Identification of Major Field Crops Produced and Challenges Facing Farm Households in Case of Gerado Small Scale Irrigation Canal, Southern Wollo, Ethiopia
This study identified the major field crops produced and the challenges faced by farm households in Gerado small scale irrigation scheme in Amhara regional state, Northern Ethiopia. The study exploited both primary and secondary source of data. The primary data was obtained from 97 sampled irrigation using farm households through interview schedule. Moreover, the study also used FGD and key informants interview to obtain additional data. The secondary data was obtained from various reports, websites, literatures, journals and other sources, which are relevant to the study. Descriptive statistics such as mean, frequency, percentage and range were used to analyse the collected data. Accordingly, the result of the study revealed that teff, wheat, barley and maize were the major cereal crops produced using small scale irrigation in the study area. In addition, the result also pointed out that carrot, potato, cabbage and tomato as the main root and tuber crops as well as vegetables produced by irrigation canal using farm households in the study area. Furthermore, the study figured out that lack of clear water use rights between users, shortage of fuels and lack of spare parts, marketing related problems, occurrence of disease and pests, high cost of imported farm inputs and others as the main constraints in exploiting the irrigation potential the study area has. Therefore, future actions should focus on implementing clear water use rights between users, supplying durable and efficient motor pump to the irrigating farm households, creating a market linkage that connects farmers with the consumer to have fair marketing margin distribution, encouraging and advising the farm households to produce variety of crops that have high market price and providing modern farm inputs at a reasonable and subsidized price by the concerned bodies will help the farmers to produce the desired farm products. Keywords: Crops, Farm household, Small Scale Irrigation canal, Geredo, Ethiopia