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Organic farming and sustainable development in Ethiopia

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The main objective of this paper was to find out the feasibility of organic farming as a part of sustainable development in Ethiopia. The average total cost of chemical fertilizers and biofertilizers used for one hectare of land per year for various crops was calculated to be US150andUS 150 and US 40 respectively while for chemical pesticides and biopesticides, it was US100andUS 100 and US 25 respectively. The total estimated cost of crop production per hectare per year for organic farming was US190(1634EthiopianBirr)andforinorganicfarming,itwasUS 190 ( 1634 Ethiopian Birr) and for inorganic farming, it was US 320 ( 2752 Ethiopian Birr). The cost of production for organic farming was about 40.6% less than that for inorganic farming. The calculations were also done for estimation of total nutrients and other substances required for organic farming for the whole country. In organic farming, the important nutrients required for total agricultural land of country were found as compost/vermicompost 3.25 x 10(10) ton, poultry manure 3.2 x 10(9) ton, FYM (Farm Yard Manure) 9.7 x 10(7) ton and biopesticides 1.6 x 10(10) ton. The present status of organic components available in the country was compost/vermicompost 1.6 x 10(11) ton, poultry manure 8.5 x 10(9) ton, FYM 1.8 x 10(10) ton and biopesticides in abundant quantity. As the resources are in abundance for organic farming, hence-forth might be a good opportunity for diverting from inorganic farming to organic farming system and as a result, sustainable development could be achieved in the country.
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Scientific Research and Essay Vol. 2(6), pp. 199-203, June 2007
Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/SRE
ISSN 1992-2248 © 2007 Academic Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Organic farming and sustainable development in
Ethiopia
Rani Devi1, Ashok Kumar3 and Bishaw Deboch2
1Department of Energy and Environmental Sciences, Ch. Devi Lal University, Sirsa, Haryana, India.
2Department of Environmental science and technology, Public Health Faculty, Jimma University, PB-378, Ethiopia.
3District Food and Supplies Officer, Sirsa, Haryana, India.
Accepted 8 May, 2007
The main objective of this paper was to find out the feasibility of organic farming as a part of
sustainable development in Ethiopia. The average total cost of chemical fertilizers and biofertilizers
used for one hectare of land per year for various crops was calculated to be US$ 150 and US$ 40
respectively while for chemical pesticides and biopesticides, it was US$ 100 and US$ 25 respectively.
The total estimated cost of crop production per hectare per year for organic farming was US$ 190
(1634 Ethiopian Birr) and for inorganic farming, it was US$ 320 (2752 Ethiopian Birr). The cost of
production for organic farming was about 40.6 % less than that for inorganic farming. The
calculations were also done for estimation of total nutrients and other substances required for
organic farming for the whole country. In organic farming, the important nutrients required for total
agricultural land of country were found as compost/ vermicompost 3.25 x 1010 ton, poultry manure 3.2
x 109 ton, FYM (Farm Yard Manure) 9.7 x 107 ton and biopesticides 1.6 x 1010 ton. The present status of
organic components available in the country was compost/vermicompost 1.6 x 1011 ton, poultry
manure 8.5 x 109 ton, FYM 1.8 x 1010 ton and biopesticides in abundant quantity. As the resources are
in abundance for organic farming, hence-forth might be a good opportunity for diverting from
inorganic farming to organic farming system and as a result, sustainable development could be
achieved in the country.
Key words: Inorganic farming, organic farming, sustainable development.
INTRODUCTION
Ethiopia is a land-locked country known as ‘Horn of Afri-
ca’. It has diversed topography, encompassing moun-
tains over 4000 m above mean sea level, high plateaus,
deep gorges cut by rivers and arid lowlands. The mean
annual rainfall is highest (above 2700 mm) in the south-
western highlands and lowest in the northeastern low-
lands (100 mm) (Ininda and Befekadu, 1987). The mean
temperature ranges from a highest of 45°C (April Sep-
tember) in the afar depression to 0°C or even lower
during night in the highlands (November - February)
(Ward and Yeshannew, 1990). Understanding the nature
of the Ethiopian climate, it is important to know the pat-
tern of food production and environmental sustain-ability.
There are mainly four seasons in Ethiopia namely Kiremt,
Tsedey, Bega and Belg (NMSA, 1998).
*Corresponding author. E-mail: rani_sahu@yahoo.com. Tel:
+91-1294006166, 67.
These seasons determine the seasonal farming
activities such as land preparation, sowing and planting,
weeding and harvesting. “Kiremt” is (June- August) the
main rainy season in (Kassahun and Bokretsion, 1999)
and most of the crops are sown during this season. The
“Tsedey (September - November) is the spring season
and is very good for food production and also for health
point of view. The “Bega” (December - February) is the
dry, windy and sunny season in most highlands of Ethio-
pia. Farmers harvest their Meher crops during this dry
period. The “Belg” (March - May) season is the small rai-
ny period and 5 -10% of crops are produced during this
season but in some areas up-to 50% of local food is
produced (Kassahun and Bokretsion, 1999) from this
season.
Ethiopia is basically an agricultural and pastoral coun-
try. About 85% population depends on agriculture for
their livelihood. In Ethiopia, there are mainly three farm-
ing systems - mixed farming of the highlands (both crops
200 Sci. Res. Essays
Table 1. A statistical data of Ethiopia during 2005-2006.
Items Description
Total population (million) 76.5
Male/Female ratio (%) 51/49
Population growth rate (annual %) 2.7
Adult literacy rate (%) 41.5
Life expectancy (years) 45.5
Rural population (million) 56.9
Urban population (million) 15.4
Population density (km2) 62
Livestock (million) 78 million (35 million cattle, 25 million sheep, and 18 million goats)
Export (%) 75 (Crops and livestock)
GDP (%) 45 (Agriculture and livestock)
Land area (hectare) 108.5 million hectares-Arable Land 45%, of which; Irrigated 3%; Forests, woodlands
and savannas 25%; Other 30%
Source: United Nations Development Programme (Last Updated: February 03, 2006).
and livestock production are integrated), pastoralism in
the lowlands and the root crop based farming system
(EEA/EEPRI, 2002). Commercial agriculture using the
river basins, such as the Awash Basin, is a recent phe-
nomenon (Harris et al, 1998).
Ethiopia is one of the least developed countries in the
world and its economy is based mainly on agriculture
(Bekalo and Bangay, 2001). It accounts for more than 75
percent of total exports and about 45 percent of its GDP
(gross domestic product) (UNDP, 1992). Coffee alone
makes up to more than 87 percent of the total agricultural
exports (UNDP, 1992). The UNDP has put Ethiopia at
170th rank out of the 175 countries in terms of its develop-
ment index on HRD (Human Resources Development)
scale (HDR, 2004; UNDP, 1992).
The country currently faces a number of environmental
challenges resulting directly or indirectly from human acti-
vities due to agricultural practices, rapid population grow-
th and the consequent increase in the exploitation of
natural resources (Unwin, 1997). The challenges range
from land degradation to environmental pollution due to
the misguided application of chemicals in agriculture for
domestic purposes or for the manufacture of industrial
products. The use of agrochemicals by small and margi-
nal farmers is rapidly increasing; and this is in addition to
the substantial amounts already deployed on the few
large-scale farms, particularly cotton farms (Philippe et
al., 2000).
The misuse/overuse of pesticides and fertilizers are
damaging human health and polluting the surrounding
environment and thus violating the sustainability of eco-
system (Karp et al., 1995). So, environmentally sound
farming system is the vision for the society to cope up the
problems of chemical based farming system (UNCTAD,
1995). There are several evidences in the literature which
are forcing the steps towards organic farming (Buys,
1993). There are also certain cases in literature regarding
organic farming of some crops like coffee, cocoa and tea
(IFOAM, 1996).
By looking these environmental problems due to this
chemical based farming, the government of Ethiopia iss-
ued a new policy guideline on Rural Development in Wor-
ld Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannes-burg,
South Africa, and 26th August - 4th September 2002. It
included the rehabilitation as an essential factor for
increasing soil productivity.
The basic aim of this paper is to evaluate the signify-
cance of organic farming in Ethiopia and its relevance in
context to utilize its present natural resources. Thus, ulti-
mately goal of this study is towards the new revolution for
sustainable development in this country.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Survey
The present investigations were conducted at country sites around:
Gonder, Jimma, Moyas, Harar and Diredawa towns. These selected
sites represented different agro-ecological zones across Ethiopia.
Survey was conducted during 2005 - 2006 and 100 farmers were
interviewed in each study area using specific questionnaire reg-
arding land use patterns, types of crops growing throughout the
year, environmental awareness about significance of organic farm-
ing and impact of agrochemicals used for inorganic farming prac-
tices among local peoples and availability of organic fertilizers and
pesticides. Some secondary data like total geographical area of the
country, total population, population growth rate, population density,
population distribution in urban and rural sectors, literacy rate, M/F
ratio, types and total population of livestock, percent export of the
country in terms of agricultural and livestock products and GDP rate
of the country were collected from UNDP data source as shown in
Table 1.
Farming systems of the country
Study was done about the farming systems in villages situated
Devi et al 201
Table 2. Different types of crops grown round the year in Ethiopia.
Types Crops
Cereals Tef, barley, maize, wheat, sorghum, oats and finger millets
Pulses Horse bean, field pea, haricot bean, chickpea, grass pea and lentil
Oil crops Niger seed, linseed, sunflower, rapeseed, groundnut, safflower and sesame
Fruits-vegetables Citrus, papaya, banana, avocado, mango, cabbage, tomato, hot peppers, pumpkin, onions and garlic
Root and tuber crops Enset, Irish, sweet and indigenous potatoes, taro, yams, carrot
Cash crops Coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, spices, sugar cane and chat
Table 3. Quantity of farming inputs (for inorganic and organic based farming system) in Ethiopia (hectare/year).
Input Inorganic farming
(kg/ha)
Organic farming
(Ton/ha)
Cost/hectare (US$)
Chemical fertilizers
N
P
K
100
50
100
-
-
-
NPK total cost 150
Biofertilizers
Compost/vermicopost Poultry manure
FYM
-
-
-
5
5
10
30
Total cost
40
Chemical pesticides
Insecticides and disease controlling substances 70 - 100
Biopesticides
Insecticides and disease controlling substances (kg) - 50 25
around five towns round the year to observe their farming pattern;
whether it is inorganic based or using natural types of resources
with special reference to different seasonal crops. Information was
also gathered about various stages of crops grown in Ethiopia as
mentioned in Table 2.
Inputs in farming systems
Inputs applied by the farmers in their farming systems were
analyzed on the bases of average quantity of major nutrients and
pesticides used in organic and inorganic farming. The average total
cost (per hectare) of production was calculated for different farming
systems from field preparation till the harvesting and yield. The cost
comparison for these two different types of farming practices
adopted by the farmers was as given in Table 3 and Table 4.
Potential impacts of organic farming
Attempts were made on the potential effects of organic farming on
human health, water bodies, livestock, air, soil fertility and biodi-
versity. All the important impacts of this study were grouped into
four categories and these categories included social, economical,
agricultural and environment impacts.
Elements for sustainable developments
Studies were based on the actual farm observations for the require-
ment of different types of nutrients and pesticides for different crops
per hectare and average values were taken for calculations of
important elements for organic farming and sustainable develop-
ment for a country like Ethiopia. Our main approach was on the
study of natural resources (organic pesticides and organic fertili-
zers) available in the country, which could support the organic mat-
ter based farming system without compromising the total crop pro-
duction. Measurements were for the total arable land available in
Ethiopia for agricultural practices with the help of UNDP data. Then
the calculations were made on the basis of total avail-ability of
compost/vermicompost, poultry manure, FYM and biopesticides in
the country from different sources. Individual amount of compost /
vermicompost, poultry manure, FYM and biopesticides was calcula-
ted required for the organic farming for the whole agricultural land
of Ethiopia. Then assumptions were made for the possibility of sus-
tainable development and organic farming with the present availa-
ble natural resources (compost/vermicompost, poultry manure,
FYM and biopesticides) of the country.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The study was done during 2005 - 2006 in the country
site villages of around Gonder, Jimma, Moyas, Harar and
Diredawa towns as these locations were covering the
four directions of Ethiopia as shown in Figure 1. The total
land area of country is 108.5 million hectares and out of
this, 45% is arable land out of which only 3% is irrigated,
25% forest, woodlands and savannas and 30% is waste-
202 Sci. Res. Essays
Table 4. Average cost (per ha/year) and its comparison for inorganic and organic farming system
in Ethiopia.
Activity Inorganic farming (US$) Organic farming (US$)
Seedbed preparation 20 10
Fertilizers 50 40
Seeding 10 5
Irrigation 50 50
Thinning 20 10
Weed and Pest management 100 25
Harvesting 50 30
Supervison 20 20
Total cost 320 (Birr 2752) 190 (Birr-1634)
Jimma Town
Gondar Town
Moya’s Town
Harar Town
Dire Dawa
Town
Figure 1. Map of the study sites.
land. Total land available for agriculture in Ethiopia is
3.25 million hectare. From Table 1, it was found that
crops and livestock accounts for more than 75% of their
total exports and contributes a good percentage towards
GDP (45%) of the country.
It was found from Table 2, that the important crops gro-
wing in Ethiopia were cereals (tef, barley, maize, wheat,
sorghum, oats and finger millets), pulses (horse bean,
field pea, haricot bean, chickpea, grass pea and lentil), oil
crops (Niger seed, linseed, safflower, rapeseed, ground-
nut, safflower and sesame), root and fibers crops (nnset,
Irish, sweet potato, potatoes, taro, yams and carrots),
fruits-vegetables (citrus, papaya, banana, avo-cado,
mango, cabbage, tomato, hot peppers, pumpkin, onions
and garlic) and cash crops (coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco,
spices, sugar cane and chat). The livestock and different
types of crops were the important source of income for
farmers.
As shown in Table 3, the important farming inputs are
NPK fertilizers, herbicides, compost/vermicompost, poul-
try manure, FYM, chemical pesticides and biopesticides.
The total amount required (ha/year) for N, P, and K are
100, 50 and 100 kg, respectively and the total cost of
NPK is US$ 100. Biofertilizers required (ha/year) includes
compost/vermicompost of 5 ton, poultry manure 5 ton
and FYM is of 30 ton and the total cost of biofertilizers is
US$ 40.The amount of chemical insecticides (ha/year)
required is about 70 kg and its cost is US$ 100. Similarly
biopesticides requirement (ha/year) is of 50 kg and its
cost is US$ 25 as shown in Table 3.
It is evident from Table 4 that different activities for crop
production are field/seedbed preparation, fertilizers, see-
ding, irrigation, thinning, weed and pest management,
harvesting and supervision and the cost of these active-
ties for chemical farming are US$ 20, US$ 50, US$ 10,
US$ 50, US$ 20, US$ 100, US$ 50 and US$ 20 respec-
tively and for organic farming these were US$ 10, US$
40, US$ 5, US$ 50, US$ 10, US$ 25, US$ 30 and US$
20 respectively for per ha/year. It was also clear from
Table 4 that the total cost of chemical farming for per
Devi et al 203
Table 5. Elements available/required for sustainable development in context to Ethiopian farming
system (ton/year).
Components Quantity available (ton/year) Quantity required (ton/year)
Compost/vermicompost 1.6 x 1011 3.25 x 1010
Poultry manure 8.5 x 109 3.2 x 109
FYM 1.8 x 1010 9.7 x 107
Biopesticides Abundant 1.6 x 1010
ha/year in Ethiopia was US$ 320 and that was equi-
valent to 2752 birr (Ethiopian currency) and for organic
farming (ha/year) this cost was US$ 190 (1634 birr).
From the cost comparison of chemical farming and orga-
nic farming, it was found that chemical farming was
40.6% more costly.
Table 5 indicates that the important elements for sus-
tainable development in a country like Ethiopia for orga-
nic farming are compost/vermicompost, poultry manure,
FYM and biopesticides. The amount required for 3.25
million hectares (total agricultural land) per year for com-
post/vermicompost, poultry manure, FYM and biopesti-
cides are 3.25 x 1010 ton, 3.2 x 109 ton, 9.7 x 107 ton and
1.6 x 1010 ton respectively. The total amounts available
per year in country for each category were 1.6 x 1011 ton
of compost/vermicompost, 8.5 x 109 ton of poultry
manure, 1.8 x 1010 ton of FYM and biopesticides are in
abundance. On the basis of data mentioned in Table 5, it
could depict that the amount of essential elements for
sustainable development in Ethiopia are in sufficient
amount.
There are some assumptions of this study regarding
the organic farming for its social and economical impacts,
agricultural and environmental impacts. According to the
belief, the social impacts included better health condi-
tions, more employment generation, decreasing rural
migration, storage for longer period, eco-friendly work
environment and better education opportunities. The
important economical impacts may be organic farming
will be 40.6% cheaper than chemical farming and hence
income security in peasant, reduction of cash investment,
more return, low risk and self-sufficient and stronger rural
economy. Impact on agriculture can be conservation of
germplasm, balanced food-quality, soil fertility and micro-
bial activities, tolerance against pest/diseases, self-dep-
endent and stable production system and the possible
impacts on environment may be in terms of reduction of
soil pollution, maintenance of soil nutrients and soil
microorganisms, control on soil erosion, protection of bio-
diversity, check on air and water pollution and sustain-
able production.
Conclusion
Ethiopia is a country of farmers and 85% of its population
is engaged in farming activities. From the ongoing resear-
ch, it is clear that the scope of organic farming is bright in
this country and it is about 40.6% more economical than
inorganic farming. Organic farming will help the farmers
to maintain the similar returns with less input. It is also
environmental friendly and at the same time, maintains
the soil fertility and its integrity. This farming system will
also help farmers on control over their means of produc-
tion and greater independence. Finally, it can be conclu-
ded that organic farming is the way towards sustainable
development for a developing country like Ethiopia. The
Ethiopian government may also capture international
market of organic products and hence earn more foreign
exchange by exporting organic products to even develop
countries like USA, Japan, European countries and other
neighboring countries.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Author is highly thankful to the Education Ministry of
Ethiopia and UNDP for this opportunity to visit Ethiopia
and provide funds enable to work on different environ-
mental aspects of Ethiopia.
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... This is even true in the leading countries in organic agriculture such as Uruguay which cultivate only 6.26 % of its arable land organically (Willer and Kilcher, 2011). Further adoption of organic farming in developing countries is restricted by core challenges such as food security, increased labor requirements, lack of domestic demand, and high certification costs (Priyanka and Hermann, 2013;Klimov, 2011;Oelofse et al., 2010;Kassie, et al., 2008;Scoones and Elsaesser, 2008;Devi, et al., 2007;Ramesh et al., 2005;Walaga, 2005) Although organic farming was major traditional farming practice in Gaza strip, farmers nowadays do not practice organic farming. Declining the owned land szie pushed farmers to apply intensive farming approaches that depend on using fertilizers and other agrochemicals. ...
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Organic farming has achieved significant growth in developing countries. However, it is still in some areas such as Gaza strip at embryonic stage. Introduction and promotion of organic farming would need more information about economic feasibility of shifting from the existing conventional farms to organic farming system. This is the main aim of this study. Data was collected from 100 randomly selected farmers in southern area of Gaza strip using standard questionnaire. Additional focus group discussions were conducted for further qualitative analyses. Data was also collected from the organic farm of Safe Agriculture Association where vegetables are organically produced and marketed. Gross margin and comparative analyses were used to describe cost structure of conventional and organic production and to assess economic potentialities to shift to organic farming. Results varied among vegetable crops as some crops showed very high economic potential to shift to organic farming while other crops did not. Major reasons for crops with good potential were higher yield under organic farming, premium market prices and lower production costs. Major reasons for lower economic potential to shift were the significant lower yield and higher production costs. The study recommends further technical research to explore organic production techniques that allows for higher yield and lower production cost. The study also recommends further market research to investigate consumers' preferences and willingness to pay for organic products.
... However, the availability of organic materials for soil application is a major issue. Theoretically, the annually available organic materials in Ethiopia were estimated to be 8.5 × 10 9 t of poultry manure, 1.8 × 10 10 t of farmyard manure, and 1.6 × 10 11 t of compost [128]. This amount of organic materials could be a good basis for sustainable agricultural practices [73,127], but the majority of available organic matter is used for other purposes as fuel, food for animals or construction material (see Section 2.3). ...
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Agriculture is the backbone of the Ethiopian economy, and the agricultural sector is dominated by smallholder farming systems. The farming systems are facing constraints such as small land size, lack of resources, and increasing degradation of soil quality that hamper sustainable crop production and food security. The effects of climate change (e.g., frequent occurrence of extreme weather events) exacerbate these problems. Applying appropriate technologies like climate-smart agriculture (CSA) can help to resolve the constraints of smallholder farming systems. This paper provides a comprehensive overview regarding opportunities and challenges of traditional and newly developed CSA practices in Ethiopia, such as integrated soil fertility management, water harvesting, and agroforestry. These practices are commonly related to drought resilience, stability of crop yields, carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas mitigation, and higher household income. However, the adoption of the practices by smallholder farmers is often limited, mainly due to shortage of cropland, land tenure issues, lack of adequate knowledge about CSA, slow return on investments, and insufficient policy and implementation schemes. It is suggested that additional measures be developed and made available to help CSA practices become more prevalent in smallholder farming systems. The measures should include the utilization of degraded and marginal lands, improvement of the soil organic matter management, provision of capacity-building opportunities and financial support, as well as the development of specific policies for smallholder farming.
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Depletion of soil organic matter was found to be the primary biophysical factor causing declining per capita food production in sub-Saharan Africa. The magnitude of this problem was exacerbated by moisture-stress and imbalanced fertilizer application that caused Striga weed infestation. To address such confounded issues, two-year field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of residual vermicompost and preceding groundnut on soil fertility, sorghum yield, and Striga density. The first-year treatments contained two sowing methods (single and intercropped sorghum), two seedbed types (open-furrow and tied-ridge), and four vermicompost rates (0, 1.5, 3.0, and 4.5 t/ha) combined factorially in a randomized block design. In the second-year experiment, only monocropped sorghum with seedbed types was sown exactly on the same plot as the previous year's treatment combinations without fertilizer. The results disclosed that residual vermicompost at 4.5 t/ ha in intercropped sorghum/groundnut significantly reduced soil pH (0.76%), bulk density (8.61%), electrical conductivity (38.78%), and Striga density (85.71%). In contrast, compared to unamended soil, the aforementioned treatment combined with tied-ridging increased soil moisture, organic matter, and sorghum yield by 16.67, 2.34, and 58%, respectively. Moreover, this treatment combination markedly increased post-harvest soil organic carbon (7.69%), total N (0.247%), available P (38.46%), exchangeable-Fe (27%), and exchangeable-Zn (40%) in the second year over control. Treatments previously amended with 4.5 t/ha of vermicompost under the sorghum-groundnut intercrop system resulted in the highest total N (0.242%) and available P (9.822 mg/Kg). Thus, the vermicompost and groundnut successfully improve soil fertility and sorghum yield for two cropping seasons.
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Organic farming in Poland has been developing dynamically since the accession to the EU. However, there are considerable differences in the level of organic farming development in particular regions. Therefore, it is vital to identify the primary factors and conditions for this development and their importance considering their spatial distribution. The presented paper aims to estimate the relationships between the level of organic agriculture development and selected conditions of financial and environmental character. The investigation is based on primary data for 2017 retrieved from the Local Data Bank of the Main Statistical Office and Agricultural and Food Quality Inspection database for all Poland districts. In order to achieve this objective, a multivariate statistical analysis method—the canonical correlation was applied. The analysis was preceded by constructing the composite indices of organic agriculture development and its conditions based on a Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method and correlation analysis between the indices developed by the authors. The performed canonical analysis showed two statistically significant canonical variables with relatively high values of the canonical correlation (0.74 and 0.59). It proves that the degree of explaining the variability of one set of variables through linear relationships (referring to the level of organic farming development), by the second input data set (describing the determinants of the development), by successive pairs of canonical variables is high. This means that the created model describes relatively well the considered data sets.
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The decline in soil fertility is widespread in Tigray and is threatening food security. The ever-increasing price of inorganic fertilizers (IF) is becoming a main problem for majority of farmers. Hence there is a need for alternative low cost soil fertility enhancing technologies. Farmyard manure (FYM) can be an alternative but its shortage limits its use as organic fertilizer. Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) which implies combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers and helps to overcome the problems associated with single application of either source for enhanced crop productivity. Based on this fact, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of integrated application of inorganic fertilizers and FYM on soil fertility status and on yield and yield components of upland rice. A 4x3 factorial experiment consisting of four levels of inorganic fertilizers (0, 25, 50 and 75 kg/ha) and three levels of FYM (0, 6 and 9 t/ha) was laid out in RCB Design with three replications. Rice (variety: NERICA-3) was planted in rows. The results revealed that Organic Carbon, CEC, ava.P and ava.K contents of the soil increased with the use of FYM in conjunction with IF (p<0.05). The results also revealed that application of 9t/ha FYM with 75 kg/ha of IF resulted in grain yield of 44.4Ql/ha (p< 0.05) and delayed flowering and maturity by about 14.67 days and 20.33 days respectively, but the dominance analysis showed that the higher agronomic yield (44.4 Ql/ha) did not brought highest profit because the value of the increase in yield is not enough to compensate for the increase in costs. The highest MRR (2018%) was between treatments 1 and 9 and use of 6t/ha of FYM with no inorganic fertilizer. The second highest MRR was 2013%. Hence, farmyard manure (FYM) could be used instead of inorganic fertilizers to get higher net economic benefit but due to the problem of unavailability of FYM in excess amount, farmers could use the third highest MRR which is 1356%. Hence, it would be reasonable to conclude that integrating FYM along with inorganic fertilizers would be the best alternative because this not only increased the rice yield but also improved the fertility status of the soil, and could save part of the money that would have been paid for the greater doses of the chemical fertilizer and is socially acceptable. The perception of the respondent farmers to inorganic fertilizers showed that 76% of the respondents had no willingness to use inorganic fertilizers at full dose. Therefore, taking the findings of the present study into consideration, it may be concluded that the farmers at the Tselemti wereda may apply a combination of 9t/ha FYM and 75kg/ha inorganic fertilizer to improve the yield, soil fertility and economy of the farmers in rice cultivation. However, more such studies need to be conducted at various soil and agro-climatic conditions to generate more detailed information.
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Because of political and other reasons the structural problems of agriculture in the former Soviet Union were never solved. Ineffective agricultural policies and practices have not only led to an insufficient production volume but also to environmental problems (e.g. by pesticides and their metabolites) and to agro-ecological problems (erosion and decrease of soil humus content). The former Academy of Agricultural Science (VASKHN1L) supported a project to convert sections of state and collective farms towards the more sustainable systems of organic agriculture. Preliminary experiences gained on two of these farms during the first year (1991) are described and discussed. Furthermore it is discussed, within the context of recent political/economic developments, what prospects there are for organic agriculture on different types of farms. On the national level it is important whether organic farms will be able to achieve the same or better crop yields per hectare than conventional farms to fulfil the national demand for agricultural products. As an example, it has been calculated what yield level of potatoes could be feasible in organic production systems. Finally, it is briefly considered what is needed at this moment for the sustainable development of agriculture in Russia.
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Whether talking to local farmers or studying academic papers there is general agreement that environmental degradation is impacting upon agricultural productivity in Ethiopia. In a country, where around 90% of the population are dependent on agriculture for subsistence requirements and a similar fraction of the country's export income is generated from the agriculture sector, environmental degradation with subsequent decline in agricultural productivity has serious repercussions on household and national economies alike. This paper argues that given the intimate relationship between environmental degradation and poverty, environmental education has an important role to play in any poverty alleviation strategy. The paper explores the history of environmental education in Ethiopia and concludes that the formal sector, which has thus far formed the main point of delivery, is not well suited to delivering a meaningful programme that can elicit progress towards more sustainable land-use practices. The authors argue that non formal and participatory programme delivered through existing local organizations can have a ‘wider broadcast’, a more immediate impact and are better able to absorb and utilize local knowledge.
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