Abstract
Low soil fertility and climate change-induced low soil moisture are major problems constraining potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production in the eastern highlands of Ethiopia. Climate events are projected to become more pervasive. Therefore, research was conducted with the objective of analyzing smallholder potato farmers’ adaptation strategies to cope with the issues of low soil fertility and low soil moisture that are exacerbated by climate change. The research involved surveying eight purposively selected peasant associations in four major potato-producing districts in east and west Hararghe zones. The survey employed a multistage sampling procedure. Data were collected from 357 households using a standard questionnaire, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, index ranking, and analysis of variance for survey data. The observed climate data for the period of 1988 to 2017 were analyzed. The Mann-Kendall trend test, standard anomaly index, precipitation concentration index, and coefficient of variation were used to analyze the observed climate data. The survey results revealed the farmers, on average, applied 159 kg urea, 165 kg NPS (63 kg P2O5, 31 kg N and 12 kg S), and 1.8 ton of farmyard manure per hectare for producing potatoes. Most smallholder farmers (68.91%) used supplemental irrigation for potato production during the main growing season. The method of irrigation the farmers used was overwhelmingly the furrow method (92.72%). Analyzing the climate data showed that the mean annual temperature increased whereas the mean annual rainfall decreased during the 30-year period. It was concluded that climate change is markedly affecting potato production; in response to this, most of the farmers used supplemental irrigation to cope with moisture stress, all of them applied mineral fertilizers, and some of them additionally applied organic fertilizer to alleviate the problems of soil degradation and nutrient depletion. This implies that soil moisture and nutrient stresses are the major problems constraining potato production against which the farmers need policy and institutional supports to consolidate their coping strategies and build resilience against climate change.
Highlights
Introduction distributed under the terms andThe potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is an important food security crop and a major source of household income for smallholder farmers in the eastern highlands of Ethiopia [1,2]
The crop contributes to the growth of the national economy and to the incomes of millions of smallholder farmers in the country [3,4]
Sustainability 2021, 13, 6420 of calories and accounts for about 60% of the total vegetable crops cultivated in the eastern highlands of Ethiopia [5]
Summary
The potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is an important food security crop and a major source of household income for smallholder farmers in the eastern highlands of Ethiopia [1,2]. The crop contributes to the growth of the national economy and to the incomes of millions of smallholder farmers in the country [3,4]. It is the main source conditions of the Creative Commons. Despite its importance for household food security and income generation in Ethiopia, the national average yield of the crop is only about. The major causes of reduced national productivity of potato in Ethiopia are several biological and environmental stress factors, among which low soil fertility and drought are the most significant ones [8,9,10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
