Wagnew Ayalneh¹, Haile Regassa², A.K.S. Huda³ and S.M. Virmani³
1. International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA), PO Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia2. Institute of Agricultural Research (JAR) PO Box 2003, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
3. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh 502 324, India
Vertisol areas of the Ethiopian highlands constitute about 12% of Ethiopia's total area. Cropped Vertisol areas account for 24% of all cropped land in the Ethiopian highlands. Important crops in these areas are teff, durum wheat, chickpea, lentil, linseed and barley. Crop yields are low but stable. The main reasons for low agricultural production are variability of rainfall, poor management of on-farm water resources, inadequate conservation of soil-water in the rainy season and the adoption of low-input, low-risk technologies.
Data from eight locations in Ethiopia were analysed to evaluate agroclimatic, agrobiological and other environmental variables affecting agriculture, to provide guidelines for obtaining higher, sustained crop production. The SORGF model was used to demonstrate the applications of crop growth simulation.
