Farmers perception of pesticide use and genetic erosion of landraces of tetraploid wheat (Triticum spp.) in Ethiopia

Abstract

Perception of farmers’ about the use of pesticides and genetic erosion of tetraploid wheat landraces of Ethiopia was assessed through focus group discussions with farmers, on-farm observations, personal interviews with farmers, by using structured questionnaires of temporal and spatial methods. A total of 1496 farmers from seven provinces in the country were interviewed. Farmers’ knowledge about pesticide increases suggests that they are not happy on using chemicals because of their negative impact on farm land. About 75 % of the farmers believe that, although the use of pesticides may increase the production of wheat, it has a negative impact on (human) health and environment. Women showed a higher concern for pesticides’ harmfulness than men. Farmers’ valuation of genetic erosion was estimated as reduced importance of landraces, as shown by a the lower proportion of landraces either grown or sold on the market. The four most important factors cited for loss of landraces were reduction in land area per capita, displacement by released/modern varieties of hexaploid wheat and teff, reduced benefit from landraces, and displacement by other crops and chat. Genetic erosion of 100 % was observed for Triticum dicoccon in the provinces of Gojam and Gonder and for T. polonicum in Tigray and Gojam. Overall, genetic erosion in the country was 32.0, 35.3, 55.9, 84.4 and 84.4 % for T. durum Desf., T. turgidum L., T. aethiopicum Jakubz., T. polonicum L. and T. dicoccon Schrank, respectively.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Assessment of genetic erosion and use of pesticides (questionnaires used in the study that was distributed to farmers through individuals who know their local language)

Appendix 2: Deciding factors and important variables for farmers choosing to grow landraces

Factor	Important variables	Assessment
Agro-ecology	Land quality, soil type	Most of the traditional coarse cereals are grown under rain-fed conditions in poor soil as complete mixtures or intercropped. Many of the rare wheat landraces grown under rain-fed conditions are grown in very small patches adapted to specific soil types and microclimate niches
Market infrastructure	Distance to nearest market	Cash crops such as off-season vegetables are grown for both local and distant markets. Most landraces are grown for household consumption. Not much seed is acquired from off-farm sources
Land resources	Small and fragmented	There is a high degree of fragmentation of the land due to the rules of the country
Human resources	Family size	Farmers with large family size invariably grow coarse-grained landraces with high yield potential, regardless of their wealth status and land size
Economic status and objectives	Land size, percentage of household food	About 55 % are marginal farmers and they are self-sufficient in food for only 83 % of the year and mainly grow coarse grains. Farmers with larger farms grow more cash crops (including farm-saved seeds for sale to resource-poor marginal farmers) and are self-sufficient in food. Only those who have large farms can afford to maintain locally rare landraces

Comparative advantages
Traits	Released varieties	Landraces
Food value (preference in diet in different forms)	Less nutritious	Nutritious (tasteful)
Storability	Less period	Long period
Tolerant to draught	Less	High
Tolerant to disease and pest	Less	High
Requirement of fertilizer and pesticides	High	Less (sometimes not at all)
Seed requirements while sawing	More seed	Less seed
Yield stability	Unstable	More or less stable
Plant height	Uniform and short	Not uniform and commonly tall
Production	High	Less

Appendix 3: Provinces surveyed and household characteristics at the sites included in the study

Provinces	Gender of interviewed farmers			Average family size (number)	Average farm size (hectare)	Average farm size planted with tetraploid wheat (ha)	Average farm size planted with hexaploid wheat (ha)	Total number of households in part of province used for this study	Educational level
	Male	Female	Total						≤grade 6	From 7 to 10	From 11 to 12	University graduate
Arsi	167	33	200	4.38	2.18	0.9	0.8	128,806	40	120	25	15
Bale	166	34	200	4.8	2.4	1.0	0.7	181,345	35	127	20	18
Gojam	162	38	200	4.35	1.83	0.8	0.5	134,226	32	130	17	21
Gondor	223	25	248	4.48	1.68	0.72	0.6	194,552	67	133	25	23
Shewa	160	40	200	4.68	1.87	0.8	0.4	131,346	56	94	26	24
Tigray	156	44	200	4.68	1.78	0.5	0.5	85,572	40	120	27	13
Wollo	213	35	248	4.3	1.38	0.4	0.3	126,898	79	125	23	21

Provinces	Age group				Religion
	≤30	31–45	46–60	>60	Orthodox	Muslim	Protestant
Arsi	35	89	51	25	54	120	26
Bale	39	100	38	23	44	98	58
Gojam	43	107	31	19	160	20	20
Gondor	37	109	75	27	130	70	48
Shewa	23	119	37	21	110	57	33
Tigray	36	94	37	33	120	70	10
Wollo	22	126	57	43	102	99	47