The aim of this study was to measure farmers' perceptions of the presence of salinity in their croplands and its impact on agricultural production and household food security. The survey data was collected from a total of 101 farmers from Raya-Alamata district in Ethiopia. Farmers were selected using a random sample from a household list. Focus group interviews were conducted with farmers in each district to explore their perceptions of soil salinity, its impacts and their adaptation strategies. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS descriptive statistics and chi-square test. Farmers' responses showed they were concerned about increasing problems with soil salinity and its impact on the productivity and well-being of their crops. The results showed that observing the white crust (91.4% )and dark brown color of the soil(5.5%) are the main indicators farmers use to determine the salinity in their fields. Irrigation water quality (97.4%) and poor irrigation practices (96.2%) are considered to be the main causes of salinity development. Farmers' perceptions of salinity should be used by various stakeholders as a starting point for developing Strategies for salt-affected areas.
| Published in | International Journal of Agricultural Economics (Volume 9, Issue 1) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijae.20240901.12 |
| Page(s) | 11-15 |
| 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 |
Soil Salinity, Food Security, Coping Strategies, Farmers’ Perception
| [1] | Ashenafi, W., Bobe, B., & Muktar, M. (2016). Assessment on the status of some micronutrients of salt affected soils in Amibara area, central rift valley of Ethiopia. Academia Journal of Agricultural Research, 4(8), 534-542. |
| [2] | Sileshi, A.A.; Kibebew, K. Status of Salt Affected Soils, Irrigation Water Quality and Land suitability of Dubti/Tendaho Area, Northeastern Ethiopia. Doctoral Thesis, Haramaya University, Haramaya, Ethiopia, 2016. |
| [3] | Butcher, K., Wick, A. F., DeSutter, T., Chatterjee, A., & Harmon, J. (2016). Soil salinity: A threat to global food security. Agronomy Journal, 108(6), 2189-2200. |
| [4] | Cuevas, J., Daliakopoulos, I. N., Del Moral, F., Hueso, J. J., & Tsanis, I. K. (2019). A review of soil-improving cropping systems for soil salinization. Agronomy, 9 (6), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.3390/ agronomy9060295 |
| [5] | Shahid, S., Zaman, M., & Heng, L. (2018). Soil salinity: Historical perspectives and a world overview of the problem. In M. Zaman, S. A. Shahid, & L. Heng (Eds.), Guideline for salinity assessment, mitigation and adaptation using nuclear and related techniques (pp. 43 – 53). Springer. |
| [6] | Zaman, M., Shahid, S. A., & Pharis, R. P. (2016). Salinity a serious threat to food security–where do we stand? |
| [7] | Ivushkin, K., Bartholomeus, H., Bregt, A. K., Pulatov, A., Kempen, B., & De Sousa, L. (2019). Global mapping of soil salinity change. Remote sensing of environment, 231, 111260. |
| [8] | Sileshi, G. W. (2016). The magnitude and spatial extent of influence of Faidherbia albida trees on soil properties and primary productivity in drylands. Journal of Arid Environments, 132, 1-14. |
| [9] | Gupta, R. K., & Abrol, I. P. (1990). Salt-affected soils: their reclamation and management for crop production. Advances in Soil Science: Soil Degradation Volume 11, 223-288. |
| [10] | Abrol, I. P.; Yadav, J.S.P.; Massoud, F.I. Soil Resources, Management and Conservation Service. In Salt-Affected Soils and Their Management; FAO: Rome, Italy, 1988; Volume 5, p. 14. |
| [11] | Kashenge-Killenga, S., Tongoona, P., & Derera, J. (2013). Morphological and physiological responses of Tanzania rice genotypes under saline condition and evaluation of traits associated with stress tolerance. Int J Dev Sustain, 2(2), 1457-1475. |
| [12] | Gebremeskel, G., Gebremicael, T. G., Kifle, M., Meresa, E., Gebremedhin, T., & Girmay, A. (2018). Salinization pattern and its spatial distribution in the irrigated agriculture of Northern Ethiopia: An integrated approach of quantitative and spatial analysis. Agricultural Water Management, 206, 147-157. |
| [13] | Mamba SF, Salam A, Peter G (2015). Farmers Perception of Climate Change a Case Study in Swaziland. Journal of Food Security 3(2): 47-61. |
| [14] | Wickham JD, Nash MS, Wade TG, Currey L (2006). Statewide empirical modeling of bacterial contamination of surface waters. American Journal of Water Resources 42: 583-591. |
| [15] | O’Neill, B. C., Kriegler, E., Riahi, K., Ebi, K. L., Hallegatte, S., Carter, T. R., & Van Vuuren, D. P. (2014). A new scenario framework for climate change research: the concept of shared socioeconomic pathways. Climatic change, 122, 387-400. |
| [16] | Noble, H., & Heale, R. (2019). Triangulation in research, with examples. Evidence-based nursing, 22(3), 67-68. |
APA Style
Yenewa, W. (2024). Farmers' Perceptions and Improving Agricultural Productivity in Saline Soils in Northern Ethiopia. International Journal of Agricultural Economics, 9(1), 11-15. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20240901.12
ACS Style
Yenewa, W. Farmers' Perceptions and Improving Agricultural Productivity in Saline Soils in Northern Ethiopia. Int. J. Agric. Econ. 2024, 9(1), 11-15. doi: 10.11648/j.ijae.20240901.12
AMA Style
Yenewa W. Farmers' Perceptions and Improving Agricultural Productivity in Saline Soils in Northern Ethiopia. Int J Agric Econ. 2024;9(1):11-15. doi: 10.11648/j.ijae.20240901.12
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.ijae.20240901.12,
author = {Workineh Yenewa},
title = {Farmers' Perceptions and Improving Agricultural Productivity in Saline Soils in Northern Ethiopia},
journal = {International Journal of Agricultural Economics},
volume = {9},
number = {1},
pages = {11-15},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijae.20240901.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20240901.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijae.20240901.12},
abstract = {The aim of this study was to measure farmers' perceptions of the presence of salinity in their croplands and its impact on agricultural production and household food security. The survey data was collected from a total of 101 farmers from Raya-Alamata district in Ethiopia. Farmers were selected using a random sample from a household list. Focus group interviews were conducted with farmers in each district to explore their perceptions of soil salinity, its impacts and their adaptation strategies. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS descriptive statistics and chi-square test. Farmers' responses showed they were concerned about increasing problems with soil salinity and its impact on the productivity and well-being of their crops. The results showed that observing the white crust (91.4% )and dark brown color of the soil(5.5%) are the main indicators farmers use to determine the salinity in their fields. Irrigation water quality (97.4%) and poor irrigation practices (96.2%) are considered to be the main causes of salinity development. Farmers' perceptions of salinity should be used by various stakeholders as a starting point for developing Strategies for salt-affected areas.
},
year = {2024}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Farmers' Perceptions and Improving Agricultural Productivity in Saline Soils in Northern Ethiopia AU - Workineh Yenewa Y1 - 2024/01/11 PY - 2024 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20240901.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ijae.20240901.12 T2 - International Journal of Agricultural Economics JF - International Journal of Agricultural Economics JO - International Journal of Agricultural Economics SP - 11 EP - 15 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-3843 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20240901.12 AB - The aim of this study was to measure farmers' perceptions of the presence of salinity in their croplands and its impact on agricultural production and household food security. The survey data was collected from a total of 101 farmers from Raya-Alamata district in Ethiopia. Farmers were selected using a random sample from a household list. Focus group interviews were conducted with farmers in each district to explore their perceptions of soil salinity, its impacts and their adaptation strategies. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS descriptive statistics and chi-square test. Farmers' responses showed they were concerned about increasing problems with soil salinity and its impact on the productivity and well-being of their crops. The results showed that observing the white crust (91.4% )and dark brown color of the soil(5.5%) are the main indicators farmers use to determine the salinity in their fields. Irrigation water quality (97.4%) and poor irrigation practices (96.2%) are considered to be the main causes of salinity development. Farmers' perceptions of salinity should be used by various stakeholders as a starting point for developing Strategies for salt-affected areas. VL - 9 IS - 1 ER -
Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Fogera National Rice Research and Training Center, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
