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Journal of Agronomy

Year: 2007 | Volume: 6 | Issue: 4 | Page No.: 560-565
Research Article

Learning Experiences of Farmers Field School on Integrated Nutrient Management: Evidence from Wolaita in Southern Ethiopia

E. Kebebe
Department of Agricultural Resource Economics and Management, Hawassa University, P.O. Box 05, Awassa, Ethiopia
B. Sheleme
Department of Plant Science, Hawassa University, P.O. Box 05, Awassa, Ethiopia
W. Wondimu
Department of Plant Science, Hawassa University, P.O. Box 05, Awassa, Ethiopia
This study presents three years of farmer field school learning experiences on integrated soil nutrient management in Kindo-Koisha district of Wolaita, Southern Ethiopia. Emphasis is placed on the findings of determining optimum combination of compost and inorganic fertiliser (DAP-Urea) experiment conducted under the farmer field school platform in two schools. Three years of group observation, recording, presentation and discussions in plenary has boosted the confidence and experiential learning among participants. It has improved farmers capacity to experiment with technologies and implement the same in their own farms. Grain and biomass yields increased with increasing levels of inorganic fertilisers. However, the yields obtained from treatments of organic and inorganic fertilisers combinations were not significantly different in most cases, implying that reliable yield could be obtained as long as comparable proportions of the two sources are used. Farmers preferred treatments with 50:50% inorganic: organic fertilisers combination on account of cost implications of inorganic fertilisers and risk considerations. But cohesion and sustainability of the farmer field school depends on perceived commercial benefit in the short to medium terms.
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