American Journal of Environmental Protection

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An Assessment on the Economic Benefit of Cactus Crop in the Case of Ganta Afeshum District, Eastern Tigray, Ethiopia

Received: 13 August 2015    Accepted: 22 August 2015    Published: 03 September 2015
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Abstract

Cactus is a plant with very thick and fleshy stems. It is often covered with prickles and it usually grows in desert and semi desert area of the world. Cactus has different benefit such as source of food, medicine, chemical and income. Therefore, the objective of this research was carried out to assess the economic benefit of cactus as potential source of food for both human and animal in Ganta Afeshum District, Eastern Tigray region of Ethiopia. For this study, questionnaires, structured interviews, field observations and documentary analysis were applied to collect the necessary information from farm households and concerned bodies. Probability and non - probability sampling methods were used in this study. The sample is selected using simple random sampling from the entire target of population (1230, which is 135(11%). Both quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis were used to describe the findings. Tables, charts and percentage were used in summarizing the quantitative data. The survey result shows that in the study area out of the total area of the District, 1607.05 hectare of the land is covered by cactus crop. Even though the area is characterized by a potential on cactus crop but the farmers used cactus crop only as diet for human being and as forage for animals particularly for cattle.

DOI 10.11648/j.ajep.20150405.11
Published in American Journal of Environmental Protection (Volume 4, Issue 5, October 2015)
Page(s) 202-206
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Cactus, Economic, Social, Benefit

References
[1] Barbera, G. 1995. History, economic and agro-ecological importance. In: Barbera, G. Inglese, P., Pemineta – Barrior, E. (Eds), Agro-ecology, cultivation and uses of cactus pear, vol.132. FAO Plant Production and Protection Paper, pp. 1-11.
[2] Cantwell, M. 1991. Quality and postharvest physiology of ‘‘nopalitos’’ and ‘‘tunas’’. Proc. 2nd Annual Texas Prickly Pear Conference, Texas Prickly Pear Council, McAllen, Texas. Pp.50-60.
[3] Corrales-Grcia, Jpenavaldvia, CB; Razo Martinez, Y, Sanchez-Hermandaez, M. 2004. Acidity changes and pH-buffering capacity of napalitos (opuntia ssp.).Post harvest Biol.Tech. 32,169-174.
[4] Esra Maltas, Aslı Dageri, Hasibe Cingilli Vural, Salih Yildiz, Investigation on Biochemical and Molecular Analysis of Echinacea Genotypes, Plant. Vol. 3, No. 1, 2015, pp. 1-7. doi:10.11648/j.plant.20150301.11.
[5] Francisco das Chagas Dourado de Sousa, Melise Pessôa Araújo, Jesus Rodrigues Lemos, Ethnobotanical Study with Native Species in a Rural Village in Piauí State, Northeast Brazil, Journal of Plant Sciences. Vol. 3, No. 2, 2015, pp. 45-53. doi: 10.11648/j.jps.20150302.11.
[6] Frew Tegegn. 2007. Evolution of alternative feed resources for ruminants under arid zone of the tropics and sub tropics: the case of cactus pears in Ethiopia, Humboldt University, Berlin. Tag der Wissenschaftlichen Aussprache. ISBN 978-3-89574-634-5.
[7] Gete Zeleke, Menale Kassie, Pender, J. and Mahmud Yesuf. 2006. Stakeholder Analysis for Sustainable Land Management (SLM) in Ethiopia: Assessment of Opportunities, Strategic Constraints, Information Needs, and Knowledge Gaps. Environmental Economics Policy Forum for Ethiopia (EEPFE). Ethiopia.
[8] Million Tadesse and Kassa Belay. 2004. Factors Influencing Adoption of Soil Conservation Measures in Southern Ethiopia: The Case of Gununo Area. Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics. Vol. 105(1): 49-62.
[9] Mums for Mums. 2004. Preparation of cactus (Beles) recipes, Mekelle Institute of Technology, Mekelle.
[10] Uribe, J.M., Varnero, M., I, Benavides, C., 1992. Biomas of prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L. Mill) as bovine manure anaerobic digestion accelerator.Simiente.62, 14-18 (Abstract).
[11] Woldeamlak Bewket. 2002. Land Cover Dynamics since the 1950s in Chemoga Watershed, Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia. Mountain Research and Development. Vol. 22 (3): 263-269.
Author Information
  • Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, College of Social Science and Humanities, Adigrat University, Adigrat, Ethiopia

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  • APA Style

    Fikre Belay. (2015). An Assessment on the Economic Benefit of Cactus Crop in the Case of Ganta Afeshum District, Eastern Tigray, Ethiopia. American Journal of Environmental Protection, 4(5), 202-206. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20150405.11

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    Fikre Belay. An Assessment on the Economic Benefit of Cactus Crop in the Case of Ganta Afeshum District, Eastern Tigray, Ethiopia. Am. J. Environ. Prot. 2015, 4(5), 202-206. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20150405.11

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    AMA Style

    Fikre Belay. An Assessment on the Economic Benefit of Cactus Crop in the Case of Ganta Afeshum District, Eastern Tigray, Ethiopia. Am J Environ Prot. 2015;4(5):202-206. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20150405.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajep.20150405.11,
      author = {Fikre Belay},
      title = {An Assessment on the Economic Benefit of Cactus Crop in the Case of Ganta Afeshum District, Eastern Tigray, Ethiopia},
      journal = {American Journal of Environmental Protection},
      volume = {4},
      number = {5},
      pages = {202-206},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajep.20150405.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20150405.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajep.20150405.11},
      abstract = {Cactus is a plant with very thick and fleshy stems. It is often covered with prickles and it usually grows in desert and semi desert area of the world. Cactus has different benefit such as source of food, medicine, chemical and income. Therefore, the objective of this research was carried out to assess the economic benefit of cactus as potential source of food for both human and animal in Ganta Afeshum District, Eastern Tigray region of Ethiopia. For this study, questionnaires, structured interviews, field observations and documentary analysis were applied to collect the necessary information from farm households and concerned bodies. Probability and non - probability sampling methods were used in this study. The sample is selected using simple random sampling from the entire target of population (1230, which is 135(11%). Both quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis were used to describe the findings. Tables, charts and percentage were used in summarizing the quantitative data. The survey result shows that in the study area out of the total area of the District, 1607.05 hectare of the land is covered by cactus crop. Even though the area is characterized by a potential on cactus crop but the farmers used cactus crop only as diet for human being and as forage for animals particularly for cattle.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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    AB  - Cactus is a plant with very thick and fleshy stems. It is often covered with prickles and it usually grows in desert and semi desert area of the world. Cactus has different benefit such as source of food, medicine, chemical and income. Therefore, the objective of this research was carried out to assess the economic benefit of cactus as potential source of food for both human and animal in Ganta Afeshum District, Eastern Tigray region of Ethiopia. For this study, questionnaires, structured interviews, field observations and documentary analysis were applied to collect the necessary information from farm households and concerned bodies. Probability and non - probability sampling methods were used in this study. The sample is selected using simple random sampling from the entire target of population (1230, which is 135(11%). Both quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis were used to describe the findings. Tables, charts and percentage were used in summarizing the quantitative data. The survey result shows that in the study area out of the total area of the District, 1607.05 hectare of the land is covered by cactus crop. Even though the area is characterized by a potential on cactus crop but the farmers used cactus crop only as diet for human being and as forage for animals particularly for cattle.
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