Assessment Of Farmers Perception On The Status Classification And Management Practices Of Soil Fertility In Comparison To Scientific Practices In The Case Of Adaa District Central Highlands Of Ethiopia

A field study was conducted in Kumbursa village, Ada’a district, Central highland of Ethiopia tornassess farmer’s perception of the status of soil fertility and the accompined managementrnpractices and then to compare the result with scientific criteria used by researchers.Tornaddress this issue, three farm wealth groups (rich, medium and poor) were distinguished basedrnon farm size, number of oxen and grain stocks through stratified random sampling method. Fromrna total of 277 households 83 Households were interviewed using structured questionnaire torngain insight into soil fertility management practices, local methods used to assess the fertilityrnstatus of a field, and perceived trends in soil fertility. Farmers were asked to identify their mostrnfertile, moderately fertile and infertile fields. Characteristics of the fields in terms of thernindicators that were mentioned by the farmers in the interviews are recorded. The SPSS softwarernhas been used for data analysis. This study indicates that Farmer's local knowledge of soilrnfertilitystatus were based on observable plant and soil related characteristics namely; soilrncolour, soil texture, soil depth, crop productivity, soil water holding capacity, stoniness andrndifficulty to work. 30 soil samples were taken at a depth of 0-15 cm and15-30cm to characterizernthe fertility status of each soil types classified by farmers as fertile, moderately fertile andrninfertile. The soil sample analyses results indicated that the soil types perceived as fertile byrnfarmers are in a favorable ranges of pH and clayey in texture with medium organic matter,rnmedium organic carbon, medium total nitrogen and High available phosphorus,potassium andrnmedium Sodium content and have good bulk densities than soils classified as moderately fertilernand infertile. The overall result shows that there is good agreement between the soil physical andrnchemical analysis and farmers’ assessment of soil fertility status.Therefore, the study shows thernimportance of recognizing farmer’s knowledge and perception about assessment of soil fertilityrnstatus to design more appropriate research and to facilitate clear communication with farmers.rnSo inorder to design more appropriate research and to facilitate communication with farmers,rnresearchers need to understand farmers’ perceptions and assessments of soil fertility status.rnKeywords: soil fertility, farmers’perceptions, indicators, soil color and texture

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