Background. Podoconiosis is one of the neglected tropical diseases, and it is a nonfilarial elephantiasis caused by prolonged barefoot exposure to irritant soil. This is manifested by slowly progressive swelling of the foot and lower leg which may lead to an irreversible disability among affected people. Podoconiosis is an entirely noncommunicable preventable disease with a low-cost preventive mechanism. This study is aimed at assessing the magnitude and factor affecting Podoconiosis in Waghmra zone, Amhara region, Ethiopia, 2019. Methods. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 808 household members. A multistage sampling method was used to select study participants. A pretested semistructured questionnaire, observation, and clinical screening were used to collect data. The data were entered using EpiData version 4.2 and analyzed using SPSS version 24.0. Both bivariable and multivariable logistic regression models were fitted to identify factors associated with Podoconiosis. Odds ratio with 95% confidence interval was computed to determine the level of significance; in multivariable analysis, variables with a P value less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Result. According this study’s results, 4.3% of study participants were affected by Podoconiosis. A family number of four and above [AOR=3.29, 95% CI (1.013-10.661)], family income of less than 500 ETB [AOR=3.69, 95% CI (1.271-10.727)], distance from a health facility greater than 3 km [AOR=6.69, 95% CI (1.610-27.863)], no shoe wearing habits [AOR=5.02, 95% CI (1.969-12.778)], age at first wearing of shoes at 10 and above [AOR=4.46, 95% CI (1.792-11.102)], and no feet washing habits [AOR=3.87, 95% CI (1.516-9.883)] are significant factors of Podoconiosis. Conclusion. Creating awareness about the importance of shoe wearing, feet hygiene, and building infrastructure such as a road, health facility, and water supply were essential preventive strategies. Training about early diagnosis and effective management of lymphedema, giving emphasis on hygiene education and sanitation program, and reporting any suspected Podoconiosis case as early as possible are some of the recommendations forwarded.

Background Land degradation is a major challenge that adversely affects soil fertility, agricultural production, and environmental sustainability. To curb this, various agricultural land management (ALM) measures have been practiced for the last three decades. This research investigated the effects of ALM practices on selected soil quality indicators in the Ojoje sub-watershed, Southern Ethiopia Highlands. A total of 72 composite soil samples were collected from non-treated and treated plots (i.e., land treated for 5 and 10 years with only physical practices and integrated measures) at a depth of 0–20 cm. A one-way ANOVA was used to demonstrate statistically significant variations on soil quality indicators. Simple regression analysis was used to explain the proportional variance of soil quality indicators due to ALM measures. Result The findings of the study indicate that integrated ALM practices have positive effects on the soil quality indicators. Most soil quality indicators, such as the soil organic carbon, soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorous, sulfur, boron and percentage of cation exchange capacity, were significant (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05) as a result of ALM practices. However, soil bulk density, potassium and percentage of silt contents were higher, but the difference was insignificant. Thus, the mean value of soil quality indicators increased steadily with age of intervention and application of integrated physical and biological conservation measures. Conclussion ALM practices had stronger effects when land was treated with integrated ALM measures and conserved for an extended period of time. Hence, integrating ALM practices and maintaining them for the long term is crucial for improving soil quality and enhancing agricultural productivity.

Abstract:This study was conducted at Boloso Sore Woreda. The woreda lacks in-depth studies factors that affect the participation in irrigation practice and also there was not well known to what extent the households using irrigation water are better-off than those who depend on rain-fed agriculture. This study was focused on to assess factors that affect the participation in irrigation practice and its effects on rural household farm income. Descriptive statistics, inferential statistics and binary logistic regression analysis were used to analyzing quantitative data. The model result showed that education level, household labor and land holding size had significant positive effect on the use of irrigation water at 5% significance level. However, age and farm distance from river had significant negative effect on the use of irrigation water at 10% and 5% significance level respectively. Out of the total irrigation user respondents (79.7%) have harvested perennial crops more than two times and grown annual crops two times per year from the same farm. While out of the total irrigation non-user respondents' household depended on only rain fed agriculture (56.4%) have grown annual crops only one time per year from the same farm. Consequently, the independent sample test result showed that the irrigation user respondents' household obtained significantly larger mean annual gross farm income than irrigation non-user respondents' household at 1% significance level. As a result, the irrigation user respondents' household obtained excess of 17067.98 birr of mean annual gross farm income that obtained by irrigation non-user respondents' household. According to the finding, in addition to river water it should be better to initiate farmers to develop and use spring water at community level and shallow wale at household level. It is likely to be valuable for future irrigation development. And also the concerned bodies should give emphasis on adult education to improve farmers' awareness; provision of credit, which improves their financial capital to purchase irrigation technologies and to hire labor which fills the gap of family labor shortage.

Land degradation is a major challenge that adversely affects soil fertility, agricultural production, and food security. To curb this, different Agricultural land management (ALM) measures are being put into practice. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of practices on soil quality indicators in Ojoje sub-watershed, Southern Ethiopia Highlands. Judgment sampling techniques were used to collect representative soil samples. Samples were collected at a depth of 0–20cm by using both an auger and a core sampler. A total of 72 composite soil samples were collected from non-treated and treated plots (i.e., land treated for five and ten years with only physical practices and integrated measures). Soil quality indicator tests were done through standard laboratory procedures. One way ANOVA was used to demonstrate statistically significant variation on soil quality indicators. Simple regression analysis was used to explain the proportional variance of soil quality indicators due to ALM measures. The results indicate that treatment types and duration of interventions of ALM practices have significant and positive effects on soil quality indicators (p < 0.05). The effect of ALM practices was stronger when land was treated with integrated Agricultural land management practices; irrespective of the duration of interventions. Hence, integrating ALM practices and maintaining them for the long-term is essential improve soil quality and enhance agricultural productivity in the study watershed.