Sweet potato is popular, particularly among farmers in the densely populated areas of Ethiopia. Yields in farmers' fields are low because of lack of suitable varieties and poor agronomic practices. Major agronomic research on planting date, time of planting, land preparation, ridge height, and planting position have been conducted on this crop. The optimum planting time for sweet potato production was found to be at the beginning of the rainy season (May) in Awasa area to ensure good establishment. In a land preparation trial, two elite cultivars, Koka 6 and Koka 12, were used with three different methods of land preparation-flat, open ridge and tied ridge. The results indicated that varieties had no significant response to the different methods of land preparation. In ridge height experiment, which was conducted at two locations for three years, the two elite cultivars Koka 6 (long rooted) and Koka 12 (short-rooted) were used with six different ridge heights-flat (Check) 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 cm. The results indicated that there was no statistically significant yield response to different ridge heights. In an experiment using different planting positions the two elite cultivars and four different positions were used; the result indicated that the varieties had no significant response to different planting positions.

The rice terraces are irrigated the whole year round with a spring water. It is a rice-based area where several cropping patterns are practiced by farmers. Though most of these exhibit considerable biological stability, agronomic productivity and economic profitability are generally low. Cropping pattern testing was conducted to improve the farmers dominant pattern (rice-fallow) in terms of utilizing the fallow period to productive component, to develop production practices that would ensure sustained production in the rice terraces and to evaluate sustainable alternative cropping patterns that would enhance farmers productivity and income. The following rice-based cropping patterns, TPR-Sweet Potato and TPR + Fish - Fish, show clear economic advantage over the farmers pattern (RPR-fallow), with a net return of P20,445.00 and P6,147.00 per hectare respectively. Furthermore, sweetpotato production was profitable not only from the roots but also from the fodder yield which contributed 23 percent of the total gross benefit per hectare. Another breakthrough was the dual culture of Tilapia nilotica with rice until the next dry season rice crop will be established which gave additional income of P3,267.00 per hectare. Fish component was continuously cultured for eight months