Abstract:
West Wellega Zone, being suffering from termite infestation, is
among the major coffee growing zone of Oromiya Region. The
damage caused by this insect is characterized by serious land
degradation affecting both crop and livestock production. Termite
affected over 600,000 hectares in the Zone to the extent that the
farmers have been forced to abandon their residence area, which is
a remarkable crisis for the resource poor farmers of the area
(Girma et al., 1999; ICRA, 1998).
Among the districts found in West Wellega Zone, Mana-Sibu is one
of the most termite-affected districts (Girma et al., 1999). Though
termites are important constraints in this area, they have not been
given due emphasis except termite mound poisoning and a few
management practices as afforestation and area closure of termiteinfested fields practiced by the Mana-sibu Environmental
Rehabilitation Project (MERP). However, these practices have not
been ultimate solutions to the problem. This was partly because
termite control options should have been integrated in the form of
system approach.
This publication reports a survey conducted to investigate the
termite situation of Mana-sibu district emphasizing to uncovered
areas by previous works with the following objectives:
characterize and identify farming system, problems and
options of Mana-Sibu district, and suggest research,
development and policy prescriptions concerning termite
problems;
investigate the cause, extent of damage, and consequences
of termite; and
create awareness in the farming community, government
and non-governmental organization how to manage termite
problems of the area.
