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• Re-visiting community based participatory watershed management: Challenges, opportunities and its linkage with smallholder farmers’ ecosystem service awareness in Southern Ethiopia

  Vol. 5 No. 1 (2023)

  Ethiopia is endowed with abundant natural resources and valuable biodiversity. However, natural resource degradation and biodiversity losses in response to unwise management have been challenging and creating critical economic and social problems in Ethiopia. Previous efforts to curb the problems have not been successful as expected. Most often, physical works have received major emphasis, while the human components are mostly overlooked. To assess and re-visiting the challenges and opportunities of community-based participatory watershed management (CBPWM) and its linkage with smallholder farmers’ ecosystem service awareness, five districts (Wonago, Abaya, Dilla Zuriya, Yirgachefee, and Kochere) were selected. A crosssectional survey design with two sampling stages was used. Likert with three scales (agree, neutral, disagree) was used. A purposive sampling technique was used to select kebeles from the five districts. A stratified sampling technique was also used (based on agro-ecological zone: Humid, Semi-humid & Semi-arid) to assess the linkage of smallholder farmer’s ecosystem service (ES) awareness with CBPWM. Three hundred (300) farmer respondents were selected using simple random sampling techniques from the selected AEZs, Districts, and Kebeles. The result shows that farmer’s perception of change in environmental conditions has improved over the decades since the start of CBPWM. Their understanding of the environmental condition has also improved the benefits earned from CBPWM like increasing household income, social ties and security, women empowerment, and skill development. The result also shows that farmers had limited access to CBPWM plan preparation, training, evaluation, and monitoring activities in their local area. Moreover, there is a limitation of adequate resource allocation (in terms of materials, labor, and finance) and application of appropriate and site-specific technologies at each kebele level where active CBPWM works exist. Though there are challenges, almost all respondent farmers had a good awareness of ecosystem services (ES), whose livelihood depends on. Almost in all agro-ecological zones, ES has shown declining trends in the study area.
  To restore declining ES in the study area, different agro-ecological zone-based measurements have been
  applied. The result implies that CBPWM work needs serious attention from all stakeholders to achieve its
  envisaged mission of building a climate-resilient green economy in Ethiopia. Moreover, conservation and
  participation-based land management is a means to obtain ecosystem goods and services sustainably.

• DRIVERS, PRACTICES, AND CHALLENGES OF URBAN AGRICULTURE: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM DILLA TOWN

  Vol. 4 No. 1 (2022)

  In Ethiopia, the significance of urban agriculture as a source of livelihood is well-recognized. However, the
  benefits of urban agriculture have not yet been realized to a satisfying degree. This article aims to understand the drivers, practices, and challenges of urban agriculture in Dilla town. The empirical data upon which the author draws was gathered through repeated periods of qualitative fieldwork carried out in 2020 with 36 farmers in Dilla town, Southern Ethiopia. Direct observation, interviews, and focus group discussions were used to obtain the required empirical data. This study has also benefited from various secondary sources. As the study shows, direct food supply, increased economic security, improved social inclusion, and regulated urban microclimate are the logic behind the involvement of farmers in urban agriculture. Urban agriculture is characterized by mixed-type of farming and includes crop production (mainly horticulture production) and livestock production (mainly poultry and dairy farming). Crop production in the town takes different forms and it includes home-garden farming, open-space farming, and peri-urban farming. As the study further shows, lack of access to urban agricultural land, land tenure insecurity, lack of urban farming skills, lack of access to credit facilities, lack of basic agricultural supplies and extension services, and limited attention given to urban agriculture from relevant state structures are major challenges facing urban agriculture. The policy implication of the study is that the government should work

• Determinants and Challenges of Enrollment in Community-Based Health Insurance in Southern Ethiopia

  Vol. 6 No. 2 (2024)

  Since 2011, Ethiopia has been implementing the Community-Based Health Insurance (CBHI) scheme in various regions to enhance universal health coverage by reducing out-of-pocket expenses for low-income families and to promote healthcare access for poorer households. The purpose of this study is to examine household enrollment and non-enrollment decisions, as well as the main challenges in implementing the program. A multi-stage sampling process was employed to select the participating households. Study subjects were chosen through simple random selection based on population proportions (PPS). Primary data was gathered using a pretested questionnaire. To support the quantitative findings, interviews with CBHI specialists and focus group discussions (FGDs) with both members and non-members of CBHI were conducted. Data analysis was performed using STATA version 15 and SPSS version 20, employing both descriptive and inferential statistics. Of the total respondents, 42.7% were enrolled in the CBHI program, while 57.3% were not. To understand the primary determinants of CBHI enrollment, 15 variables were identified. Factors such as residence, illness, family size, occupation, attitude, awareness, information, payment fairness, service quality, and drug availability were found to be significant in relation to CBHI enrollment in the multivariable analysis (P < 0.05). The main challenges identified in the program include poor service delivery and long waiting times, among others. The study revealed the factors influencing enrollment and non-enrollment in the CBHI scheme, as well as its key implementation challenges. It is essential for the government to collaborate with relevant organizations to address the barriers faced by low income households in enrolling in the program and to find solutions to the challenges of its implementation

• ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN ALE SPECIAL DISTRICT, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

  Vol. 3 No. 2 (2021)

  Abstract
  An Ethno-botanical study was carried out to investigate the type, associated knowledge and practices of
  medicinal plants used by the local people in Ale Special District, SNNPR, Ethiopia. Ninety informants were
  selected by preferential sampling technique. Ethnobotanical data about traditional medicinal plant names
  and associated knowledge such as use, remedy preparation, administration, and others were collected using semi-structured interview, field observation, and focus group discussion. Informant consensus, preference ranking, direct matrix ranking, informant consensus factor and fidelity level were computed. A total of 72 medicinal plant species belonging to 68 genera and 39 families were documented.

• Changes in soil physicochemical properties and nutrient dynamics under liming acid soils Wakshuma Yadesa Mergo

  Vol. 6 No. 1 (2024)

  Area specific investigation of impacts derived from liming acid soils and the consequent effects on plant nutrient bioavailability and soil physicochemical properties is important. This work aimed at investigating dynamics of nutrient bioavailability and changes in soil physicochemical properties under liming acid soils in the west Wallaga zone of western Ethiopian high rainfall regions. Lime requirements were calculated for all soil samples using the acid saturation procedure. Then, important physicochemical properties of the soils and bioavailability of nutrients were determined following standard procedures. The highest changes observed as a result of liming were 36.59 to 37.19 cmol Kg⁻¹ for CEC, 0.97% to 0.47% for SOC, 1.76 to 1.40 g cm⁻³ for bulk density, 30.31 to 37.21% for porosity, 30.25 to 34.55 µS cm⁻¹ for EC, 2.56 to 0.26 cmol Kg⁻¹ for EA, and 0.08 to 0.02% for TN. This is attributed to the relatively higher CEC of clayey soils. It was observed that liming conditions, CEC, EC, EA, SOM, TN, and AP have significant (p < 0.001) correlations amongst themselves and with some other soil physicochemical properties such as porosity, bulk density, and C/N ratio. Bioavailability of P, N, S, Ca, K, and Mg were significantly positively (p < 0.01) enhanced by liming. This is due to improved mineralization of organic compounds, solubilization of some K, Ca, and Mg compounds, and input of Ca and Mg through liming. More research may be necessary to create a further understanding of the long-term effects of liming acidic soils on innate sources of nutrients and biological properties.

• ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITIES OF CRUDE EXTRACT OF CROTON MACROSTACHYUS LEAVES AND PURE COMPOUND (METHYL LAURATE) ISOLATED FROM IT

  Vol. 3 No. 1 (2020)

  Abstract
  Croton macrostachyus Delil belongs to one of the largest genera of the family Euphorbiaceae, called Croton under the subfamily Crotonoideae. The genus Croton is ecologically prominent, and an important source of secondary metabolites with antimicrobial properties in tropics and subtropics. The objective of this study was to test the antibacterial property of the leaf extract of Croton macrostachyus and a lauric acid derivative, Methyl Laurate, isolated from it. Crude extract was obtained through phytochemical screening using the solvent acetone.