Thesis Chapters by Alem Redda
Perceptions of Climate Change and Determinants of Adaptation Decisions of Smallholder Maize (Zea mays L.) Farmers in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, 2022
Climatic calamities are posing serious challenges to smallholder maize (Zea mays L.) farmers in E... more Climatic calamities are posing serious challenges to smallholder maize (Zea mays L.) farmers in Ethiopia. Adapting to climate change is largely location-specific, and its success is influenced by local institutions and socioeconomic conditions. This study was done to understand maize farmers' perceptions of climate change, investigate its implications, identify local adaptation tactics used by maize farmers, and establish the elements that influence farmers' adaptation decisions, In Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Household surveys were used to acquire primary data from 250 maize producers. To evaluate the data on socioeconomic features and perceptions, descriptive statistics were used, as well as a multinomial logit model to determine the elements that influence farmers' adaption decisions. The majority (91.2%) of the farmers have perceived climate change and the main indicators of climate change were erratic (low) rainfall (88.4%), rising temperatures (83.2%), and increased frequency of drought (79.2%). Decreasing soil fertility (83%) and decreasing crop yields (78%) are the major impacts due to climate change. Hence, 92.8% of the farmers have made adaptation attempts mainly by using crop-livestock integration (24%) and the use of improved maize varieties (20.8%). The econometric analysis indicated that age, gender, education, farm size, livestock ownership, lack of access to credit services, and poor economic status were the key determinants that influenced the farmers' choice of adaptation decisions. It is critical to support maize farmers' indigenous adaptation techniques with a variety of institutional, policy, and technology tools at the farmer and farm level.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
A variety of biological and economic interactions between crop and livestock make crops-livestock... more A variety of biological and economic interactions between crop and livestock make crops-livestock integration appealing to the Ethiopian farmers. The decline in soil fertility is widespread in Tigray, Ethiopia, 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. In addition to its nutrient supply, farmyard manure improves the physicochemical conditions of soils due to its residual effect in the soil's fertility status. 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, a 2 factorial asymmetric experiment was conducted, in 2011/12, to evaluate the effect of integrated application of inorganic fertilizers and FYM 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 used as an indicator crop and planted in rows. The results 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. However, more such studies need to be conducted at various soil and agro-climatic conditions to generate more detailed information.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Rice, 2015
The decline in soil fertility is widespread in Tigray and is threatening food security. The ever-... more The decline in soil fertility is widespread in Tigray and is threatening food security. The ever-increasing price of inorganic fertilizers (IF) is becoming the main problem for the 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) implies the combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers and helps
to overcome the problems associated with a single application of either source for enhanced crop
productivity. Based on this fact, an experiment was conducted, in 2011/12cropping season, 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 a 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 bring the 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
the 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 the 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.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Rice Research-Open Access, 2018
Rice agronomy plays a great role in increasing and sustaining rice production and productivity. D... more Rice agronomy plays a great role in increasing and sustaining rice production and productivity. Due mainly to its relatively recent history of cultivation in Ethiopia, the scientific information available with regards to the response of rice to N and P sources of fertilizers for its production is very limited. An experiment was conducted in 2014 and 2015 in Tigray, Ethiopia, with the objectives of determining the economically optimum rates of N & P sources of fertilizer on yield of rice. Five levels of N (0, 23, 46, 69 and 138 kg N/ha) and four levels of P (0, 23, 46 and 69 kg P 2 O 5 /ha) Factorial experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The interaction effects of N and P were significant (P ≤ 0.05) for grain yield, biomass yield, plant height and days to heading but not for days to maturity, harvest index and thousand seed weight. From the view point of the physical (agronomic) yield, the combined results of the experiment revealed that the combination of 138 kg N/ha and 46 kg P 2 O 5 /ha recorded maximum grain yield of 5723 kg/ha and the control (i.e. no N and no P) gave the lowest grain yield (1601 kg/ha). Unlike that of the agronomic yield, the economic analysis of the combined result of the experiment with two years and two locations revealed that the profitable mean net return of 22208.63 Birr/ha was obtained for the plot that received 69 kg N/ha and 23 kg P 2 O 5 /ha which is 11185.12 Birr more than the net returns obtained from the control (with no urea plus no DAP) which is Birr 11023.51 birr. Therefore, from the economically profitable fertilizer rate use point of view, rice farmers in Tselemti district and similar areas should use the most economically feasible fertilizer rate with highest value of marginal rate of return i.e. 69 kg N/ha with 23 kg P 2 O 5 /ha.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
International Research Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 2017
The integrated nutrient management paradigm acknowledges the integrated use of organic and inorga... more The integrated nutrient management paradigm acknowledges the integrated use of organic and inorganic fertilizers to sustain soil health and crop production. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of integrated application of organic and inorganic fertilizers on soil fertility status using rice as a testing crop. A 4x3 factorial experiment consisting of four levels of inorganic fertilizers i.e. UREA and DAP (each with 0, 25, 50 and 75 kg/ha) and three levels of FYM (0, 6 and 9 t/ha) was laid out in RCBD with three replications. Rice (variety: NERICA-3) was planted in rows. The results revealed that Organic Carbon, CEC, ava. P and exchangeable 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 inorganic fertilizers resulted in grain yield of 4440 kg/ha (p< 0.05). 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 grain 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. Therefore, taking the findings of the present study into consideration, it may be concluded that the farmers at the study area may apply a combination of 9t/ha FYM and 75kg/ha inorganic fertilizer to improve the yield, soil fertility and economic feasibility.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Papers by Alem Redda
Agronomy for Sustainable Development
Due to war conditions, the local farmers had to largely rely on their own crop production, mainly... more Due to war conditions, the local farmers had to largely rely on their own crop production, mainly by subsistence farming, in Tigray, North Ethiopia. We assessed the crop stands in 2021 and evaluated the level of resilience of the indigenous farming system. Quantitative data were collected from 161 farm parcels in various ecoregions of this tropical mountain region, in order to detect the share of sown land, crop types, and their status. This participatory monitoring was accompanied by semi-structured interviews. Farmers cultivated their farms late, left it uncultivated or marginally sowed oil crops as improved fallow (28%), due to lack of farming tools, oxen, fertilizer, seeds, or manpower. As compared to peace years, only few lands were sown with sorghum as there was active warfare in the sorghum planting period. The relatively good stands of wheat and barley (47%) are in line with the farmers’ priority given to cereals. Teff got a large land share because it could be sown up to th...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Sustainable Agriculture Research
Rain-based agriculture is highly vulnerable to climate variability and change. Farmers’ decisions... more Rain-based agriculture is highly vulnerable to climate variability and change. Farmers’ decisions about how to adapt to climate change are influenced by socioeconomic setups and local institutions. The objectives of this study were to evaluate farmers' perceptions of climate change, identify the local adaptation techniques they used, and pinpoint the major socio-economic challenges they faced when putting those strategies into practice. 250 maize farmers were used as samples for the collection of primary data. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the data on socioeconomic characteristics, and the multinomial logistic model was used to identify the factors influencing farmers' decisions to adapt. The majority of households (91.2%) believed that climate change is occurring, and its main symptoms include unpredictable rainfall (88.4%), warming temperatures (83.2%), and more frequent droughts (79.2%). The findings show that farmers' perceptions of rising temperatures...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Challenges and resilience of an indigenous farming system during wartime (Tigray, North Ethiopia)... more Challenges and resilience of an indigenous farming system during wartime (Tigray, North Ethiopia). Agronomy for Sustainable Development, in press.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Rain-based agriculture is highly vulnerable to climate variability and change. Farmers’ decisions... more Rain-based agriculture is highly vulnerable to climate variability and change. Farmers’ decisions about how to adapt to climate change are influenced by socioeconomic setups and local institutions. The objectives of this study were to evaluate farmers' perceptions of climate change, identify the local adaptation techniques they used, and pinpoint the major socio-economic challenges they faced when putting those strategies into practice. 250 maize farmers were used as samples for the collection of primary data. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the data on socioeconomic characteristics, and the multinomial logistic model was used to identify the factors influencing farmers' decisions to adapt. The majority of households (91.2%) believed that climate change is occurring, and its main symptoms include unpredictable rainfall (88.4%), warming temperatures (83.2%), and more frequent droughts (79.2%). The findings show that farmers' perceptions of rising temperatures and weather data matched; however, there was a discrepancy between perception and rainfall records. Reduced maize yields (78%) and declining soil fertility (83%) were the two biggest effects of climate change perceived by the farmers. Accordingly, 92.8% of farmers have developed their best adaptation, primarily through the combination of crops and livestock (24%) and the adoption of enhanced maize varieties (20.8%). The econometric model's findings showed that the primary variables influencing farmers' decisions were age, gender, education, farm size, animal ownership, and poverty. The study recommends supporting the indigenous adaptation techniques of maize farmers from a variety of institutional, policy, and technological angles, both at the farmer and farm levels.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Climatic calamities are posing serious challenges to smallholder maize (Zea mays L.) farmers in E... more Climatic calamities are posing serious challenges to smallholder maize (Zea mays L.) farmers in Ethiopia. Adapting to climate change is largely location-specific, and its success is influenced by local institutions and socioeconomic conditions. This study was done to understand maize farmers' perceptions of climate change, investigate its implications, identify local adaptation tactics used by maize farmers, and establish the elements that influence farmers' adaptation decisions, In Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Household surveys were used to acquire primary data from 250 maize producers. To evaluate the data on socioeconomic features and perceptions, descriptive statistics were used, as well as a multinomial logit model to determine the elements that influence farmers' adaption decisions. The majority (91.2%) of the farmers have perceived climate change and the main indicators of climate change were erratic (low) rainfall (88.4%), rising temperatures (83.2%), and increased frequency of drought (79.2%). Decreasing soil fertility (83%) and decreasing crop yields (78%) are the major impacts due to climate change. Hence, 92.8% of the farmers have made adaptation attempts mainly by using crop-livestock integration (24%) and the use of improved maize varieties (20.8%). The econometric analysis indicated that age, gender, education, farm size, livestock ownership, lack of access to credit services, and poor economic status were the key determinants that influenced the farmers' choice of adaptation decisions. It is critical to support maize farmers' indigenous adaptation techniques with a variety of institutional, policy, and technology tools at the farmer and farm level.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Due to war conditions, the local farmers had to largely rely on their own crop production, mainly... more Due to war conditions, the local farmers had to largely rely on their own crop production, mainly by subsistence farming, in Tigray, North Ethiopia. We assessed the crop stands in 2021 and evaluated the level of resilience of the indigenous farming system. Quantitative data were collected from 161 farm parcels in various ecoregions of this tropical mountain region, in order to detect the share of sown land, crop types and their status. This participatory monitoring was accompanied by semi-structured interviews. Farmers cultivated their farms late, left it uncultivated or marginally sowed oil crops as improved fallow (28%), due to lack of farming tools, oxen, fertilizer, seeds or manpower. As compared to peace years, only few lands were sown with sorghum as there was active warfare in the sorghum planting period. The relatively good stands of wheat and barley (47%) are in line with the farmers' priority given to cereals. Teff got a large land share because it could be sown up to the middle of the main rainy season and because farmers had consumed the seeds of their major cereal crops (wheat and barley) when hiding for warfare. Seeds left from consumption were only sown by late June, when troops had retreated, and the communities could revive. With almost no external support, the local farming system has proven to be remarkably resilient, relying on indigenous knowledge and local practices, block rotation, manure, improved fallow, changes in relative importance of crops, seed exchange and support one another. This is the first analysis of the socio-agronomic roots of the 2021-2022 Tigray
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Rice Research: Open Access, 2018
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bioresource Technology, 2006
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Climatic calamities are posing serious challenges to smallholder maize (Zea mays L.) farmers in E... more Climatic calamities are posing serious challenges to smallholder maize (Zea mays L.) farmers in Ethiopia. Adapting to climate change is mostly location-specific, and its effectiveness depends on local institutions and socioeconomic settings. This study was conducted to elucidate maize farmers’ perceptions of climate change; to investigate its impacts; to identify local adaptation strategies practiced by maize farmers and the factors that determine farmers’ choice of adaptation decisions in Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Primary data were collected from samples of 250 maize farmers using household questionnaires. Descriptive statistics (to analyze the data on socio-economic characteristics and perceptions), and a multinomial logit model (to estimate the factors that influence farmers’ adaptation decisions) were utilized. Majority (91.2%) of the farmers have perceived climate change and the main indicators of climate change were erratic ( low) rainfall ( 88.4% ), rising temperatures ( 83....
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
A variety of biological and economic interactions between crop and livestock make crops-livestock... more A variety of biological and economic interactions between crop and livestock make crops-livestock integration appealing to the Ethiopian farmers. The decline in soil fertility is widespread in Tigray, Ethiopia, 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. In addition to its nutrient supply, farmyard manure improves the physicochemical conditions of soils due to its residual effect in the soil’s fertility status. 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, a 2 factorial asymmetric experiment was conducted, ...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Thesis Chapters by Alem Redda
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) implies the combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers and helps
to overcome the problems associated with a single application of either source for enhanced crop
productivity. Based on this fact, an experiment was conducted, in 2011/12cropping season, 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 a 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 bring the 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
the 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 the 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.
Papers by Alem Redda
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) implies the combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers and helps
to overcome the problems associated with a single application of either source for enhanced crop
productivity. Based on this fact, an experiment was conducted, in 2011/12cropping season, 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 a 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 bring the 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
the 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 the 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.