Date Palm Production Practices and Constraints in the Value Chain in Afar Regional State, Ethiopia

Melkamu Alemayehu,Aregawi Lemlem,Mossa Endris

doi:10.1155/2018/6469104

Abstract

The study was conducted during 2015/2016 in two districts of Afar Regional State which were purposively selected based on their experiences on date palm production and locations relative to Awash River. Objectives of the study were evaluating the existing production practices and constraints of date palm production to generate baseline information for further researches and extension. A total of 117 household heads were interviewed using structured and semistructured questionnaires. Key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and direct observations of date palm plantations have been also conducted. The study was designed to address date palm production along the value chain. The majority of household heads were male, married, and illiterate. About 94.19% of household heads allocated less than one hectare of land for date palm production and had 21–40 years (77.8%) of experience. Seeds (90.6%) were dominantly used for propagation, which are not appropriate for date palm production. Local varieties with low yielding potential were cultivated using flooding irrigation (76.9%). Date palm production was practiced traditionally and constrained with high incidence of insect pests. Capacity building training sessions and researches on proper agronomic, management, and postharvest handling practices are recommended to improve the production of date palm in the region.

Highlights

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) tree belongs to the family Arecaceae and is considered as a symbol of life in the desert, as it tolerates high temperatures, water stress, and salinity more than many other fruit crops [1, 2]
Sex distribution of household heads influenced the participation of agropastoralists in date palm production in the study area
64.1% of the households that participated in date palm production were male headed while the remaining 35.9% were female headed

Summary

Introduction

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) tree belongs to the family Arecaceae and is considered as a symbol of life in the desert, as it tolerates high temperatures, water stress, and salinity more than many other fruit crops [1, 2]. It is one of the most valuable domesticated fruit trees because of its significance in human societies, health benefits, productive capacity in harsh semiarid and arid environments, and the range of subsistence products from its fruits and other parts of the large palm [3]. They are used usually to break the long fasting days in the month of Ramadan [6]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion