http://ir.haramaya.edu.et//hru/handle/123456789/1 Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:24:25 GMT 2026-04-08T12:24:25Z http://ir.haramaya.edu.et//hru/handle/123456789/8385 DEVELOPING PROTOTYPE AGRICULTURAL KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR KNOWLEDGE SHARING AMONG ACTORS AT ENEBSIE SAR MIDIR DISTRICT AGRICULTURE OFFICE, AMHARA REGION, ETHIOPIA Endalew Getnet Walelign; Prof Lawrence Abraham; Prof Fekadu Beyene; Dr. Jemal Yousuf The objective of this study was to create prototype agricultural knowledge management systems allowing actors in the Enebsie Sar Midir District Agricultural Office to share knowledge. An observation checklist, questionnaire, and interview were utilized to gather data from a sample group of 191 actors, which included 39 district level experts, 15 support staff, 37 farmers, 90 Development Agents, and 10 visitors. A cross-sectional research methodology was used for the study. Both purposeful and random samplings were used in the sampling process. For the district-level agricultural experts and support staff, purposive sampling was used; however, guests were chosen at random, while DAs and farmers were chosen using simple random selection. For data analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics were employed. The study's findings showed that tools including mobile phones, desktop computers, and social networks were used for the management and exchange of agricultural knowledge. Although there were farmers training centers, no knowledge management systems were in place. There were discrepancies amongst actors in terms of the resources for agricultural knowledge that were available. The workplace did not connect the accessible resources, such as mobile and office phones, laptops, and social networks to a knowledge management and sharing system for sharing reasons. One of the elements impacting the sample respondents' knowledge management and sharing was their background. Other factors included capacity development and office procedures for managing agricultural knowledge. The provision of training opportunities for all age groups and educational levels was deemed vital by the sample respondents. Nevertheless, the office lacked a knowledge management system, which caused a high level of knowledge loss. Knowledge silos, a lack of alternative knowledge management methods, and lack of centrally managed documentation systems were all factors that exacerbated the knowledge loss. There were many ways to manage knowledge using mobile devices.Communications may be made and the website could be accessed using a mobile device. All places in the study district could have internet connection via mobile devices acting as hotspots. Computer systems could be used to mobilize, manage, and exchange agricultural knowledge resources. Offline access to knowledge was possible by the created agricultural knowledge management system. On the other hand, the website's dynamic nature allowed for regular communications, the mobilization of resources, and the storage of information. Thus, employing the existing knowledge management resources, such as desktop computers, was a useful strategy for managing and sharing knowledge.The developed systems could be applied at the farmers' training centers for knowledge exchange, where it would be possible to execute group actions and share resources like information and communication technology. The use of information and communication technologies facilitated the participation and decision making of of all actors in knowledge management and sharing activities. The developed systems could leverage multimedia information and knowledge supplies, availing local content for numerous participants that include farmers. The website and the prototype knowledge management system might both be used by the Enebsie Sar Midir District Agricultural Office to carry out its functions, such as communicating, sending, and sharing knowledge or information among its actors. The evaluation results indicated that system users highlyagreed and agreed with the performance and acceptability level of the website and agricultural knowledge management sy stem respectively. Nonetheless, for the implementation of website, the office must set up the required information and communication technology infrastructure, obtain an internet protocol address, and offer computer literacy training to farmers and other actors. 308p. Mon, 01 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.haramaya.edu.et//hru/handle/123456789/8385 2023-05-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.haramaya.edu.et//hru/handle/123456789/8379 PERCEPTION ABOUT LAND DEGRADATION; AND IMPACT OF ADOPTION OF SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON SMALLHOLDER FARMERS’ CROP PRODUCTION AND INCOME IN WEST WOLLEGA ZONE, OROMIA REGION, ETHIOPIA Addisu Raga; Prof Fekadu Beyene; Prof Jema Haji; (Ph. D) Chanyalew Siyum The adoption of sustainable land management practices (SLMP) is pivotal to handling land degradation and ensuring the sustainable use of limited land resources. Despite decades of research and development efforts, land degradation remains a serious environmental problem in many parts of the world. Farmers in Ethiopia and other Sub-Saharan African countries employ a variety of agricultural land management (SLM) practices to mitigate the negative impacts of land degradation. The SLM practices were intended to increase income and crop production further ensuring food security. Despite the widespread use of these (SLM) practices, little research has been done on how it affects crop production and related income, particularly linked to the viewpoints of interdependence between SLMP adoption and perceptions of land degradation. Ethiopia has long been regarded as a hotspot for land degradation one of the major threats to agricultural productivity, long-term food shortages, rural poverty, and the dimensional vulnerability of the people. So, it is crucial to understand farmers' perceptions of land degradation and determine the impacts of SLMP on crop production and income responses that differ in temporal and regional dimensions. Hence, the objectives of this study were to identify the determinants of farmers' perceptions of land degradation, their adoption of SLMP, the impacts of SLMP on crop production and income, and their interrelationships in Oromia, Ethiopia's west Wollega zone. The researcher used cross-sectional data collected from 426 farm household heads (225 participants and 201 nonparticipants), randomly selected from five districts of the west Wollega zone of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. Both descriptive statistics and econometric models were used to analyze the data. The descriptive result revealed that 58.4 %, 11.4%, 15.2%, 12.1%, and 2.91 %, of the sampled farm households, respectively, perceived negligible, minor, moderate, severe, and extreme degradation in the study area. The results also showed that the sampled household had a very low perception of land degradation in sampled districts of the study area: with 44.2%, 59.5%, 43.9%, 41%, and 51.2% of Najo, Boji, Gimbi, Mana-Sibu, and Ganji, respectively. An ordered logit was used to identify factors influencing households' perception of land degradation. The results confirmed that household education level, household size, total farmland size, experience, extension contact, access to NGOs, farmland slop type, and off/non-farm participation affected households' perception of land degradation in the study area. As a trivariate probit model shows, the likelihood that framers in the study area would choose fertilizer, area closure, SWC, crop rotation, and compost, respectively, was 37.2%, 35.3%, 40.5%, 38.2%, and 38.5%. The simulated maximum likelihood predicted joint probability of success or failure of the five SLMPs from the MVP model has shown 23% and 49.6% of the joint probability of success and failure of all SLMPs by the households in the study area. A multivariate (trivariate) probit model's findings also showed that cooperative member, off-farm participation, model farmer contact, perception of land degradation, the perceived cost of inputs, credit access, farming experiences, livestock holding, farm slopes, access to information, and the NGOS interventions had a significant positive influence on the SLMP participation decisions, while household age had a negative impact. The outcome of the impact analysis using PSM demonstrates that participation in the SLMP boosts household income and crop production while lowering land degradation risks for participant households in the study area. The significance of Breusch- Pagan's test of independence and the correlation of seemingly unrelated error factors in a trivalent. probit regression model revealed strong links between farmers' perceptions of farmland degradation, SLMP decisions, and SLMP impacts on crop and income improvement. The interdependence relationships in the study area have been positively affected by household education, access to information, total farmland size, cooperative members, farmland slop, the NGOs’ interventions, and access to irrigation, while negatively affected by age, the distance of farmland from household residence and distance to the closest market. Therefore, the study suggests that policymakers and local development experts should improve farmers' understanding of land degradation by addressing the various factors that influence farmers' perceptions of land degradation, which are distinct significantly among farm households. Moreover, the study recommended that the regional and local governments should design various specific programs to resolve the constraints for scaling up policymakers' focus on SLMP campaigning. This can be addressed by expanding the use of SLM practices by supporting more sources of income, promoting the use of labor-saving technologies, encouraging the establishment of local irrigation systems, strengthening farmers' cooperative groups, raising farmers' literacy levels, encouraging soil conservation methods, expanding the scope of rural microfinance intuition services, and establishing local information provision center in the study area 240p. Sat, 01 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.haramaya.edu.et//hru/handle/123456789/8379 2024-06-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.haramaya.edu.et//hru/handle/123456789/8375 DETERMINANTS OF ADOPTION OF IMPROVED POTATO VARIETIES: THE CASE OF KERSA DISTRICT, OROMIA NATIONAL REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA Abdulselam Ahmed; (Assist. Prof) Saleamlak Fentaw; Assi. Prof) Kumilachew Alamerie This study focuses on the determinants of adoption of improved potato varieties in Kersa district, Oromia National Region State, Ethiopia. Specifically, this study was initiated to analyze factors influencing adoption of improved potato varieties and to determine the intensity of adoption of improved potato varieties using cross-sectional data. The data were collected from 200 sample households using multistage sampling procedure. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and econometric model. The finding showed that 127 were adopters of improved potato varieties while the remaining 73 were non-adopters. The results of the first hurdle indicated that education level, farm income, access to irrigation, access to extension services and lnon-farm income were positively and significantly influenced the adoption of improved potato varieties. In the second hurdle model, lnFarm income, access to irrigation, non-farm income and memberships to agricultural cooperatives have positively and significantly influenced the intensity of adoption of improved potato varieties. This study concludes that socio-economic and institutional factors play vital role in determining the improved potato varieties adoption and intensity of adoption in the study area. Therefore, paying close attention to those significant variables that enhance adoption and intensity of adoption of improved potato varieties so as to increases production and productivity of farmers is vital in the study area 87p. Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.haramaya.edu.et//hru/handle/123456789/8375 2025-02-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.haramaya.edu.et//hru/handle/123456789/8358 ASSESSMENTOFAGRONOMICPRACTICESANDQUALITYATTRIBUTESCOFFEE(CoffeaarabicaL.)INMELKABELODISTRICTOFEASTHARARGHE,OROMIA,ETHIOPIA. Mustefa Mohammed Damana; Prof.Wassu Mohammed; Dr.Abrar Suale DespiteEthiopia'srichgeneticdiversityandfavorableclimateforcoffeecultivation,theyieldandqualityofEthiopiancoffeearebelowexpectations,primarilyduetotherelianceontraditionalproductionandagronomicpracticesmethods.Hararghecoffeeimprovementbothforyieldandqualityisvitalforthesustainabilityofitsproductionandfetchespremium pricesinworldmarket,butlimitedinformationongeneticvariabilityandassociationofagronomicpracticesandbeanqualitytraitsofHararghecoffeecollections.Thisstudyaimed toidentifysuitableagronomicpracticestoenhancecoffeequalityattributesintheMelkaBeloDistrictandtoexaminetheimpactofthesepracticesoninherentcoffeequality.Theresearchinvolved Thirtyseven coffee collectionsevaluatedforqualityattributesfrom xii private’sfarmers’fieldsatMelkaBelodistrictin2023/24,andbeanqualitytraitsofcollectionsdeterminedincompleterandomizeddesignwiththreereplicationsatcoffeequalitylaboratoryofJimmaAgriculturalResearchCenter.Theanalysisofvariancerevealedthepresenceofsignificantdifferencesamongcoffeecollectionsforall37deferentagronomicpracticeandbeanqualitytraits.Significantvariationsinbothphysicalandcupcoffeequalitytraitswereobservedduetodifferentagronomicpractices(P≤0.05),withnotableinteractioneffectsbetweentreatments.Specificcoffeesamples(coded21from WayuBoko(85.00%),17and19fromTokumaJalala,(85.00%)and8from FiriKebso(84.00%)demonstratedsuperiorquality,particularlyinphysicalandcupqualityattributes.Thefindingsindicatedthatwell-managedagronomicpracticesresultedincoffeewithgoodbodyandattractiveflavor,whilemoderatemanagementyieldedintermediaryresults.Thequalityofcoffee decreased in a descending orderfrom bettertopooreragronomicmanagement,suggestingtheneedfortailoredpracticesunderspecificconditions.Thestudyconcludesthatsustainableproductionofhigh-qualitycoffeerequirescarefulmanagementofagronomic practices,suitablecoffeetypes,andsiteconditions.Italso recommends furtherresearchtoevaluateanddevelopappropriateagronomicpracticesfordifferentagro-ecologiesandcultivars,aswellastoexplorenichemarketopportunitiesforMalkaBeloandHararghecoffee 86p. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.haramaya.edu.et//hru/handle/123456789/8358 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z