Cooking banana is a type of banana mainly cultivated for its fruit, which is eaten as cooked as a vegetable in many food insecurity areas. The experiment was conducted at Dasenech Woreda where food insecurity and malnutrition is the main problem to evaluate the performance of cooking banana varieties for Fruit yield and boiling suitability. Four improved cooking banana verities (Cardaba, Nijiru, Matoke and Kitawira) were used as a treatment and arranged in RCBD with three replications. All the growth, agronomic and sensory acceptability data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SAS 9.0 computer software. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant (P≤0.05) differences among the varieties on day of flowering, day of maturity, plant height, fruit weight, number of hands per bunch, bunch weight and total fruit yield. The early date flowering (112) and date of maturing (203.33), as well as the highest number of hands per bunch (8.66), were observed on the variety Matoke. The higher mean value of average fruit weight (168.33 g), bunch weight (15.66 kg) and total yield (23.46 ton ha-1) were observed on the variety Kitawira followed by Mattoke. For panelists scoring preference, the sensory acceptability means scores of boiled Mattoke, Cardoba and Nijru verities showed positive acceptability value from like slightly (Nijiru) to like very much (Mattoke) while Kitawara showed a negative acceptability level. Therefore, the variety Mattoke was identified as the early maturing, moderately yielder and best sensory quality accepted as compared to other varieties that could be recommended to demonstrate in the study area. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 12(1): 161-165, June 2022

A demonstration of improved banana production and commercialization was conducted in the Nyanghtom district of the South Omo Zone to enhance the livelihoods of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in the area. One improved banana variety (Wiliyams-1) was used for the demonstration and planted on one hectare of land after training was given for purposively selected 25 trial pastoral agro-pastoral research and extension groups and 7 nontrial agro-pastorals from land preparation to harvesting. Relevant data through individual interviews and measurement of agronomic parameters were collected. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and Likert scale measurement of agro-pastoral preference. Based on the results, the mean banana fruit produced was 28.4 ton ha–1 under agro-pastoral management and also agro-pastoral preference indicated that the variety Wiliyam-1 was the first choice of agro pastorals in all parameters except drought resistance. Cost-benefit analysis results indicated that the average net income obtained from banana production was 209,647 Ethiopian Birr ha–1. The cost-benefit ratio of 2.95:1 indicated that the benefit of production was nearly three times higher than the cost of production. However, agro-pastoral raised the frequent breakdown of water pumps, lack of operation and maintenance skills, and the high cost of fuel to operate generators and tractors were major bottlenecks to sustaining production. Therefore, strong efforts of respective stakeholders are needed to resolve irrigation water access problems for sustainable banana production and commercialization to ensure food security and improve the livelihoods of women and agro-pastorals.

Cassava is one of the most important foods security crops, especially in those regions disposed to difficult crop environments. The crop is also grown in the southern part of Ethiopia and plays an important role for home consumption, animal feed and source of income for small-scale farmers. However, its productivity is still low due to the lack of improved planting materials. Therefore, the experiment was conducted at Jinka Agricultural Research Center’s research site during the 2018 and 2019 consecutive cropping seasons to investigate the adaptability of improved cassava varieties and to select high-yielding variety/varieties for the target area. Four improved cassava varieties (Hawassa-4, Kello, Qulle and Chichu) and one local check were used as treatments and arranged in randomized complete block design with three replications. ANOVA revealed that the interaction between year and variety showed non-significant, whereas varieties performed significantly different (p<0.05) for root yield and other yield-related characters considered in this study. The higher mean value of total root yield was recorded on Hawassa-4 (56.91 ton ha-1) followed by Kello (42.8 ton ha-1) and showed good mean performance for root yield-related parameters than local and Qulle varieties. In general, the varieties Hawassa-4 and Kello yielded better than local checks by 50.95% and 13.5%, respectively. Therefore, the variety Hawassa-4 followed by Kello was identified as the highest yielding and adaptable Cassava varieties at the midland area of South Omo Zone and similar agro-ecologies. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 12(1): 101-104, June 2022