Teff, a versatile crop, serves both as a food source and a cash crop in ethiopia. it is recognizedfor its potential to enhance the income of smallholder farmers, improve food security, andcontribute to sustainable development goals. This study aims to assess the impact of Teffcommercialization by smallholder farmers on food security. Both primary and secondary datawere used using the 2020/2021 cropping season. a three-stage sampling procedure was usedto draw 352 sample households. Food security was assessed using proxy indicators: householddietary diversity and food consumption score. The descriptive statistical results showed that182 (51.7%) and 170 (48.3%) sample households were subsistence, and commercializedhousehold heads respectively. notably, commercial farmers exhibited better household dietarydiversity (91.2%), whereas subsistence farmers scored lower in terms of food consumption(29.1%). Male household headship reduced hddS for commercializing farmers (−1.6); creditusage boosted hddS for commercialized groups (1.1), and livestock ownership improvedhddS for subsistence groups (0.21) in the second-stage endogenous switching regression.The model result also showed that, Teff commercialization positively impacted hddS and FcS,with average treatment effects of 3.81 and 4.46, respectively. Transitional heterogeneity resultsshowed that commercialized farmers had lower household dietary diversity (−0.47) and lowerfood consumption score (−14.19) than subsistence households. in light of these findings,encouraging smallholder farmers to transition from subsistence production to commercializationis crucial for supplementing their overall production. additionally, government efforts shouldfocus on raising awareness about nutrition-sensitive agricultural practices.
KEYWORDS: commercialization; endogenous Switching; Regression Model; Food Security; Smallholder; Teff

Abstract
Carrot is a significant root crop in Ethiopia but its production faces challenges such as nutrient loss and unfavorable growth conditions, which hinder its productivity. The objective of this review was to evaluate the impact of nitrogen fertilizer rates on carrot yield in Ethiopia. A systematic review using databases like PubMed and Scopus focused on peer-reviewed, English-language studies with quantitative data on nitrogen fertilizer and carrot yield in Ethiopia, excluding non-peer-reviewed articles and those lacking quantitative data or in other languages. Globally, carrot yields are 30–100 tons per hectare, but only 5.5 tons in Ethiopia. Carrots are rich in vitamins A, C, and B, proteins, minerals, and fiber, with vitamin C boosting immunity and aiding in wound healing and allergy management. Meanwhile, vitamin A plays a crucial role in vision, bone growth, immune function, and reproduction. It is a rich source of carotenoids and anthocyanins. The application of nitrogen fertilizer significantly improved carrot yield (root length, fresh weight, and dry weight). In Ethiopia, the use of nitrogen fertilizer affects the marketability and total yield of carrots, with small-scale farmers employing diverse rates for cultivation. Current recommendations suggest 69 kg/ha of phosphorus (P2O5) and 46 kg/ha of nitrogen, but farmers often do not follow these guidelines. In conclusion, optimizing nitrogen fertilizer usage is crucial for enhancing carrot yields among small farmers, underscoring the need for government support to tailor recommendations to local soil conditions and boost productivity.

Keywords: carrot yield; carrot production; nitrogen fertilizer; nutrient management

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) holds significant promise in addressing economic challenges and malnutrition issues. However, various factorsin Ethiopia impede its production and consumption. This review investigates sweet potato potential as a versatile solution for nutritionalchallenges in Ethiopia. Although the global yield of sweet potato reaches 14 tons/ha, in Ethiopia, it stands at approximately 8.1 tons/ha. In Africa,sweet potato is known as the 'poor person’s crop' and is primarily grown on a small scale by women for subsistence. Sweet potatoes are rich inessential nutrients such as vitamins C and E, B vitamins, iron, zinc, potassium, and fiber. Additionally, in Ethiopia, sweet potato leaves are utilizedas food, animal feed, and traditional medicine. Notably, they contain high levels of lutein (ranging from 38-51 mg/100 g), surpassing those foundin kale (38 mg/100 g) and spinach (12 mg/100 g). Leaves encompass protein (25%−37%), carbohydrate (42%−61%), crude fat (2%−5%), fiber(23%−38%), ascorbic acid (60−200 mg/100 g), and carotene (60−120 mg/100g). Malnutrition is continued as a major hurdle for millions ofEthiopians. Currently, stunting, wasting, and vitamin A deficiency (VAD) stand as the primary factors contributing to premature mortality inEthiopia. Despite the country's considerable potential for sweet potato cultivation and utilization, both yields and consumption remainremarkably low. Lack of clean planting materials, pests and diseases, knowledge gap, and poor market system are the key challenges of sweetpotato production in Ethiopia. Hence, to ease the malnutrition problems in Ethiopia, sweet potato production and utilization should be adept in abroader range.

Abstract: Forests play a crucial role in mitigating theimpacts of climate change by sequestering carbon in theirbiomass and soil. However, Ethiopia faces the threat of soilcarbon emissions due to deforestation and continuous cul-tivation. This study reviewed the analogies in phytobio-mass and soil carbon evaluation methods in Ethiopia.Index-base and year-wise analysis methods were used forthe compilation of the study. Developing nations, such asEthiopia, duly enhance resilient measures to assess forestcarbon stocks for effective climate change mitigation, parti-cularly with reference to emissions from deforestation anddegradation. Even though more than 90% of Ethiopia’senergy comes from forest biomass, deforestation signifi-cantly affects the carbon stored in aboveground biomass,which is the largest reservoir. Estimating forest biomassand carbon emissions entails uncertainties, with errorranges around ±50% for aboveground pools and ±90% forsoil carbon pools. Various tier methodologies are employedby experts to estimate forest biomass and carbon stock emis-sions, with Tier 2 factors serving as default emissions butcountry-specific factors offering improved accuracy overTier 1. Tier 3 methodologies require highly specific inven-tory data on carbon stocks in different pools and commonmeasurements of key carbon stocks. Forest conservationenhances biodiversity, ecosystem resilience, and essentialecosystem services, fostering soil health, regulating watercycles, and supporting diverse plant and animal species.In conclusion, directing efforts towards forest conservationnot only helps maintain biodiversity and ecosystem servicesbut also significantly contributes to mitigating climate change
by enhancing carbon storage capacities and reducing green-house gas emissions.Keywords: allometric equations, carbon stock, carbon accounting, climate change, tie

Background Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a zoonotic pathogen that contaminates abattoir workers,slaughter environments, slaughter equipment, and carcasses during abattoir processing. Infection with E. coliis associated with the consumption of contaminated food and water, and it is a potential threat to the healthand welfare of both humans and animals. Hence, this study aimed to detect diarrheagenic E. coli and assess itsantibiogram profile in two abattoir settings, in one health lens.Methods A cross-sectional study in one health approach was conducted from December 2020 to June 2021. Atotal of 384 samples from abattoir workers’ hands, carcasses, knives, cattle feces, abattoir water and effluents werecollected. Bacterial culture and biochemical tests were conducted to isolate E. coli, while conventional polymerasechain reaction was performed to identify virulence genes. The antibiogram of diarrheagenic E. coli was tested againstnine antimicrobials using the Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method.Results A total of 115 (29.95%) E. coli were isolated from the 384 samples, and from these isolates, about 17 (14.8%)were confirmed to be diarrheagenic E. coli (DEC). Among the DEC pathotypes, nine (52.94%), five (29.4%), and three(17.65%) were Shiga toxin-producing, enterohemorrhagic, and enterotoxigenic E. coli, respectively. While 14 (82.35%)DEC isolates harbored the stx2 gene, five (29.41%) the eae gene, five (29.41%) the hlyA gene and three (17.65%)harbored the st gene. All the DEC isolates were resistant to erythromycin and vancomycin; whereas, they weresusceptible to ampicillin, nalidixic acid and norfloxacin. Furthermore, 64.7% of DEC isolates showed resistance to bothceftazidime and kanamycin and 88.24% of the isolates showed multidrug resistance.Conclusion This study detected DEC isolates having different virulence genes, which showed single and multipleantimicrobial resistance. Given the existing poor hygienic and sanitary practices along the abattoir-to-table food
chain, coupled with the habit of raw meat consumption, this result indicates a potential public and animal health riskfrom the pathogen and antimicrobial resistance.Keywords Abattoir setting, Antibiogram profile, Carcasses, Diarrheagenic E. Coli, Virulence genes

Investing in agricultural water management by improving irrigation schemes helps to establish climate-resilientand sustainable agri-food systems, thus contributing to sustainable poverty reduction. The purpose of this studywas to identify the determinants of farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for irrigation water improvements inNorthcentral Ethiopia. Primary data collected from a random sample of 132 households were analyzed using thedouble-bounded contingent valuation method and binary logit regression model to identify what determinesfarmers’ WTP for irrigation improvement. The findings show that farmers’ mean WTP for irrigation water im-provements is 141.60 Birr/ha/year (2.50 USD/ha/year). The results of bivariate Probit model revealed that croptype, education, relative location to the irrigation scheme, irrigated plot size, and perceived drought risk sta-tistically and positively determine farmers’ WTP for irrigation water improvement. These findings offer valuablepolicy implications on how best to guide practical agricaltural water management. Policy interventions aimed atenhancing farmers’ behavior, awareness, and perception of drought-related issues, while also promoting cashcrop production, are likely to drive more farmers towards a positive WTP for irrigation water improvement.
Keywords: Improved irrigation water; Double-bounded contingent valuation; Willingness to pay; Bivariate probit model

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) holds signifcant agricultural and nutritional importance in Ethiopia; yet, its pro-duction faces challenges, including suboptimal nitrogen fertilizer management. Te aim of this review was to review the possibleefect of nitrogen fertilizer levels on the production of cabbage in Ethiopia. Nitrogen fertilization signifcantly infuences cabbageyield and quality. Moderate to high levels of nitrogen application enhance plant growth, leaf area, head weight, and yield.However, excessive nitrogen levels can lead to adverse efects such as delayed maturity, increased susceptibility to pests anddiseases, and reduced postharvest quality. In Ethiopia, small-scale farmers use diferent nitrogen levels for cabbage cultivation. InEthiopia, NPSB or NPSBZN fertilizers are widely employed for the growing of various crops such as cabbage. 242 kg of NPS and79 kg of urea are the blanket recommendation for the current production of cabbage in Ethiopia. Te existing rate is not conducivefor farmers. Terefore, small-scale farmers ought to utilize an optimal and cost-efective nitrogen rate to boost the cabbage yield.Furthermore, the efectiveness of nitrogen fertilization is infuenced by various factors including the soil type, climate, cabbagevariety, and agronomic practices. Integrated nutrient management approaches, combining nitrogen fertilizers with organicamendments or other nutrients, have shown promise in optimizing cabbage production while minimizing environmentalimpacts. Te government ought to heed suggestions concerning soil characteristics such as the soil type, fertility, and additionalfactors such as the soil pH level and soil moisture contents.

The experiment was carried out to evaluate the agronomic performance and dry matter yield of thePennisetum pedicellatum varieties (areka, kulmsa, and kindonkosha-591) at Debre Markos University,Ethiopia, during 2023 in a RCBD with three replications. The agronomic performance of all varieties wasmeasured from the six plants that were selected randomly from the middle rows of each plot at 105, 119,and 133 days after planting, and dry matter yield was measured at 135 days after planting. The studyshowed that there were significant differences (p < 0.05) in plant height, number of tillers and leaves,leaf length, and dry matter yield, but the number of nodes and leaf width were not significantly different(p > 0.05) among varieties. The highest values of plant height, number of tillers and leaves per plant, andleaf length and width were measured from the areka variety, followed by the kulmsa variety, while theleast was recorded from the kindonkosha-591 variety. The plant height, number of tillers per plant,number of leaves per plant, and dry matter yield of the areka variety were significantly higher (p < 0.05)than the kulmsa and kindonkosha-591 varieties. The highest dry matter yield was also produced fromareka (11.55 t/ha), followed by kulmsa (8.52) and kindonkosha −591 (7.99 t/ha). The areka grass varietyshowed superior agronomic performance and dry matter yield, suggesting its potential for improvingfeed shortage constraints in the study areas.
KEYWORDS: Agronomy; Desho grass; dry matter; Pennisetum pedicellatum; varieties

Maize is produced throughout the world and it is also a pri-mary staple food crop in many developing countries. Thefield experiment was conducted during the main rainy sea-son of 2018 in Burie district to study the effects of types andgrowth stages of seedlings on the growth and yield of trans-planted maize (Zea mays L.). Factorial combinations of twotypes of seedlings (bare rooted and poly bagged); five lev-els of seedling’s growth stages (seedlings of 1, 2, 3, 4, and5 true leaf/ves) and one control (direct seeded) were laiddown in randomized complete block design with three repli-cations. Data on phenological, vegetative growth and yield-related parameters were collected following standard meth-ods and procedures. All data were subjected to analysis ofvariance using SAS software, and mean separation for sig-nificant treatments was done by LSD. Both main effects af-fected the number of grains cob−1 , grain, and stover yieldhighly significantly and days to 50% silking very highly signif-
icantly. Types of seedlings affected days to 50% tasselling sig-nificantly; and days to 90% physiological maturity and plantheight highly significantly. In addition, types of seedlingsaffected the number of cobs plant−1 , cob length, numberof grains row−1 and biomass yield, very highly significantly.Seedlings’ growth stages had a very highly significant effecton days to 50% tasseling and days to 90% physiological ma-turity. The number of cobs plant−1 , cob length, number ofgrains row−1 and biomass yield were also highly significantlyaffected by seedlings’ growth stages. The interaction effectwas highly significant on the number of cobs plant−1 , grain,and stover yield and very highly significant on the harvest in-dex. The highest (10.7t ha−1 ) grain yield of maize was foundfrom the transplantation of polybagged seedlings at four trueleaf stages. Although it is difficult to conclude based on oneseason and one location research trial, transplanting of poly-bagged seedlings at four true leaf stages gave superior grainyield. This treatment combination also gave the highest netbenefit with an acceptable range of marginal rate of return.Therefore, transplanting polybagged seedlings at four trueleaf stages is economically feasible and can be recommendedtentatively for Burie District. However; it’s also advised to re-peat the study in areas having terminal moisture stress formaize production.
Keywords: Bare root, Growth stage, Polybagged, Seedling, Transplanting

This study aimed to determine the seasonality, feed balance, and copying mechanisms oflivestock feed in the east Gojjam Zone of northwestern ethiopia. to collect the data, the zonedivided into three agroecologies (lowland, midland, and highland) and randomly selected twodistricts from each agroecology to represent appropriate agroecologies. the study involved540 respondents – 45 from each peasant association – and utilized key informant interviews,focus groups, questionnaires, and direct observations for data collection. According to thefindings, the study reveals that feed availability in all agroecologies fluctuates seasonally. thetotal dry matter and crude protein supplies per household per year in highland, midland, andlowland agroecologies were 8.69, 15.49, and 14.94 tons, and 0.05, 0.91, and 0.90 tons,respectively. the yearly dry matter and crude protein requirements for livestock in highland,midland, and lowland agroecologies were 11.9, 22.2, and 19.5 t/hh/yr, and 1.4, 2.6, and 2.5 t/hh/yr, respectively. the total amounts of dry matter and crude protein produced in the studyareas satisfied only 73.3, 69.7, and 76.6%, and 32.1, 35.5, and 36.3% of the livestockrequirements in the highland, midland, and lowland agroecologies, respectively. Producers inthe study areas employ strategies such as purchasing feed, preserving crop residue, andreducing herd sizes to address livestock shortages of dry matter and crude protein. to addressthe issue, a new strategy should be employed, including managing natural pastures, increasingforage crop cultivation, providing protein-rich feed, and improving crop residue quality usingeffective microorganisms.