Homegardens and Spices of Basketo and Kafa (Southwest Ethiopia): Plant Diversity, Product Valorization and Implications to Biodiversity Conservation
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Date
2011-02
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Traditional agricultural landscapes support an important level of biological and cultural
diversity. Significant components of such landscapes are homegardens which represent
sustainable farming systems. In this study, homegardens of Basketo Special Woreda and
Kafa Zone in the South Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State (SNNPRS) of
Ethiopia, with a special emphasis on spice-yielding plants, have been investigated. The
study aimed at understanding local peoples’ role in maintenance of biological resources
and also the impact of ongoing homegarden related changes on the conservation of
biological diversity. In the study, local resource perception, classification, management,
and use norms were assessed; plant biological diversity at different levels of the
landscape was measured; and also trends in the commercialization of local spices were
analyzed. Qualitative data were collected through interviews, group discussions, garden
tour, guided field walks and observation methods. Some of the data collected through
interviews were analyzed using preference ranking and paired comparison.
Measurements on quantitative traits of kororima (Aframomum corrorima) were made;
biological diversity at garden section, whole garden and landscape levels were evaluated
using different diversity measurement indices. Laboratory studies were conducted to
determine chemical compositions of kororima seeds and kororima growing soils, and
also seed germination potential. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one way
analysis of variance (ANOVA), independent sample T-test, and Pearson correlation.
Computer programs SPSS, PAST and R were used for data analysis. A total of 280
species were recorded from the managed landscapes of the two areas. Infraspecific
diversity was recorded in a number of crop plants with enset (Ensete ventricosum)
exhibiting the maximum number of local varieties/clones (26 in Basketo and 70 in Kafa).
Existence of local worldview related resource use norm, elaborate and adaptive resource
management, and well developed classification systems which take different forms are
also observed.
The homegardens of Basketo and Kafa, beyond their role as the main source of
household subsistence, serve as central element around which other components of thelandscape are organized. Biodiversity is cultivated in these farming units as a result of the
framers’ innate perception of the values of biodiversity and also the characteristic
organization of the gardens that promoted concentration of plant diversity. Spice-yielding
plants, whose products are of major importance for household consumption and
commercial exchange, constitute vital components of the gardens. Twenty four species of
spice-yielding plants are encountered in each of the study areas and these account for
16.11% and 12.44% of total species composition of Basketo and Kafa gardens
respectively. Although local spices are used for both household consumption and income
generation, correlation analysis indicated that spice-yielding plants are raised in the
garden primarily for household use. However, as the current trend shows, spices are
increasingly becoming market-oriented with kororima (Aframomum corrorima) being the
most-commercialized of all the spices produced in the two areas. Kororima, an
indigenous spice which has been traded for long, is of major importance in terms of
socio-economic and ecological perspectives. Currently, homegardens are undergoing an
unusual dynamics because of agricultural development intervention activities and also
market driven factors. Some crops like coffee (Coffea arabica) which bring better
economic return are expanding at the expense of enset that forms the basic element of the
garden and other indigenous crops. Drastic alteration of these crop production units could
lead to unwanted impacts including disruption of local livelihoods and serious
deterioration of biological diversity. Valorization of spices and other products originating
from the homegardens, by securing better financial benefits to farmers, can aid in slowing
down the rate of change thereby contributing to the maintenance of the agro-ecosystems
and the interlinked components of the local environment.
Keywords: homegardens, spices-yielding plants, kororima, valorization, biodiversity,
emic categorization, Basketo, Kafa
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Keywords
homegardens, spices-yielding plants, kororima,, valorization, biodiversity, emic categorization, Basketo, Kafa