Assessment of the Constraints and Challenges in Avocado (Persea Americana Mill.) Production and Marketing in Southern Ethiopia

Figures & data

Figure 1. Map showing the study sites.

Table 1. Information on study sites, total number of farmers (N), entire sample size (n), and traders included from each site.

Regions	Zones	Districts	Neighborhoods	No. of farmers in each neighborhood (N)			Sample size (n)			No. of the traders
				M	F	ST	M	F	ST	M	F	T
Sidama		Wondo-genet	Aruma	391	25	416	14	1	15	0	5	5
			Wosha	415	11	426	14	1*	15
		Dalle	Ajawa	609	6	615	21	1*	22	1	4	5
			Dagiya	865	8	873	31	1*	32
		Bensa	Dembi	460	29	489	17	1	18	1	4	5
			Hache	377	25	402	14	1	15
		Dara	Aleme-korocha	137	7	144	4	1*	5	2	3	5
			Setamo	125	4	129	4	1*	5
South	Gedeo	Dilla Zuria	Cicu	725	205	930	27	8	35	1	2	3
			Sisota	425	75	500	16	3	19
		Wonago	Tumata-chirecha	1011	195	1206	37	7	44	1	1	2
			Tokicha	777	148	925	29	5	34
	Wolayta	Boloso-sore	Matala- hembecho	216	43	259	8	2	10	1	2	3
			Tiyo- hembecho	158	39	197	6	1	7
		Damote-gale	Ayde-damote	179	122	301	7	5	12	1	1	2
			Taba	138	46	184	5	2	7
Total	2	8		7008	988	7996	254	41	295	8	22	30

F: Female; M: Male; ST: subtotal; N is the total number of avocado producers in each neighborhood or site; n is the number of respondent farmers included from each neighborhood; * = Using Yamane’s (1967) formula, the sample size for females was zero, but the researcher adjusted to include the female respondents from that neighborhood.

Table 2. Sociodemographic characteristics of respondent farmers in Sidama, Gedeo, and Wolayta.

Characteristics	Number of respondents from each ethnic group*
	Sidama	Gedeo	Wolayta	Sum
Education level
Nonformal education	21(7.1%)	42 (14.2%)	18 (6.1%)	81 (27.5%)
Primary school (1–8)	79 (26.8%)	62 (21.0%)	10 (3.4%)	151 (51.2%)
Secondary school (9–10)	19 (6.4%)	22 (7.5%)	7 (2.4%)	48 (16.3%)
Certificate and above	8 (2.7%)	6 (2.0%)	1 (0.3%)	15 (5%)
Sex category
Males	119 (40.3%)	109 (36.9%)	26 (8.8%)	254 (86%)
Females	8 (2.7%)	23 (7.8%)	10 (3.4%)	41 (14%)
Age category
Young (≤40 years)	35 (11.9%)	39 (13.2%)	7 (2.4%)	81 (27.5%)
Adult (41–60)	78 (26.4%)	66 (22.4%)	25 (8.5%)	169 (57.3%)
Old (>60 years)	14 (4.7%)	27 (9.2%)	4 (1.4%)	45 (15.3%)
Avocado farming experience (years)
10–30	100 (78.7%)	95 (72.5%)	28 (77.8%)	223 (75.6%)
31–60	27 (21.3)	36(27.5%)	8(22.2%)	71 (24.4)

*Numbers in parentheses are the percentage of respondents.

Table 3. The challenges faced by smallholder avocado farmers in southern Ethiopia.

Major factors affecting avocado production	Percentage of informants reporting each factor*
	Sidama (n = 79)	Gedeo (n = 100)	Wolayta (n = 17)	Mean
Poor fruit retention (falling of fruit before maturity)	100	100	100	100
Weak agronomic practices and postharvest losses	97.5	98.7	99.3	98.5
Diseases and pests	81	91	82.4	85
Failure to bear fruit at all	74.7	72	70.6	72
Limited access to improved varieties	68.1	68	76.5	71
Lack of an organized market	51.9	76	52.9	60
Limited extension services	64.6	52	58.8	58
Small farm size	62	35	47.1	48
Climate change and drought	12.7	22	29.4	21
Low soil fertility	6.3	12	23.5	14

*The numbers in parentheses are the percentage of respondents; n is the total number of farmers interviewed at each site.

Figure 2. Avocado fruit scab (“Bijaajo,” sidama language). The fruit’s affected area is shown by a red color.

Table 4. Chi-square test result for average prices of avocado fruit reported by traders in the study areas.

Study areas	Number of avocado traders reported prices	Average prices of avocado
		One Quintal/ETB	χ2	df	p value
Sidama	20	1000	100	2	0.000**
Gedeo	5	600
Wolayta	5	800

Notes: ETB = Ethiopian Birr; **statistically significant; df = degree of freedom.

Yamane, T. 1967. Statistics, an introductory analysis. 2nd ed. Harper and Row, New York.

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