Journal of Economics & Management Research Research Article Open Access Major Pulse and Oil Crops Production in South Omo Zone Southern Ethiopia Kutoya Kusse Southern Agricultural Research Institute, Jinka Agricultural Research Center Agricultural Economics and Gender Issue researchers, Jinka, Ethiopia ABSTRACT Increasing agricultural production and productivity of one’s country requires fostering the linkage between the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors that are growing in agriculture does not occur without non-agricultural sectors. The major pulse and oil crops production and productivity in the South Omo Zone is very low in relation to the land coverage due to poor improved agricultural technology utilization and low skill on-farm management practices by producers. To solve the major pulse and oil crops production and productivity problems, strong farmers training centers and research extension system are important. The study was conducted in major pulse and oil crop producing districts of South Omo Zone like Debub Ari, Malle, Bena-Tsemay, Hammer, and Dasenech Districts of South Omo Zone. The major pulse and oil crops grown in the area are haricot bean, field pea, mug bean, ground net, sesame, and sunflower. *Corresponding author Kutoya Kusse, Southern Agricultural Research Institute, Jinka Agricultural Research Center Agricultural Economics and Gender Issue researchers, Jinka, Ethiopia. Email: [email protected] Received: August 17, 2021; Accepted: August 23, 2021; Published: September 16, 2021 Keywords: Area Coverage, Production, Productivity, Controlling Methods, Disease and Pests These include the agriculture’s contributions to socio-economic development through income generation, food security, household Introduction livelihoods, poverty alleviation, gender empowerment, and Agriculture is considered as one of the strong option and environmental sustainability in the country. Particularly in fundamental instrument for spurring economic growth and Ethiopia, smallholder farmers cultivate approximately 95 percent sustainable development, poverty reduction, and a tool for of the total area cultivated and produce more than 95 percent of enhancing food security in developing countries like Ethiopia. the total agricultural product. The major part of the sector consists Agriculture employs more than 65% of Africa’s productive labor of small land holder farmers operating on less than 2 hectares of force and the sector has been identified as the main source of land. On the other hand, the production and productivity of the income for most rural households in Africa [1]. Africa in general sector was and is almost stagnating over the last decades [5-7]. and Sub-Saharan African countries in particular ranks high in the world in terms of the proportion of people living in sever Agriculture is one of the most important sectors for Southern poverty, and agriculture has been identified as one of the main Nation Nationality and Peoples’ Regional State of Ethiopia’s potentials for reducing poverty and promoting economic growth economy and it will continue to play a very important role in and development in the region. There is the need to improve the the overall economic development of the region. However, the production and productivity of the sector at national level for it agricultural production system in the region is still at its subsistence to have higher impacts on the aggregate economic indicators and level. The livelihood of over 93% of the people of the region ultimately to reduce poverty [2]. depends on it, level and food insecurity problems are increasing at a shocking rate. Moreover, rapid natural resource degradation Ethiopia is among one of the countries having a rising economies is prevalent [8]. Also, Agricultural production activities in the in sub-Saharan Africa with a median GDP increase rate of 8.3% country as a whole and in regions, in particular, have been taking consistent with the annum and the agricultural sector has been place under widely varying dynamic bio-physical and climatic a dominant contributor having a median of 45.4% to the overall contexts such as physio-graphic, agro ecology, climate change GDP within 2002 and 2011 [3]. Agriculture is the most component and variability, and soil conditions. The success in the agricultural and driver of Ethiopia’s development and enhances long-term production sector is then strongly influenced by many factors food security. The contributions are very high: 15 to 17 percent such as topographic settings, degree of human interference, and of the Government of the Ethiopia’s expenditures is committed to underlying biophysical features [7, 9]. agriculture. Agriculture directly employs more than 80 percent of the total population, 43 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), The food insecurity problems occurring consecutively in Ethiopia and over 70 percent of the country foreign export value [4]. in general and South region in particular caused by complex factors J Econ Managem Res, 2021 Volume 2(3): 1-5 Citation: Kutoya Kusse (2021) Major Pulse and Oil Crops Production in South Omo Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Journal of Economics & Management Research. SRC/ JESMR/143. ranging from natural ones such as recurrent drought, degradation Results and Discussion of natural resources, lack of appropriate agricultural technologies, Trends of Major Pulse and Oil Crops Area Coverage weak institutional linkage and support, and lack of alternative The majority of producer farmers in Ethiopia in general and in employment. Also, the farmer’s cultivation practices brought the study area in particular are smallholder farms. These farms, disturbances to the ecosystems particularly on soils by disrupting having though small landholding is often fragmented, produce the entire stable natural and biochemical processes of the nutrient mostly for own consumption and generate only a small marketed cycle, causing rapid nutrient depletion in the soil and attributing surplus. From the total of 12.4 million hectares of farmland in to changes in the landscape characteristics [10-13]. Ethiopia, among this farm land the majority is used for production of cereals (9.16 million hectares); a relatively small amount of Six major pulse and oil crops (haricot bean, field pea, mug bean, area is seeded to pulses (1.41 million hectares). The oil seeds ground net, sesame, and sun flower) contributing the major part of production sector is one of the fastest growing sectors; which is crop production in Southern Ethiopia in general and South Omo the second export and incoming earning sector, which of over three Zone in particular. Other important crops grown in the Zone, like million small, medium and large scale Ethiopians are involved. cereal crops, root and tubers, fruits, and vegetables play their great Among the major pulse crops haricot bran accounts largest acreage role in food security in the area. Oil crops like Sesame, ground followed by field pea and mug bean, while among the major oil net, and Sunflower are an important source of cash income for crops, sesame accounts for the largest acreage followed by sun the households. So; this research focuses on the production of flower and ground net. Fig 1 below shows the percentage of area major pulse and oil crops in South Omo Zone, Southern Ethiopia. coverage under major pulse and oil crops in five consecutive It was conducted in two agro-pastoralists, two pastoralists and years 2005-2009 Ethiopian calendar or 2013-2017 Gregorian one agricultural farming system based, such as; (Malle, Bena- calendar [15-18]. Tsemay, Hammer, Dasenech, and Debub Ari,) of the Zone with the following objectives: (1). To assess the area coverage production and productivity of major pulse and oil crops (2). To identify the major disease and insect pest of the major pulse and oil crops (3). To identify mechanisms that farmers used in the study area to control disease and insect pest of major pulse and oil crops. Methodology South Omo Zone is one of the administrative Zones found in Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Regional State in Ethiopia. The Zone is found in southern part of the region in Ethiopia and is located at 4°27-6°26’ north and 34°57’-37°49’ Source: Woreda and Zonal Agriculture and Natural Resource east and bordering with Gamo, Gofa and Keffa zones; Konta and Management Office, 2021 Besketo special districts to the north; Konso Zone and Derashe special districts to the east; Borana Zone to the southeast; Kenya As shown in Fig 1 above, out of the total area under major pulse to the south; Sudan to the southwest, and Mirab Omo Zone to the and oil crops in the year 2005/2013, the area under haricot bean, west. The Zone covers a total area of about 22,360.76 km2 and its field pea, mug bean, ground net, sesame and sun flower were altitude which ranges from 380 to 3,300 m.a.s.l [14]. 24.42%, 4.12%, 0.9%, 3.03%, 65.44% and 2.02% respectively. In 2006/2014 the area of haricot bean, field pea, mug bean, ground This study was conducted in Five Districts (Malle, Bena-Tsemay, net and sun flower increased to 60.96%, 7.55%, 2.39%, 9.7 and Hammer, Dasenech and Debub Ari,) of South Omo Zone. These 9.7, while the area of sesame declines to 9.7% respectively. In five districts were selected purposively from the Zone based on 2007/2015 the area of haricot bean, mug bean, ground net and crop production experience among eight districts found in the sun flower declines to 38.04%, 0.32%, 5.16% and 1.49% while Zone. From these eight districts one agrarian from two agrarian the area of field pea and sesame increased to 10.49% and 44.5% districts and two pastoralist districts from four pastoralist districts respectively. From 2008/2016-2009/2017 the area under haricot were selected by probability sampling respectively, whereas the bean and ground net increased from 55.71% to 77.6% and 2.88% two agro-pastoralist districts were taken as they are purposively to 4.91%, while the area under field pea, mug bean, sesame and sun because there are only two agro-pastoral districts in the Zone.