The study was conducted in Fedis, Gursum, and Chinaksan Districts of East Hararghe Zone with areas of major food insecurity due to the influence of shortage and uneven distribution of rainfall patterns. Introducing drought-tolerant crops is an option to reduce this food insecurity problem. The objectives of this activity were to demonstrate and evaluate the productivity of adapted drought tolerant and early maturing food barley varieties by building farmers’ knowledge and skills through training on food barley production and management techniques in farmers’ fields at the target areas. The activity was conducted for consecutive two years of the main cropping season. A total of 60 farmers and 4 FTCs (Farmer Training Centers) were involved in the activity duration. Two improved lowland food barley (Aquila and Golden Eye) and local check varieties were used on plot sizes of 10mx10m for all sites. Since the technology was new in the areas, target farmers, Development agents, and experts of the districts were trained before intervention. Awareness creation was done through different extension approaches and materials such as field day, field visits, manuals, and leaflets. The result indicated that demonstrations of improved Food barley varieties of Aquila and Golden Eye recorded higher grain yield (25.3 qt/ha and 23.83 qt/ha) compared to local check (18.2 qt/ha), respectively. The result obtained from the demonstration plot was very encouraging. Moreover, the varieties were identified and ranked based on the criteria set by farmers (Early maturity, yield, Disease tolerance, seed color, seed size, tillering effect, performance throughout the growing stage, and biomass). Therefore, the result indicated that using improved varieties of Aquila and Golden Eye food barley varieties was more advantageous for farmers than using the local ones. As a result, both Aquila and Golden Eye varieties were recommended for more promotion in the area and other similar agroecological situations to reduce the problem of food insecurity.
Food Barley, Improved Varieties, Demonstration, Aquila, and Golden Eye
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