cool season food legumes cultivated in rotation with cereal crops in the central highlands of Ethiopia. Poor agronomic practices are among the major constraints limiting the production and productivity of this crop. Improving agronomic practices such as seedbed preparation, sowing date, seed rate, weed control and pest management will enhance the production and productivity of lentil. Concerning sowing date, it varies with the pattern and total amount of rainfall, altitude, soil type and maturity period of the specific crop cultivar but in general, late June to mid July is the recommended time for planting lentil in the central highlands of Ethiopia. A seed rate of 50-65 kg ha-1 for small seeded lentil, 65-80 kg ha-1 for medium and up to 120 kg ha-1 for large seeded lentil cultivars were recommended in Ethiopia. For lentil, two hand-weeding within four to eight weeks after seedling emergence was recommended to control weed. Though not common practice, application of herbicides was also recommended for weed control in lentil. Keywords: Agronomic practices, Cultivar, Ethiopia, Lenti