Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-14T08:35:19.084Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

RESTORING CROPLAND PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFITABILITY IN NORTHERN ETHIOPIAN DRYLANDS AFTER NINE YEARS OF RESOURCE-CONSERVING AGRICULTURE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2015

TESFAY ARAYA*
Affiliation:
Department of Agronomy, University of Fort Hare, PBX1314, Alice 5700, South Africa Department of Crop and Horticultural Science, Mekelle University, P.O. Box 231, Mekelle, Ethiopia
JAN NYSSEN
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 (S8), B-9000 Gent, Belgium
BRAM GOVAERTS
Affiliation:
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), A.P. 6-641, Mexico D.F. 06600, México
FRÉDÉRIC BAUDRON
Affiliation:
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), P.O. Box 5689 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
LOUISE CARPENTIER
Affiliation:
Department of Soil Management, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Gent, Belgium
HANS BAUER
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, K.U.Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium
SIL LANCKRIET
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 (S8), B-9000 Gent, Belgium
JOZEF DECKERS
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, K.U.Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium
WIM M. CORNELIS
Affiliation:
Department of Soil Management, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Gent, Belgium
*
§Corresponding author. Email: tesfayw2002@yahoo.com, tesfayaraya@gmail.com

Summary

Long-term in situ soil and water conservation experiments are rare in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Eastern Africa. A long-term experiment was conducted (2005–2013) on a Vertisol to quantify the impacts of resource-conserving agriculture (RCA) on runoff, soil loss, soil fertility and crop productivity and economic profitability in northern Ethiopia. Two RCA practices were developed from traditional furrow tillage practices: (i) derdero+ (DER+) and terwah+ (TER+). DER+ is a furrow and permanent raised bed planting system, tilled once at planting time by refreshing the furrow and 30% of crop residue is retained. TER+ is ploughed once at planting, furrows are made at 1.5 m intervals and 30% crop residue is retained. The third treatment was a conventional tillage (CT) with a minimum of three tillage operations and complete removal of crop residues. Wheat, teff, barley and grass pea crops were grown in rotation. Runoff, and soil and nutrient loss were measured in plastic sheet-lined collector trenches. Significantly different (P < 0.05) runoff coefficients (%) and soil losses (t ha−1) averaged over 9 yrs were 14 and 3, 22 and 11 and 30 and 17 for DER+, TER+ and CT, respectively. Significant improvements in crop yield and gross margin were observed after a period of three years of cropping This study demonstrated that RCA systems in semi-arid agro-ecosystems constitute a field rainwater conservation and soil fertility improvement strategy that enhances crop productivity and economic profitability. Adoption of RCA systems (DER+ and TER+) in the study area requires further work to improve smallholder farmers’ awareness on benefits, to guarantee high standards during implementation and to design appropriate weed management strategies.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Astatke, A. and Jabbar, M. (2001). Low-cost animal-drawn implements for Vertisol management and strategies for land-use intensification. In The Sustainable Management of Vertisols. IBSRAM Proceedings 20. CAB (Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau), International, Slough, Wallingford, UK (Eds Syers, J.vk., Penning de Vries, F. and Nyamudeza, P.), 189201.Google Scholar
Baudron, F., Tittonell, P., Corbeels, M., Letourmy, P. and Giller, K. E. (2012). Comparative performance of conservation agriculture and current smallholder farming practices in semi-arid Zimbabwe. Field Crops Research 132:117128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bremner, J. M. and Mulvaney, C. S. (1982). Nitrogen-total. In Methods of Soil Analysis. Part II. Agronomy Series No. 9, 595624 (Ed Black, C. A.). Madison, WI, USA: ASA.Google Scholar
Corbeels, M., Shiferaw, A. and Haile, M. (2000). Farmers’ knowledge of soil fertility and local management strategies in Tigray, Ethiopia. Managing Africa's Soils, vol. 10IIED, London.Google Scholar
Derpsch, R., Friedrich, T., Kassam, A. and Hongwen, L. (2010). Current status of adoption of no-till farming in the world and some of its main benefits. International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering 3:125.Google Scholar
Erenstein, O. (2002). Crop residue mulching in tropical and semi-tropical countries: an evaluation of residue availability and other technological implications. Soil and Tillage Research 67:115133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erkossa, T., Stahr, K. and Thomas, G. (2005). Soil tillage and crop productivity on a vertisol in Ethiopian highlands. Soil and Tillage Research 85:200211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FAO. (1988). FAO-UNESCO Soil Map of the World, Revised legend. World Soil Resources Report 60, FAO, Rome, Italy.Google Scholar
Fufa, H., Tesfa, B., Hailu, T., Kibebew, A., Tiruneh, K., Aberra, D. and Seyfu, K. (2001). Agronomy research in Teff. In Narrowing the Rift. Teff Research and Development. Proceedings of the International Workshop on Teff Genetics and Improvement, DebreZeit, Ethiopia (Eds Hailu, T., Getachew, B. and Sorrells, M. E.), 16–19 October 2000, 167176.Google Scholar
Gebregziabher, S., Mouazen, A. M., Van Brussel, H., Ramon, H., Nyssen, J., Verplancke, H., Behailu, M., Deckers, J. and De Baerdemaeker, J. (2006). Animal drawn tillage, the Ethiopian ard plough, mahresha: a review. Soil and Tillage Research 89:129143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giller, K. E., Witter, E., Corbeels, M. and Tittonell, P. (2009). Conservation agriculture and smallholder farming in Africa: the heretics’ view. Field Crops Research 114:2334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Govaerts, B., Sayre, K. D. and Deckers, J. (2005). Stable high yields with zero tillage and permanent bed planting? Field Crops Research 94:3342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Govaerts, B., Sayre, K. D., Lichter, K., Dendooven, L. and Deckers, J. (2007). Influence of permanent raised bed planting and residue management on physical and chemical soil quality in rain fed maize/wheat systems. Plant and Soil 291:3954.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grabham, G. and Black, R. (1925). Report of the Mission to Lake Tana 1920–1921. Cairo: Government Press.Google Scholar
Habtegebrial, K., Singh, B. R. and Haile, M. (2007). Impact of tillage and nitrogen fertilization on yield, nitrogen efficiency of teff (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.)Trotter) and soil properties. Soil and Tillage Research 94:5563.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lal, R. (1989). Conservation tillage for sustainable agriculture: tropical versus temperate environments. Advances in Agronomy 42:85197.Google Scholar
Lanckriet, S., Araya, T., Derudder, B., Cornelis, W., Bauer, H., Govaerts, B., Deckers, J., Haile, M., Naudts, J. and Nyssen, J. (2014). Towards practical implementation of conservation agriculture: a case study in the May Zeg-zeg catchment (Ethiopia). Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 38:913935.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Makeham, J. P. and Malcolm, L. R. (1986). The Economics of Tropical Farm Management. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Nyssen, J., Govaerts, B., Araya, T., Cornelis, W. M., Bauer, H., Mitiku Haile, M., Sayre, K. and Deckers, J. (2011). The use of the marasha ard plough for conservation agriculture in northern Ethiopia. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 31:287297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsen, S. R., Cole, C. V., Watanabe, F. S. and Dean, L. A. (1954). Estimation of available phosphorus in soils by extraction with sodium bicarbonate. Circular / United States Department of Agriculture (no. 939). Washington: USDA.Google Scholar
Pender, J. and Gebremedhin, B. (2004). Impacts of policies and technologies in dryland agriculture: Evidence from northern Ethiopia. In Challenges and Strategies of Dryland Agriculture, 389416 (Eds Rao, S. C. and Ryan, J.). Madison, WI: Crop Science Society of America.Google Scholar
Pender, J. and Gebremedhin, B. (2008). Determinants of agricultural and land management practices and impacts on crop production and household income in the highlands of Tigray, Ethiopia. Journal of African Economics 17:395450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raes, D., Willems, P. and Gbaguidi, F. (2006). RAINBOW – A software package for hydrometeorological frequency analysis and testing the homogeneity of historical data sets. Proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Sustainable Management of Marginal Drylands. 4th International Workshop on Sustainable Management of Marginal Drylands. Islamabad, Pakistan, 27–31 January, 2006, 4155.Google Scholar
Rockström, J. (2000). Water resources management in smallholder farms in Eastern and Southern Africa: an Overview. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth (B) 25:275283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SAS. (2002). JMP Software Version 5. Cary, NC, USA: SAS Institute Inc.Google Scholar
Sasakawa Global. (2002). Proceedings of the Workshop on Conservation Tillage. Melkassa, Ethiopia, 4 April, 2002, 48–49.Google Scholar
Sayre, K. D. (1998). Ensuring the use of sustainable crop management strategies by small wheat farmers in the 21st century. Wheat Special Report No. 48. Mexico, DF: CIMMYT.Google Scholar
Senkondo, E. M. M., Msangi, A. S. K., Xavery, P., Lazaro, E. A. and Hatibu, N. (2004). Profitability of rainwater harvesting for agricultural production in selected semi-arid areas of Tanzania. Journal of Applied Irrigation Science 39:6581.Google Scholar
Stroosnijder, L. (2009). Modifying land management in order to improve efficiency of rainwater use in the African highlands. Soil and Tillage Research 103:247256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tesfay, A., Cornelis, W. M., Nyssen, J., Govaerts, B., Getnet, F., Bauer, H., Raes, D., Amare, K., Haile, M. and Deckers, J. (2012). Medium-term effects of conservation agriculture for in-situ soil and water management and crop productivity in the northern Ethiopian highlands. Field Crops Research 132:5362.Google Scholar
Tesfay, A., Cornelis, W. M., Nyssen, J., Govaerts, B., Gebregziabher, T., Oicha, T., Getnet, F., Raes, D., Haile, M., Deckers, J. and Sayre, K. D. (2011). Effects of conservation agriculture on runoff, soil loss and crop yield under rain fed conditions in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Soil Use and Management 27:404414.Google Scholar
Tesfay, A., Nyssen, J., Govaerts, B., Bauer, H., Deckers, J. and Cornelis, W. M. (2014). Improved soil quality after seven years of conservation agriculture-based resource saving farming systems in Ethiopian drylands. Submitted to Soil Research.Google Scholar
Tesfay, A., Nyssen, J., Govaerts, B., Deckers, J. and Cornelis, W. M. (2015). Impacts of conservation agriculture-based farming systems on optimizing seasonal rainfall partitioning and productivity on vertisols in the Ethiopian drylands. Soil Till. Res. 148:113 Google Scholar
Tessema, T. and Lemma, Y. (1998). Qualitative and quantitative determination of weeds in tef in West Shewa Zone. Arem 4:4660.Google Scholar
Tilahun, K. (1999). Test of homogeneity, frequency analysis of rainfall data and estimate of drought probabilities in Dire Dawa, eastern Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Natural Resources 1:125136.Google Scholar
Walkley, A. and Black, T. A. (1934). Estimation of organic carbon by chromic acid titration method. Soil Science 37:2938.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zinash, S. (2000). The role of livestock in crop-animal production system in Ethiopia. In Advances in Vertisols Management in the Ethiopian Highlands. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Vertisols management, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia (Eds Paulos, D., Asgelil, D., Asfaw, Z., Gezahegn, A. and Abebe, K.), 28 November –1 December 2000, 5358.Google Scholar