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IMPLEMENTATION OF PERMANENT RAISED BEDS CONTRIBUTES TO INCREASED CROP YIELD AND PROFITABILITY IN THE NORTHEASTERN TIGRAY REGION, ETHIOPIA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2018

AMANUEL A. GEBRU ,
TESFAY ARAYA ,
TSEGAY WOLDE-GEORGIS ,
JAN NYSSEN ,
FRÉDÉRIC BAUDRON ,
NELE VERHULST ,
ALICIA B. SPERATTI  and
BRAM GOVAERTS
AMANUEL A. GEBRU*
Affiliation:
Ethiopian Catholic Church–Adigrat Diocesan Catholic Secretariat Social and Development Coordinating office of Adigrat, P. O. box 163, Adigrat, Tigray, Ethiopia Institute of Climate and Society, Mekelle University, Ethiopia, P.O. Box 231, Endayesus Campus, Mekelle, Ethiopia
TESFAY ARAYA
Affiliation:
Department of Agronomy, University of Fort Hare, PBX 1314, Alice 5700, South Africa
TSEGAY WOLDE-GEORGIS
Affiliation:
INSTAAR/Consortium for Capacity Building (CCB) – Climate Affairs, University of Colorado in Boulder, 1560 30th St. Boulder, CO 80309, USA
JAN NYSSEN
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 (S8), Ghent B-9000, Belgium
FRÉDÉRIC BAUDRON
Affiliation:
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), 12.5 km Peg Mazowe Road, Harare, Zimbabwe
NELE VERHULST
Affiliation:
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Km. 45, Carretera México-Veracruz, El Batán, Texcoco CP 56237, Edo. de México, Mexico
ALICIA B. SPERATTI
Affiliation:
Independent consultant for the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Km. 45, Carretera México-Veracruz, El Batán, Texcoco CP 56237, Edo. de México, Mexico
BRAM GOVAERTS
Affiliation:
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Km. 45, Carretera México-Veracruz, El Batán, Texcoco CP 56237, Edo. de México, Mexico
*
†††Corresponding author. Email: amanuelgbr@gmail.com
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Summary

A major problem faced by small-scale farmers in northern Ethiopia is reduced crop yield due to increasing soil degradation resulting from repeated tillage and inadequate agronomic management practices. These practices have left soils and rainfed crops susceptible to hazardous climatic events such as droughts. Sustainable farm practices such as minimum tillage and surface residue retention have been shown to improve soil health and crop productivity. The objectives of this field study were thus to evaluate the impacts of conservation agriculture (CA) practices on crop yield and economic productivity over 6 years in the eastern Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. Using a barley–wheat rotation from 2010 to 2016, the applied treatments were (i) permanent raised beds (PRB); (2) semi-permanent raised beds (SPB) and (3) conventional tillage (CT). Average barley and wheat biomass and grain yields in PRB and SPB treatments were consistently greater than yields under CT each year. In addition, the highest marginal rate of return was obtained in PRB and SPB compared to CT in all years (2010–2016). These results suggest that the CA practices of PRB and SPB can improve crop yield and profit compared to CT practices in the Tigray region.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 55 , Issue 5 , October 2019 , pp. 807 - 817
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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