Yifru Abera and Taye Belachew
Abstract
In order to design more appropriate research and development programs geared to improving integrated nutrient management practices, understanding farmer’s knowledge is indispensable. However, little effort has been made to capture and characterize the indigenous knowledge of farmers in Ethiopia. This paper discusses the local perception of soil fertility and management practices of farmers in southeastern Ethiopia covered both high and lowland representatives. Twenty farmers who are knowledgeable about soils of the area were randomly selected from each of the three districts to gain insight into different soil fertility management practices, local methods used to identify different soils and to assess the fertility status. Farmers used soil color, texture, water holding capacity, fertilizer requirement (inherent fertility) and workability as a criteria to identify different soil types. However, soil color and texture were commonly used by farmers to describe soil quality. Farmers preferred black and clay soils to white and sandy soils due to their high water holding capacity and inherent fertility. On the other hand, 98% of the respondent perceived the benefit of crop rotation, crop residue management and fertilizer application to improve crop yields though it was impractical owing the escalating price of inorganic fertilizers and crop residues were used as construction material, fuel and source of animal feed. Hence, there is a need to relate farmers’ soil management and classification to the soil classification used in research and extension for efficient dissemination of technologies.