Abstract
Increasing production and productivity of agriculture in general and root and tuber crops in particular require a strong linkage between the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. The growing in agriculture sector does not occur without non-agricultural sectors. The major root and tuber crops production and productivity in South Omo Zone, Southern Ethiopia is very low in relation to the land coverage under the crops, due to poor and under recommended rate of improved agricultural technology utilization and low skill of management and related practices by the producers. To solve these root and tuber related problems and increase the production and productivity of the crops, strong and result based farmers training centers and interlinked research extension system are important and strongly interconnected . This study was conducted in five districts of South Omo Zone namely Debub Ari from agricultural based, Malle and Bena-Tsemay from agro-pastoral, Hammer, and Dasenech from pastoral. The districts are selected purposively based on root and tuber crop production potential. The result shows that the area coverage, production and productivity of the major root and tuber crops decreases from time to time and their diseases and pests increases thoroughly. Farmers in the study area should use disease resistance varieties and the production inputs at a recommended rate and time. The major root and tuber crops that are grown in the study area are sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), potato (Solanum tuberosum), cassava (Manihot esculenta), taro (Colocasia esculenta), and enset (Ensete ventricosum).
Highlights
Agriculture is mainly considered as one of the strong option and key instrument for spurring sustainable growth and economic development of ones country, poverty reduction, and enhancing food security problems especially in developing countries like Ethiopia
Trends in the Area Coverage of Major Root and Tuber Crops The majority of farmers found in Ethiopia in general and South Omo Zone in particular are smallholder farms
The highest number of people depend of root and tuber crops production in the study area, but the production system in the area is stillat itssubsistence level
Summary
Agriculture is mainly considered as one of the strong option and key instrument for spurring sustainable growth and economic development of ones country, poverty reduction, and enhancing food security problems especially in developing countries like Ethiopia. Africa in general and Sub-Saharan Africa in particular ranks the highest in the world in terms of the proportion of people living in absolute poverty, and the agriculture sector has been identified as one of the main sector for reducing the extreme poverty and promoting economic growth and generally leads to the development of the region.[2] this explained that there is a high need to improve the production and productivity of the sector that have higher impacts on the aggregate economic development of Africa in general and Sub-Saharan African countries in particular and to reduce the number of people living in poverty
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