165 research outputs found
Book Review: Slaves of State, Intellectuals of development in Ethiopia: A Genealogy of Development in Ethiopia
No full textSemeneh Ayalew Asfaw
Author: Yonas Ashine Demissie
Title: Slaves of State, Intellectuals of development in Ethiopia: A Genealogy of Development in Ethiopia
Makerere Institute of Social Research
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Enset (Ensete ventricosum, Musaceae) ethnobotany: research status, gaps and key messages
No full textEnset (Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman, Musaceae) is an ethnobotanical icon considering its economic, sociocultural, environmental and symbolic roles. This paper reviews how far the enset research undertaken so far has taken up its ethnobotany. The objective is identification of the specific gaps and casting hints on ethnobotanical research that needs to be undertaken in future efforts for an understanding of the place of enset and its system in the life of the people who care for it. Considering the scope of studies and the recent methodological advances in ethnobotany, it is imperative to see how far previous enset research has benefited from it in data collection and analyses and what enset has missed. The current trend in enset ethnobotanical research along with the gaps and key messages vis-à-vis perspectives of sustainable development take the main thrust in this review. The review showed that cross-disciplinary and crosscultural data are inadequate and applications of recent ethnobotanical methodologies are at low level. Aspects of cognitive ethnobotany, quantitative ethnobotany and coverage of the full range of enset culture with same research protocol are areas not covered. Furthermore, ethnobotanical modeling of the enset system has not been researched. The paper targets the major gaps and key messages for embarking upon full scale enset ethnobotany research. It is hoped that the ideas will serve as basis for initiating future ethnobotanical research on enset that engages both qualitative and quantitative approaches in an integrated and balanced manner.Keywords/phrases: Agroecology, Common research protocol, Ethnobotanical modeling, Meta-analysis, Quantitative enset ethnobotan
Relationships between spike morphology, hordeins and altitude within Ethiopian barley, Hordeum vulgare L. (Poaceae)
No full text
The diversity of food and medicinal plants in the homegardens of Sabata Town, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia
No full textAn ethnobotanical study of homegardens, focusing on food and medicinal plants, was undertaken in the peri-urban town of Sabata in Southwest Shewa Zone, Oromia National Regional State of Ethiopia. An initial inspection of 240 randomly identified houses in six study sites was made to check for presence of homegardens. Owners of 51 of the 186 houses with homegardens participated in free listing of the useful plants while preferentially selected 24 well-managed homegardens were taken up for detailed studies. Plant taxa used as food and medicine by owners were collected, taxonomically determined and analyzed. Ethnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured interviews employing preference ranking and paired comparison exercises. The data were then analyzed by employing descriptive statistics, Shannon-Wiener diversity Index, Sørensen’s Similarity Coefficient and Clustering technique. About 78% of the houses inspected had homegardens, and food and medicinal plants accounted for 58 (43%) of the total 135 plant species recorded. The food plants constituted 37 species in 29 genera and 22 families with an average Shannon diversity Index of 2.04, while the medicinals were counted as 24 species in 22 genera and 17 families with an average Shannon Index of 1.83. Allium sativum, Ensete ventricosumand Punica granatum belong to nutraceutical plants or functional foods since they are listed both as food and medicinal. Comparison of Sabata homegardens with those of Walayita, Arbaminch and Bonga gave Sørensen’s Similarity Coefficient of 37, 34 and 30%, respectively. The results provide strong reason for advocating maintenance of homegardens in Sabata and beyond. Further enhancement of the practice is in order in view of the contributions of the system to food provision and security, and ensuring nutritional quality, healthcare, biodiversity conservation, environmental quality and poverty reduction.Keywords/phrases: Agrobiodiversity, Food plants, Food security, Functional foods/nutraceuticals, Homegardens, Medicinal plantsEthiop. J. Biol. Sci., 8(1): 31-51, 200
Homegardens and Agrobiodiversity Conservation in Sabata Town, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia
No full textHomegardens are repositories of biocultural assets of communities, the hub of plant-based resources and the microcosms of agrobiodiversity hotspots. The homegardens of Sabata, a peri-urban town located in the tepid-humid mid highland agroecological zone of southwest Shewa of Oromia Regional State (Ethiopia), were investigated using standard methods of ethnobotany with the aim of elucidating their diagnostic features and significance in agrobiodiversity conservation. Semi-structured interviews, observations, discussion with key informants and guided garden tour with plant specimen collection and identification constituted the main study methods. The resulting data were subjected to matrix ranking, descriptive statistical analysis and calculations of diversity and similarity indices. One hundred thirty-five plant species of different use categories and life forms, distributed in 110 genera and 58 families were recorded. Each homegarden had an average of 33 species. Ensete ventricosum, represented by 18 locally identified landrace clones, was the most frequent (91.60%) species. Among 240 randomly sampled households, 78% had attached homegardens. These homegardens provide sizeable returns in terms of plant material for home use and income generation on top of their ecological and aesthetic values. Cupressus lusitanica had the highest relative density (0.02%) among the tree species. An average Shannon-Wiener diversity index of 4.301 indicated the richness of Sabata homegardens in plant agrobiodiversity. These homegardens represent rich compositional, structural and functional diversity playing key roles for on-farm conservation and ensuring environmental well-being while contributing to livelihood support. This rich agrobiodiversity together with the local biocultural knowledge and management skills, backed by household decision-making and information networks of the multiethnic communities are the regulators of the homegarden dynamics. Key desirable actions relevant to Sabata homegardens include enhancement and development programmes that would facilitate climate adaptation efforts and optimize provision of resources with conservation of agrobiodiversity while preserving the local biocultural knowledge
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