Relating mechanisms of higher education and research closely to the reality in the society for rural transformation in the <i>Amhara</i>region, Ethiopia

Higher education and research in Ethiopia is going through a decisive phase of reform and expansion. As a system it is increasingly required to respond and gear adequately to the development needs of the society and the country. This change is taking place through a government-led radical review of the system’s status and challenges, and by devising mechanisms of consensus building, as well as ownership and overcoming the resistance to change. Higher education and research institutions of Bahir Dar and Gondar Universities and ARARI, in Ethiopia are not satisfactorily responsive to rural transformation in addressing problems of small-scale farmers. This calls for responsive education and research that addresses farmers’ constraints. Thus, to survey the suitability/appropriateness of the current training programmes of higher education and research institutions to address the actual problems of farmers is of paramount importance. To this effect, tools such as interview guide, checklist and questionnaires were put to use for data collection. Primary data was collected from observation, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Descriptive statistics for quantitative data and triangulation for qualitative data were the prime techniques for data analysis. The result of the study shows that university heads, instructors, students, research heads, researchers and employees rated the suggested mechanisms, namely “inviting speakers from industries and farming community”, “visiting guest lecturers” and “special entrepreneurial project”, as the top most important for ensuring training and research closely to the reality in the society of Amhara region in facilitating agricultural growth and rural transformation. Besides, employers and farmers responded that fresh graduates are deficient with relevant technical skills because of less emphasis on experiential learning on higher education. Therefore, the curriculum for the training should give much weight to incorporate these suggested mechanisms and the higher institutions curriculum should be arranged in such a way that the trainees could obtain appropriate technical know-how.

Competency and constraints of higher education and research institutions for rural transformation in the <i>Amhara</i>region, Ethiopia

Ethiopia is an agrarian country and agriculture is the backbone of its economy. Consequently, the government of Ethiopia has devised Agricultural Development Led Industrialization (ADLI) as the country’s overall economic development policy. For the last 15 years, public investment towards the expansion of higher education, research and extension in agriculture has been so enormous. In reality, however, these higher education and research institutions were not sufficiently responsive to rural transformation. Thus, to evaluate the role of higher education and research institutions in stimulating rural transformation and to identify main training constraints accountable for their poor performances in institutional learning and rural transformation is of paramount importance. To this effect focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted. Stratified and purposive sampling technique was dominantly employed during the survey studies. The result of the study has shown that higher education and research institutions were less responsive to address the actual problems of small-scale farmers and they were limited by a number of constraints/challenges to address the actual problems of farmers. The major constraints were, to list some, limited involvement in research and extension works by the university staff, students limited practical attachments of the training programmes with farming communities, limited infrastructures and facilities and limited availability of contextualized learning resources. In addressing the aforesaid constraints/challenges, the university staff should proportionally allocate time in the research and extension activities on top of practical teaching supported by local research results and experience;involving students on practical attachments both in their academic and vacation time;giving emphasis on basic training preparation like fulfilling libraries, laboratories, demonstration fields and transportation facilities;and lastly to revise the existing curriculum in to the direction of solving the real problems of the Amhara region then the country Ethiopia.

Genotype by Environment Interaction Analysis for Tuber Yield of Potato (<i>Solanum tuberosum</i>L.) Using a GGE Biplot Method in Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Potato is one of the important crops grown in mid and high altitude areas of Ethiopia. Several potato genotypes have been introduced in different parts of this region. However, the stability and performance of these genotypes are not yet assessed. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of genotype, environment and their interaction for tuber yield and identify stable potato genotypes. The study was conducted using eight potato genotypes in rainfed production season of years 2010 and 2011 at five potato growing locations in the region. Randomized complete block design with three replications was used for the experiment. Among the testing locations, the superior mean tuber yield (25.43 t/ha) was obtained at Adet while the inferior (13.89 t/ha) was at Injibara. Similarly, among the genotypes, CIP-396004.337 gave the highest mean tuber yield (25.66 t/ha), while CIP-395011.2 gave the lowest (17.78 t/ha). Combined ANOVA indicated that the main effects due to environments, genotypes and genotype by environment interaction were highly significant. The contribution of E, G and GEI to the total variation in tuber yield was about 47.11%, 8.83% and 44.07%, respectively. The GEI was further partitioned using GGE biplot model. The first two principal components obtained by singular value decomposition of the centered data of tuber yield explained 71.26% of the total variability caused by (G + GE). Out of these variations, PC1 and PC2 accounted 51.24% and 20.02% variability, respectively. GGE biplot view of this study identified Serinka as ideal testing location and CIP-396004.337 as ideal genotype for Amhara region in Ethiopia.

Preliminary survey of Geray reservoir,Amhara National Regional State,West Gojjam,Jabitehnan Woreda,Ethiopia:focus on wetland management

Objective:To collect baseline information,to raise public awareness on the reservoir wetland situation,and to recommend an intervention mechanism to sustain its ecosystem services.Methods:Survey on Geray reservoir was carried out during 2010-2011.Questionnaire survey to collect data in Geray reservoir watershed kebeles was deployed and the data included land use and land cover,livestock and human population,crop patterns,topography and soil type in these kebeles.Focus group discussion with local community to obtain indigenous knowledge was considered.Secondary data collection and relevant literature were surveyed.The collected data were analysed with descriptive statistics.Results:Critical problems observed on the wetland and the surrounding watershed included vegetation cover removal,land degradation,wetland hardening,pressurized grazing,expansion of floating macrophytes on the reservoir,water seepage at the weir,water use management and water use conflicts,drainage structures maintenance and lack of institutional accountability.Open access and inadequate management has increased anthropogenic factors resulting amplified decline of ecosystem goods and services.Conclusions:The reservoir is under growing stress and nearing to disappearance unless and otherwise timely measures are taken to mitigate the prevailing encroachment towards the wetland.Sustainable management of hydrological,ecological,social,biodiversity and economical values based on knowledge and experience on environment,land use,extension services and research to restore and sustain the various values and functions,calls for different stakeholders to alleviate negatively impacting factors on the wetland.Further information generation on the wetland situation on the Geray wetland specifically on wetland valuation is highly demanded.

Ecology and field biology of the sorghum chafer, Pachnoda interrupta (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in Ethiopia

Studies on sorghum chafer (Pachnoda interrupta) were conducted under field condition for two consecutive years (2005 to 2006) to determine the biology and ecology of the beetle. Average oviposition rate by a single female was 1.28 eggs per day for a period of 11 days. In general, eggs hatched within 4 to 22 days with a mean of 15.7 days, after which larval and pupal stages lasted a mean of 59.8 and 18.3 days, respectively. The highest rate of oviposition was recorded during the first four days after mating and none after the eleventh day. A total of 156 and 236 sites or samples were investigated from nine habitats (under tree in forest, under tree in crop fields, in a crop fields, border of crop fields, grazing land, riverside, manure heaps, termite mound and cattle dung in homestead) to identify breeding and hibernating areas of the beetles. Fertile humus and moist light soil under the shade of various tree species in the forest and along the riverside were found to be the potential breeding and hibernating areas of the beetles. Metal boards were used and arranged to east wards, where the sources of flights were expected. During June 2005 outbreak, a total of 1770 beetles with equal sex proportion were caught within 15 days from 36 passive metal board traps, with the beetles’ infestation being first recorded near the Afar border. Monitoring of flight direction at the time of the outbreak using these metal board traps showed no significant difference in beetle catches among different directions (north, south, east and west). In conclusion, the beetles could breed in areas where the previous outbreak did not occur;importantly, the beetle hibernated in fertile and moist soils near river bed of all areas of outbreak.

Outlook of future climate in northwestern Ethiopia

Climate change is described as the most universal and irreversible environmental problem facing the planet Earth. While climate change is already manifesting in Ethiopia through changes in temperature and rainfall, its magnitude is poorly studied at regional levels. The objective of this paper was to assess and quantify the magnitude of future changes of climate parameters using Statistical Downscaling Mode (SDSM) version 4.2 in Amhara Regional State which is located between 8°45‘N and 13°45‘N latitude and 35°46‘E and 40°25‘E longitude. Daily climate data (1979- 2008) of rainfall, maximum and minimum temperatures were collected from 10 observed meteorological stations (predictand). The stations were grouped and compared using clustering and Markov chain model, whereas the degree of climate change in the study area was estimated using the coupled HadCM3 general circulation model (GCM) with A2a emission scenarios (Predictors). Both maximum and minimum temperatures showed an increasing trend;the increase in mean maximum temperature ranges between 1.55°C and 6.07°C and that of the mean minimum temperature ranges from 0.11°C and 2.81°C. While the amount of annual rainfall and rainy days decreased in the study Regions in the 2080s. The negative changes in rainfall and temperature obtained from the HadCM3 model in the current study are alarming and suggest the need for further study with several GCM models to confirm the current results and develop adaptation options.

Tillage and crop management impacts on soil loss and crop yields in northwestern Ethiopia

Lack of appropriate agronomic practices is one of the major causes for soil erosion and low yields in teff(Eragrostis tef[Zucc.])production in Ethiopia.A 3-yr study was conducted at the Aba Gerima watershed in northwestern Ethiopia,to investigate the effects of two tillage practices(reduced tillage[RT]and conventional tillage[CT]),two planting methods(row planting[RP]and broadcast planting[BP]),and two compaction options(with[+T]and without[-T]trampling)on soil loss and teff yields in a split-split plot arrangement.Sediment concentration ranged from 0.01 to 5.37 g L^(-1)(mean,0.25 g L^(-1))in our study.Accordingly,the estimated total(August-October)soil loss ranged from 0.2 to 0.5 t ha^(-1)(mean,0.3 t ha^(-1)).The sediment concentration and total soil loss were significantly influenced(P<0.05)by tillage,planting methods,and trampling only in the third monitoring year.RT reduced soil loss by 19% relative to that of CT,whereas RP resulted in a 13%reduction in soil loss over BP.The-T plots showed a 15%reduction in soil loss as compared to+T plots.Results revealed significant increase in soil total carbon and nitrogen in RT and-T.Less soil loss and greater teff grain yield were obtained in plots with improved agronomic practices(RT and RP)compared to conventional ones(CT and BP).Based on our findings we conclude that the use of RT,RP,and-T practices can effectively minimize soil loss without any crop yield penalty.