Loss of agro-biodiversity and sustainability in relation to farming practices in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia
2004
Kiros Hadigu Meles | Ariena H.C. Van Bruggen | Gerrit F. Epema
Agrobiodiversity has received increasing attention in recent years as a way of promoting sustainable agriculture throughout the world. In this paper we quantitatively examined relationships between diversity of crops, trees and shrubs at the field level and physical environment, crop production characteristics, and farmers' wealth parameters in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. The objectives were to identify factors affecting agrobiodiversity and sustainability. Soil erosion was considered as the main indicator of unsustainability. We interviewed 188 farmers and observed their fields for diversity of crops, trees and shrubs. Diversity of crops, trees and shrubs increased significantly with altitude, number of soil types and number of crop selection criteria, while this diversity declined as farmers' access to credit and chemical fertilizer use increased. Species diversity of trees and shrubs, and land race diversity of crops were positively correlated with number of weeds and insects but negatively with soil erosion status. Our results suggest that indigenous farming practices contribute to conservation of agrobiodiversity and sustainability of agroecosystems.
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