Exploring farmers’ perceptions on improved avocado on-farm integration and factors influencing tree-crop interactions in Central Ethiopia

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate smallholder farmers’ perceptions of the integration of avocado cultivars into farmlands and the influencing factors in Upper Gana and Jewe Kebele, Central Ethiopia. Household surveys and key informant interviews were conducted. Household survey data were obtained from a purposive sample of 164 avocado growers using a semi-structured questionnaire. Key informant interviews were conducted using a snowball approach. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were used for data analysis. The results showed that Hass, Ettinger, and Nabal were the avocado cultivars preferred by respondents. Home gardens and fruit orchards were the most preferred niches for avocado cultivation. About 64% of the respondents confirmed the positive effects of avocado farm integration, while 65% expressed concerns about possible adverse effects with annual crops. Limited access to grafted seedlings and low technical expertise in the propagation of avocado cultivars were hinder avocado integration. Regression analysis revealed that land tenure, tree management practices, availability of family labor, low access to grafted seedlings, and farmers’ concerns about potential resource competition between avocados and annual crops had a significant influnce on farmers’ decisions on avocado on farm integration. Thus, understanding farmers’ attitudes is crucial for promoting the adoption of avocado on farm integration.

KEYWORDS:

• Smallholder avocado growers
• farm integration
• resource competition
• tree management

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our appreciation to the CIFOR ICRAF Africa RISING project for providing the avocado cultivars used in this study. The authors extend their sincerest thanks to Mr. Demeke Beyene, Mr. Birhanu Micha, Mr. Dargicho Dutmo, and Mr. Tafesse Hindino for their indispensable assistance with data collection. The authors express their sincere gratitude to the farmers at the study site who generously shared their valuable indigenous knowledge and personal experiences, which were crucial to the success of this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/14728028.2024.2374255

Additional information

Funding

This research was financially supported by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) through grant number 13394, hosted at the College of Forestry Wildlife and Toursume. Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania.