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Green Farming: Practice of Agroforestry as Response to Climate Variability and Strategy for Farm Income Diversification in Kafa Zone, Southwest Ethiopia

Received: 22 January 2024     Accepted: 8 February 2024     Published: 10 May 2024
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Abstract

Agroforestry farming is a crucial agricultural practice that has been the indigenous economic activity of tropical areas since early times. In addition to its financial advantages, this economic activity plays a significant role in environmental conservation. The study's objective was to evaluate the spread and content of agroforestry practices for raising farm income and climate adaptation in the Kafa Zone of southwest Ethiopia. To address the objective of this study, a survey design was used. Purposive sampling and simple random sampling techniques were employed to select sample. Approximately 375 sample households were surveyed. In addition, interviews, Focus Group Discussion, and observation were used during this study for the collection of data. As the study results showed, the hectares of land use under agroforestry were vary among the study kebeles. There was a significant difference among the study areas regarding land use size under agroforestry (F2 was 11.869, and sign was 0.03). In addition, the study revealed diversified agroforestry with crop species were found in home garden agroforestry. Similarly, the variability of the tree species per plot in agroforestry land use was significantly associated with the agroecology of the study area (p<0.05), which was greater varieties in the Dega agroecological area than in the Kola area. The main challenges to the practices of diversification of agroforestry in the study area were issues related with market accessibility, climate, wildlife, and agricultural policy. About 86.4% of the farmers surveyed indicated that there were limitations on support or government help for seedlings. To conclude, the agroforestry farm implementation in the study was related to indigenous knowledge-based practice, which was highly focus on coffee and gardens. To improve and implement sound agroforestry practices, the concerning body needs to strengthen a policy and plan that initiates diverse species in agroforestry practices.

Published in International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy (Volume 12, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijepp.20241202.11
Page(s) 21-43
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), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Agroforestry, Climate Variability, Farm Income Diversification, Kafa Zone, Challenges of Agroforestry

References
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  • APA Style

    Olana, F., Ankilo, T., Hailu, A., Manie, N. (2024). Green Farming: Practice of Agroforestry as Response to Climate Variability and Strategy for Farm Income Diversification in Kafa Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy, 12(2), 21-43. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20241202.11

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    ACS Style

    Olana, F.; Ankilo, T.; Hailu, A.; Manie, N. Green Farming: Practice of Agroforestry as Response to Climate Variability and Strategy for Farm Income Diversification in Kafa Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Int. J. Environ. Prot. Policy 2024, 12(2), 21-43. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20241202.11

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    AMA Style

    Olana F, Ankilo T, Hailu A, Manie N. Green Farming: Practice of Agroforestry as Response to Climate Variability and Strategy for Farm Income Diversification in Kafa Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Int J Environ Prot Policy. 2024;12(2):21-43. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20241202.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijepp.20241202.11,
      author = {Fikadu Olana and Tesema Ankilo and Addisu Hailu and Nigussie Manie},
      title = {Green Farming: Practice of Agroforestry as Response to Climate Variability and Strategy for Farm Income Diversification in Kafa Zone, Southwest Ethiopia
    },
      journal = {International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy},
      volume = {12},
      number = {2},
      pages = {21-43},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijepp.20241202.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20241202.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijepp.20241202.11},
      abstract = {Agroforestry farming is a crucial agricultural practice that has been the indigenous economic activity of tropical areas since early times. In addition to its financial advantages, this economic activity plays a significant role in environmental conservation. The study's objective was to evaluate the spread and content of agroforestry practices for raising farm income and climate adaptation in the Kafa Zone of southwest Ethiopia. To address the objective of this study, a survey design was used. Purposive sampling and simple random sampling techniques were employed to select sample. Approximately 375 sample households were surveyed. In addition, interviews, Focus Group Discussion, and observation were used during this study for the collection of data. As the study results showed, the hectares of land use under agroforestry were vary among the study kebeles. There was a significant difference among the study areas regarding land use size under agroforestry (F2 was 11.869, and sign was 0.03). In addition, the study revealed diversified agroforestry with crop species were found in home garden agroforestry. Similarly, the variability of the tree species per plot in agroforestry land use was significantly associated with the agroecology of the study area (p<0.05), which was greater varieties in the Dega agroecological area than in the Kola area. The main challenges to the practices of diversification of agroforestry in the study area were issues related with market accessibility, climate, wildlife, and agricultural policy. About 86.4% of the farmers surveyed indicated that there were limitations on support or government help for seedlings. To conclude, the agroforestry farm implementation in the study was related to indigenous knowledge-based practice, which was highly focus on coffee and gardens. To improve and implement sound agroforestry practices, the concerning body needs to strengthen a policy and plan that initiates diverse species in agroforestry practices.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Green Farming: Practice of Agroforestry as Response to Climate Variability and Strategy for Farm Income Diversification in Kafa Zone, Southwest Ethiopia
    
    AU  - Fikadu Olana
    AU  - Tesema Ankilo
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijepp.20241202.11
    T2  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
    JF  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
    JO  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-7536
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20241202.11
    AB  - Agroforestry farming is a crucial agricultural practice that has been the indigenous economic activity of tropical areas since early times. In addition to its financial advantages, this economic activity plays a significant role in environmental conservation. The study's objective was to evaluate the spread and content of agroforestry practices for raising farm income and climate adaptation in the Kafa Zone of southwest Ethiopia. To address the objective of this study, a survey design was used. Purposive sampling and simple random sampling techniques were employed to select sample. Approximately 375 sample households were surveyed. In addition, interviews, Focus Group Discussion, and observation were used during this study for the collection of data. As the study results showed, the hectares of land use under agroforestry were vary among the study kebeles. There was a significant difference among the study areas regarding land use size under agroforestry (F2 was 11.869, and sign was 0.03). In addition, the study revealed diversified agroforestry with crop species were found in home garden agroforestry. Similarly, the variability of the tree species per plot in agroforestry land use was significantly associated with the agroecology of the study area (p<0.05), which was greater varieties in the Dega agroecological area than in the Kola area. The main challenges to the practices of diversification of agroforestry in the study area were issues related with market accessibility, climate, wildlife, and agricultural policy. About 86.4% of the farmers surveyed indicated that there were limitations on support or government help for seedlings. To conclude, the agroforestry farm implementation in the study was related to indigenous knowledge-based practice, which was highly focus on coffee and gardens. To improve and implement sound agroforestry practices, the concerning body needs to strengthen a policy and plan that initiates diverse species in agroforestry practices.
    
    VL  - 12
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Author Information
  • Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Bonga University, Bonga, Ethiopia

  • Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Bonga University, Bonga, Ethiopia

  • Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Bonga University, Bonga, Ethiopia

  • Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Bonga University, Bonga, Ethiopia

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