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Assessment of Existing Agroforestry Practices in East Hararghe Zone Oromia, Ethiopia

Received: 9 December 2021     Accepted: 9 February 2022     Published: 4 March 2022
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Abstract

An agroforestry practice produces different benefits, which enhance household incomes and diversification of products. This study was aimed to identifying existing agroforestry practices and to identify perception behind of agroforestry practice and to identify the opportunities and major constraints related to agroforestry practices in Fedis, Kersa and Jarso Districts of the lowland, midland and highlands agro ecologies, of East Hararghe Zone, oromia, Ethiopia. The study was based on a household survey conducted on 154 farm household heads; focus group discussions, key informant interviews and direct field observations were applied. The data were analyzed using analytical (SPSS 20.0) software packages to calculate descriptive statistics. Chi-squared tests were used to compare the agroforestry practices and agro ecologies. The result indicates that six AFPs exist in the study area namely; scattered trees on croplands (58%), hedge row intercropping (33%), home garden (22%), multipurpose trees on farmland (19%), live fence /boundary planting (18%), and wind breaks (4%) were dominant. Significant respondent number (51.96%) of practices is involved in agri-silvicultural system, most of the farmer’s (45.12%) have positive attitude towards Agroforestry practices in the study area. Most of the respondents agreed on agro-forestry practices increased the construction input, soil fertility, food, and fodder. On the other hand, sacristy of land, moisture stress, diseases and pests, inadequate seedlings availability, and inadequate extension services are the major constraints. Results of the socio-economic characteristics respondents showed that gender, age, family size, and land holding positively and significantly influence the decision of the determined practice of household’s and were significantly affected the choice of agroforestry practice by the households. Based on the survey, it is concluded that scattered trees on farmland, hedge row intercropping, and home garden AFP dominant practices across agro ecologies and were the most appropriate agro-forestry practices. This agro-forestry practices increased the construction input, soil fertility, food, and fodder in the area of land sacristy, moisture stress, diseases and pests. Therefore, further the tree integration efforts of farmers should be guided by scientific principles, the interaction tree species with annual crops and economic analysis of the individual agroforestry practices, domestication of nitrogen fixing trees, fruit tree species, and promoting sustainable agroforestry should be carried out.

Published in International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management (Volume 7, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.15
Page(s) 29-41
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), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Agroforestry Practices, Indigenous Knowledge, Scattered Trees on Crop Land, Multipurpose Tree, Small Holder Farmers, Cash Crops

References
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  • APA Style

    Musa Abdella, Bira Cheneke, Robe Elema. (2022). Assessment of Existing Agroforestry Practices in East Hararghe Zone Oromia, Ethiopia. International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, 7(1), 29-41. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.15

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    ACS Style

    Musa Abdella; Bira Cheneke; Robe Elema. Assessment of Existing Agroforestry Practices in East Hararghe Zone Oromia, Ethiopia. Int. J. Nat. Resour. Ecol. Manag. 2022, 7(1), 29-41. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.15

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    AMA Style

    Musa Abdella, Bira Cheneke, Robe Elema. Assessment of Existing Agroforestry Practices in East Hararghe Zone Oromia, Ethiopia. Int J Nat Resour Ecol Manag. 2022;7(1):29-41. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.15,
      author = {Musa Abdella and Bira Cheneke and Robe Elema},
      title = {Assessment of Existing Agroforestry Practices in East Hararghe Zone Oromia, Ethiopia},
      journal = {International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management},
      volume = {7},
      number = {1},
      pages = {29-41},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijnrem.20220701.15},
      abstract = {An agroforestry practice produces different benefits, which enhance household incomes and diversification of products. This study was aimed to identifying existing agroforestry practices and to identify perception behind of agroforestry practice and to identify the opportunities and major constraints related to agroforestry practices in Fedis, Kersa and Jarso Districts of the lowland, midland and highlands agro ecologies, of East Hararghe Zone, oromia, Ethiopia. The study was based on a household survey conducted on 154 farm household heads; focus group discussions, key informant interviews and direct field observations were applied. The data were analyzed using analytical (SPSS 20.0) software packages to calculate descriptive statistics. Chi-squared tests were used to compare the agroforestry practices and agro ecologies. The result indicates that six AFPs exist in the study area namely; scattered trees on croplands (58%), hedge row intercropping (33%), home garden (22%), multipurpose trees on farmland (19%), live fence /boundary planting (18%), and wind breaks (4%) were dominant. Significant respondent number (51.96%) of practices is involved in agri-silvicultural system, most of the farmer’s (45.12%) have positive attitude towards Agroforestry practices in the study area. Most of the respondents agreed on agro-forestry practices increased the construction input, soil fertility, food, and fodder. On the other hand, sacristy of land, moisture stress, diseases and pests, inadequate seedlings availability, and inadequate extension services are the major constraints. Results of the socio-economic characteristics respondents showed that gender, age, family size, and land holding positively and significantly influence the decision of the determined practice of household’s and were significantly affected the choice of agroforestry practice by the households. Based on the survey, it is concluded that scattered trees on farmland, hedge row intercropping, and home garden AFP dominant practices across agro ecologies and were the most appropriate agro-forestry practices. This agro-forestry practices increased the construction input, soil fertility, food, and fodder in the area of land sacristy, moisture stress, diseases and pests. Therefore, further the tree integration efforts of farmers should be guided by scientific principles, the interaction tree species with annual crops and economic analysis of the individual agroforestry practices, domestication of nitrogen fixing trees, fruit tree species, and promoting sustainable agroforestry should be carried out.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Assessment of Existing Agroforestry Practices in East Hararghe Zone Oromia, Ethiopia
    AU  - Musa Abdella
    AU  - Bira Cheneke
    AU  - Robe Elema
    Y1  - 2022/03/04
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.15
    T2  - International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management
    JF  - International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management
    JO  - International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management
    SP  - 29
    EP  - 41
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-3061
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.15
    AB  - An agroforestry practice produces different benefits, which enhance household incomes and diversification of products. This study was aimed to identifying existing agroforestry practices and to identify perception behind of agroforestry practice and to identify the opportunities and major constraints related to agroforestry practices in Fedis, Kersa and Jarso Districts of the lowland, midland and highlands agro ecologies, of East Hararghe Zone, oromia, Ethiopia. The study was based on a household survey conducted on 154 farm household heads; focus group discussions, key informant interviews and direct field observations were applied. The data were analyzed using analytical (SPSS 20.0) software packages to calculate descriptive statistics. Chi-squared tests were used to compare the agroforestry practices and agro ecologies. The result indicates that six AFPs exist in the study area namely; scattered trees on croplands (58%), hedge row intercropping (33%), home garden (22%), multipurpose trees on farmland (19%), live fence /boundary planting (18%), and wind breaks (4%) were dominant. Significant respondent number (51.96%) of practices is involved in agri-silvicultural system, most of the farmer’s (45.12%) have positive attitude towards Agroforestry practices in the study area. Most of the respondents agreed on agro-forestry practices increased the construction input, soil fertility, food, and fodder. On the other hand, sacristy of land, moisture stress, diseases and pests, inadequate seedlings availability, and inadequate extension services are the major constraints. Results of the socio-economic characteristics respondents showed that gender, age, family size, and land holding positively and significantly influence the decision of the determined practice of household’s and were significantly affected the choice of agroforestry practice by the households. Based on the survey, it is concluded that scattered trees on farmland, hedge row intercropping, and home garden AFP dominant practices across agro ecologies and were the most appropriate agro-forestry practices. This agro-forestry practices increased the construction input, soil fertility, food, and fodder in the area of land sacristy, moisture stress, diseases and pests. Therefore, further the tree integration efforts of farmers should be guided by scientific principles, the interaction tree species with annual crops and economic analysis of the individual agroforestry practices, domestication of nitrogen fixing trees, fruit tree species, and promoting sustainable agroforestry should be carried out.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Fedis Agricultural Research Center, Harar, Ethiopia

  • Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Fedis Agricultural Research Center, Harar, Ethiopia

  • Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Fedis Agricultural Research Center, Harar, Ethiopia

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