Planting and farmers’ perception on environmental impacts of Moringa stenopetala Tree in Offa Woreda, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Moringa stenopetala has increased a great consideration currently in Ethiopia due to its multiple uses. The study was accompanied in Offa district of Southern Ethiopia through the objective of evaluating planting and farmer’s perception of Moringa stenopetala tree on the environmental impacts. In order to attain these objectives, three potential sites were purposively selected due to the availability and distribution of M.stenopetala tree on the farmstead. Data collected from 116 respondents across wealth categories. The data obtained via these techniques were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, chi-square and one way ANOVA. The results revealed that majority (48%) of respondents initially planted M.stenopetala to consume its leaves as household food. The Chi-square test showed that there is no difference in reason for initial planting of M.stenopetala among wealth categories. However, the results revealed that there is difference in reason for primary planting among different age categories. Accordingly, households those in age group >61 (50%) planted it to protect fields on the farm land. Most farmers experienced positive environmental impacts from M.stenopetala, but few farmers had negative experiences which is the tree harbours birds which destroy other crops and it usually is associated with expansion of Monsonia angustifolia weed. However, therefore, it could be concluded that there is a great scope to improve the planting of M.stenopetala with suitable M.stenopetala approaches for maximizing income of the farmers.