Mam. Saleem et A. Astatke, OPTIONS TO INTENSIFY CROPLAND USE FOR ALLEVIATING SMALLHOLDER ENERGY AND PROTEIN-DEFICIENCIES IN THE EAST-AFRICAN HIGHLANDS, Field crops research, 48(2-3), 1996, pp. 177-184
Land-use intensification in the east-African highland zone is required
for meeting food and feed demands from the rising human and animal po
pulations. A single crop of wheat has been a traditional practice for
the 8 Mba of vertisols in the Ethiopian highlands with both grain and
residues finding use. With proper drainage, early sowing of crops beco
mes feasible, and this study compared the local wheat system with eigh
t other land-use types (LUTs). Replacing local wheat with genetically
superior wheat, cv. ET 13, significantly increased grain and fodder an
d also the metabolizable energy from a land unit. When ET 13 was follo
wed by grasspea, and intercropped with clover and/or sown between sesb
ania alleys, the feed, protein and energy outputs from the same land u
nit were further enhanced many fold compared to the traditional landus
e. By combining crops and forages with different maturity and harvest
times, it was also possible to change feed availability patterns durin
g the year. How these different options could be targeted to serve mul
tiple crop/livestock objectives of the smallholder is discussed briefl
y.