Integrated termite management in degraded crop land in Diga district, Ethiopia

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1 Integrated termite management in degraded crop land in Diga district, Ethiopia Citation: Legesse, H., Taye, H., Geleta, N., Swaans, K., Fikadu, D., Zziwa, E. and Peden, D. Integrated termite management in degraded crop land in Diga district, Ethiopia. In: Wolde Mekuria. (ed) Rainwater management for resilient livelihoods in Ethiopia: Proceedings of the Nile Basin Development Challenge science meeting, Addis Ababa, 9 10 July NBDC Technical Report 5. Nairobi, Kenya: International Livestock Research Institute. For the full version please follow this link:

2 Rainwater management for resilient livelihoods in Ethiopia 81 Integrated termite management in degraded crop land in Diga district, Ethiopia Hirpa Legesse 1, Hailemichael Taye 2, Negash Geleta 1, K. Swaans 2, Dereje Fikadu 1, E. Zziwa 3 and D. Peden 2 1 Wollega University, Ethiopia 2 International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Ethiopia; 3 Mekerere University, Uganda Corresponding author: hirpa,leg@gmail.com Abstract: Termites are a major pest in the semi-arid and sub-humid tropics. They pose a serious threat to agricultural crops, forestry seedlings, rangelands and wooden structures. In Ethiopia the problem is particularly serious in the western part of the country, specifically in Wollega Zones of Oromia Region. In the past, several attempts were made to reduce damage caused by termites, including extensive termite mound poisoning campaigns. These interventions not only had a negative effect on the environment, but were also largely ineffective. Based on previous work in Uganda showing that adding organic matter to the soil diverts termites from the plant and functions as alternative feed source, a project was commenced by the Challenge Program for Water and Food (CPWF). In partnership with IWMI and Makerere University, ILRI and Wollega University took the lead in working with local stakeholders to identify sustainable solutions to address the termite problem in Diga, Ethiopia. The research consisted of two major activities; 1) a baseline study to better understand the relation between land use, water, termites and local institutions; and 2) the design and testing of identified interventions. The baseline findings indicated that termite damage depends on various biophysical and socio-institutional factors, which requires an integrated, but also targeted, termite management approach; two termite species are locally recognized, but level of knowledge highly varies among farmers within and between kebeles. Various trials were designed for on-farm experimentation using cattle manure and crop residues as alternative feed source for termites in combination with other cultivation techniques. The result obtained indicated that application of cattle manure and crop residues increases the organic matter content of the soil by 24.5 and 13.9% grain yield of maize by 38.8 and 16.7% and reduces termite count per plant by 29.6 and 21.6% as compared to the control treatment, respectively. The results are in line with farmers own evaluation of the trials. Results and implications are discussed. Media grab: Integrated Termite management provides a promising approach to rehabilitate degraded crop land; it is based on local and scientific knowledge and requires active involvement of local stakeholders, especially farmers. Introduction In Ethiopia, termites are one of the major threats to agricultural crops, forestry seedlings, rangelands and wooden structures. The problem is severe in the western part of the country including Wollega area (Abdulahi et al. 2010). In the past, several attempts were made to reduce damage caused by termites, including extensive termite mound

3 82 Rainwater management for resilient livelihoods in Ethiopia poisoning campaigns. These intervention approaches not only had a negative effect on the environment, but were also largely ineffective. In addition, farmers also employed several cultural practices to reduce the damage caused by termites. These control measures includes queen removal, flooding and smoking. However, none of these cultural practices are effective so far to control termites especially for that of non-mound forming once. A multi-partner research project was designed to understand the problem along with the wider biophysical and socioeconomic contexts and identify appropriate combinations of technical and institutional options for control through a process of shared learning and innovation. To this effect, a baseline study was conducted to understand the relation between the termite problem and land use; also perceptions and knowledge of termites, the severity of the problem and control strategies were explored. Based on the findings of the baseline study and previous work in Uganda (see Mugerwa 2007; Peden et al. 2009), participatory on farm trials were designed to test various options to minimize termite damage and improve soil fertility. This paper summarizes the main findings and implications of the baseline study and the on farm trials. Methods The study site, Diga District, is located in East Wollega Zone of Oromia Regional State to the west of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In case of rainfall pattern, the woreda is predominantly mono modal and it receives rain from mid-march through November. The dry season extends from December to Mid-March. According to the Diga woreda Agricultural office termites are problem in 13 of the 21 Kebeles in the woreda. Two kebeles namely, Lelisa Dimtu and Bikila were selected for the study, with Bikila representing the upstream catchment and mid-highland and Lelisa Dimtu representing the down-stream and lowland areas. For the baseline study, primary and secondary data were collected using various tools at woreda and kebele levels. Key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted with woreda level key staff of office of agriculture, Wollega University and Mekane yesus church. Similarly, KII were conducted at kebele level with the development agent, the kebele chairman, kebele manager and elders. At each kebele, one focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted with 8 12 farmers to understand their knowledge, attitude and practices in terms of the termite problem, its causes and consequences, copping strategies, controlling mechanisms etc. Also a household survey (HS) was conducted among 28 households in each kebele (56 in total) to collect household level quantitative data. Besides, secondary data was collected through document and literature review. The qualitative data of the baseline were analysed through, categorization, summarization and interpretation in line with the research questions while the quantitative data was analysed using SPSS. Simple descriptive statistics, using percentages and means, were employed to summarize the quantitative data. Based on the baseline data and previous work on termite management in Uganda, integrated termite management trials were designed to evaluate the effect of cattle manure and crop residues on soil fertility and termites damage. Maize, the main staple crop in the area was used as the test crop. The experiment consists of six treatments arranged in randomized complete block design; treatments were replicated on 6 farms in Lelisa Dimtu and 4 farms in Bikila, with each farm being used as a replication. Treatments consisted of: control, intercrop only, crop residue, crop residue + intercrop, cattle manure and cattle manure + intercrop. Haricot bean was used as intercrop. The spacing used for maize was 75 cm between rows and 25 cm between plants for both sole and intercrops and for haricot bean the spacing was 25 cm between rows and 12.5 cm between plants. The net plot size was 5m 6m (30 m 2 ). The space between two plots was 2 m. Crop residue (sorghum) was applied during planting under soil by chopping with the rate of 2 t ha -1 (6 kg per plot). Similarly for cattle manure half the recommended rate which is 2 t ha -1 (6 kg per plot) was applied during planting in rows. Recommended rates of inorganic fertilizer DAP 100 kg / ha (0.3 kg/plot) and Urea 200 kg/ha (0.6 kg/plot) was applied at planting and at active growth stage of maize plant, respectively. Farmer groups of farmers were established in each kebele to discuss progress at regular intervals and to evaluate the trials in each farm according to various socio-economic criteria (i.e. labour requirement, presence of weed, cost of required materials and accessibility of materials, termite infestation and yield.

4 Rainwater management for resilient livelihoods in Ethiopia 83 Data for the trials were recorded for agronomic (crop and soil fertility) and termite data to evaluate the overall performance of the trials. Biological data recorded was subjected to analysis of variance table (ANOVA) by SAS software version Treatment that showed significant differences were separated by least significant differences (LSD) at 5% significant level. Matrix ranking (from least to highly preferred) was used by the farmers groups to evaluate the trails of the selected farms in their kebele for each socio-economic criteria. Result and discussion Relation between termites, land use, water and livelihoods Based on the baseline survey, the problem of termite is very serious in the study area for the last years and its severity increases over time. Farmers mentioned several reasons for increased termite infestation in the area; soil degradation, deforestation and overgrazing were mentioned as main ones (see Table 1). Table 1. Farmers perception on causes of termite infestation based on the baseline survey (n=56) Factors Kebele Total Bikila Lelisa Dimtu Soil degradation 12 (23.5%) 16 (33.3%) 28 (28.3%) Deforestation 13 (25.5%) 11(22. 9%) 24 (24.2%) Over grazing 8 (15.7%) 12 (25.0%) 20 (20.2%) Population pressure 6 (11.8%) 6 (12.5%) 12 (12.1%) Drought 6 (11.8%) 2 (4.2 %) 8 (8.1%) God 3 (5.9%) 1 (2.1%) 4 (4.0%) Excess rainfall 3 (5.9%) 0 3 (3.0%) *More than one answer per respondent possible. Farmers reported that there is feed shortage in dry season due to termite damage and shortage of grazing land, while there is overgrazing of the existing rangelands due to uncontrolled grazing. According to farmers, overgrazing not only affects the feed availability in the area but also reduces the population of black ants which feed on termites. Farmers use cattle manure for improving soil fertility. However, due to the decrease in the number of livestock, the amount of manure incorporated into the soil is decreasing which also affects the soil fertility in the area. Farmers reported that due to the effects of termites, the land was becoming less productive over the years and cost of production was also increasing due to increased demand for inorganic fertilizers to improve the poor soils. The impact of termites on soil fertility and the degradation of land are closely related to limited access to and use of water resources. Rainfall in the area is mono-modal in nature and farmers rely on this rain for crop production. However, farmers livelihoods are threatened by the variability in the amount and distribution of the rainfall. Eventhough there are a number of permanent rivers that cross the district there are no irrigation facilities in the woreda except for few farmers who practice small scale irrigation. In addition there is limited rain water harvesting practices in the woreda to conserve the excess rain in the rainy season for both animals and crop production. Recently soil and water conservation practices started in the district to rehabilitate the degraded lands and to conserve the soil from runoff. Still these practices are not sufficient to conserve the soil due to the sloppy nature of the area. The decreases in crop production and productivity due to land degradation added up with the direct damages caused by termites on crops have affected farm income and household food security. The frequently mentioned reasons for facing food shortage in ranking order were poor soil fertility (22%), termite damage (21%), land shortage (12%), oxen shortage (10%) and wild animal damage on crops (7%). Moreover, termites do not only threaten food security, but also affected farmers security directly though damaging their houses.

5 84 Rainwater management for resilient livelihoods in Ethiopia Farmer perceptions of termites and control methods Farmers differentiated two types of termites. The local names given to the two types of termites are Werrartu (meaning invaders in Afan Oromo) and Marimartu (meaning common to the area in Afan Oromo). The Marimartu have mounds and stay in some places whereas, the Werrartu are non-mound forming and migratory type. However, only about a third of them knew that there are different types of termites. About a third believed that termites improved soil fertility as the mounds help decompose crop residues. Some farmers also reported that the queen can be used for livestock fattening purposes. In general, famers in Lelisa Dimtu (lowland) had better knowledge of termites compared with their colleagues in Bikila. This could be related to the knowledge and information diffused in Lelisa Dimtu kebele during the Derg time as the area was a state farm at that time. It was reported by farmer and key persons that termites damage almost all crops and trees. However, there is a difference in terms of tolerance to termite attack. For instance, maize, teff, coffee, sugarcane and eucalyptus are reported to be most susceptible. On the other hand, sorghum, finger millet, sesame and common bean, are more tolerant. It was reported that tuber and vegetables have higher tolerance to termite attack and that improved crop varieties are more susceptible than the local ones. From soil fertility management practices farmers reported that corralling, compost and manure were the most effective practices not only for improving soil fertility but also to decrease termite infestation. Crop residues are used for various purposes including feed, soil fertility, cooking, lighting and house construction. The farmers employed some cultural practices to reduce the damage caused by termites. These control measures includes queen removal, flooding and smoking. However, none of these cultural practices are effective so far to control termites especially for that of non-mound forming once. In addition to these control measures chemicals were used by the agricultural office of the woreda in areas where the severity was very high. But, the farmers reported that they have limited access and capacity to use chemicals. Moreover, chemicals are usually not effective in the long term (termites come back) and have negative effects on the environment. In the study area there are formal and informal institutions that have role in soil, land and termite management. The formal structure of woreda government has various departments dealing with soil and water conservation, land administration and pest/management. There are also development agents at kebele level who are part of this formal structure and organize the implementation of these activities. At community level there are formal institutions such as cooperatives and local institutions such as Edir, Equb, Debo, Wenfel etc. These institutions can potentially support various collective action and resource sharing and provision arrangements such as finance, labour and information etc. Although termite management is mainly seen as a male activity, in general women have a substantial role in termite related practices, such as soil fertility and land management activities. Especially, in terms of the use of manure and crop residues, it is often women who decide. Moreover, many of these practices are applied on crop land directly near the homestead, which is often the domain of the woman; hence it important to keep these gender aspects into account when designing interventions. Testing the effect of cattle manure and crop residues Based on the findings of the baseline discussed above, on farm trials were designed with the involvement of local stakeholder to test various options that have been practised by farmers in the area and other options proved to be effective in other areas. The trials are planned to be conducted for two consecutive years. The following section summarizes the findings of the first year trials. From the result obtained application of cattle manure and crop residue improves the fertility of the soil, grain yield and reduces termite count per plant (see Table 2). Organic matter content of the soils increased by 13.9 and 24.5% following the application of crop residue and cattle manure, respectively. High significant differences (P<0.01) were obtained among treatments for days to maturity and grain yield of maize. The grain yield of maize was improved

6 Rainwater management for resilient livelihoods in Ethiopia 85 by 16.7 and 38.8% due to crop residue and cattle manure application as compared to no application, respectively. Similarly, days to maturity of maize crop were increased by 16.4 and 22.0% due to addition of crop residue and cattle manure as compared to their control treatment, respectively. On the other hand, application of crop residue and cattle manure reduces the number of termites observed on the crop at maturity by 21.6 and 29.7% as compared to the control treatment, respectively. The results indicate that adding cattle manure is preferred over adding crop residues; it may be that cattle manure does not only act as alternative feed source for termites, but compared to crop residues also provides easier access to nutrients (see higher level of organic matter) to the plant resulting in more vigorous and healthy plants. Intercropping had a positive impact on organic matter and yield when compared to the control and increased yield when applied in combination with crop residues, but in combination with cattle manure it reduced yield. In general, intercropping seems to have a positive effect on the termite number per plant. This last aspect is difficult to explain as the intercrop was supposed to be tolerant to termites and have a negative effect on termite number unless, termites are pushed away from the tolerant intercrop (haricot bean) towards the more sensitive test crop (maize). Table 2. Effect of treatments on organic matter content (%OM), days to maturity, grain yield (GY, t/ha) and termite count per plant. Treatment % OM Days to Maturity GY (t/ha) Termite count/plant 1. Control M+IN M+CR M+CR+IN M+CM M+CM+IN Mean LSD NS Where, M- maize, IN-intercropping, CR-crop residue, CM-cattle manure, LSD-least signficant diffrence.ns- non-signficant, OM- organic matter Based on various socio-economic criteria, farmers also evaluated the trials themselves through ranking (see Table 3). Farmers ranked the trials in the following order of preference from highly preferred to least preferred: cattle manure + intercropping, crop residue + intercropping, cattle manure, intercropping, crop residue and control, respectively. In cases, cattle manure and crop residue with intercropping were selected as best treatment for grain yield. So among the criteria s used for the evaluation by the farmers grain yield, termite damage and availability of the treatment materials were the best for ranking the treatments. Table 3. Average ranking by famers of treatments according to various socio-economic criteria Treatment Labour Costs Access to materials Termites infestation Yield Overall assessment 1. Control M+IN M+CR M+CR+IN M+CM M+CM+IN Where, M- maize, IN-intercropping, CR-crop residue, CM-cattle manure; 1: highly prefered; 6: least preferred The data obtained from the farmers evaluation are in general in line with the earlier research findings. Because cattle manure application and addition of crop residue improves the grain yield of the crop if there is high decomposition through organic matter improvement. However, the results do show that intercropping of maize with common bean needs high labour to intercrop to implement on large scale production. In addition for the women, application of crop residue (sorghum Stover) is not appropriate treatment than cattle manure because it is used as a main source of fuel in the area.

7 86 Rainwater management for resilient livelihoods in Ethiopia Conclusions and recommendations Termites are symptoms of land degradation and poor soil fertility, which is caused by a variety of factors (overgrazing, deforestation, soil erosion). To address this, we need to address the underlying factors and an ecosystem approach towards termite management and rehabilitation of degraded land. The results of crop trials indicate that adding cattle manure and crop residue increase yield and reduce termite numbers per plant. Adding cattle manure seems more effective compared to the adding crop residues. However, we need more insight in the underlying mechanisms to explain the relation between reduced termite numbers and increased yield, as well as the difference between adding cattle manure vs. crop residues. More work should be done in the future on intercropping on how it affects the termite population, possibly by using different types of intercrops (see Sileshi et al for different effects on termite damage based on legume species). Furthermore, we need to realize that data are based on a limited set of farms over one season. More replicates are needed before strong conclusions are drawn. The farmers preferred options based on socio-economic criteria seem largely in line with the biophysical data. However, more information is needed on the trade-offs between resource at the farm level (e.g. in terms of labour, money, manure, use of crop residues). Also the interactions between farms and between crop and grazing land may are important issues to take into account. Integrated Termite Management approaches will need to take both biophysical and socio-economic factors into account. This requires capacity building among both farmers and extension workers in terms of the underlying factors and how they are related. Furthermore, farmers need to have an incentive to work on land degradation and termite infestation; we need to make clear what the costs are and what they can gain by working on these issues. Increased income resulting from higher production for feed or markets/food can work as a pull factor that makes other things happen. The added value of feed to cattle through better management of grazing areas may be an incentive, which lead to more cattle and manure, which in turn can be applied to crop land and improved food security Acknowledgements The study was sponsored by Research into Use project by the Challenge Program for Water and Food (CPWF) through ILRI. The authors are grateful to individuals and organizations who contribute in to the success in the project. We thank ILRI, Wollega University, Mekerere University, Diga District Agriculture and development office in facilitating the office and allowing the researchers to take time to conduct the research. References Abdulahi, A., Tadese, A. and Dawd, M The importance and management of termites in Ethiopia. A review. Pest Management Journal of Ethiopia 14:1 20. Mugerwa, S Effect of reseeding and cattle manure on pasture and livestock water productivity in rangelands of Nakasongola District, Uganda. MSc thesis. Kampala, Uganda: Makerere University. Peden, D., Alemayehu, M., Amede, T., Awulachew, S.B., Faki, H., Haileslassie, A., Herrero, M., Mapezda, E., Mpairwe, D., Musa, M.T., Taddesse, G. and van Breugel, P Nile basin livestock water productivity. Colombo, Sri Lanka: CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food. Sileshi, G., Mafongoya, P.L., Kwesiga, F. and Nkunika, P Termite damage to maize grown in agroforestry systems, traditional fallows and monoculture on nitrogen-limited soils in eastern Zambia. Agriculture and Forest Entomology 7:61 69.