Africa RISING project: Local agro-ecological knowledge as a basis for sustainable intensification of tree- crop- livestock systems in the Ethiopian highlands: Sinana Woreda, Oromo Region

This study provides results from local knowledge studies conducted in Sinana woreda, Oromo region. The local knowledge was used as a means of understanding fine-scale variation in a non-homogenous smallholder system in the wheat-belt of the Ethiopian highlands. The research was supported through the USAID funded project Africa RISING (Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation). The project was launched as part of the US government’s Feed the Future initiative to address global hunger and food security issues in key farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa. This study was focussed on identifying existing sustainable intensive agricultural methods in Sinana woreda, Oromo region. The study also collected local knowledge on agricultural methods so as to assist in the development and implementation of appropriately adapted technologies to intensify production of crops, livelihood and household production without extending the areas subject to cultivation.   The research objectives of the study were: · To characterize agro-ecological knowledge of farmers in the Africa RISING project sites · To identify and map out community resources · To assess land use and livelihood strategies at the household level · To characterise existing tree cover and assess the drivers of tree cover change · To determine temporal variation in availability of provisioning services (income, fuel, livestock feed, crops, labour.)