Beekeeping is one of the most important sectors that contribute to the improvement of the livelihoods of people in many countries. A cross-sectional study was carried out in southwestern Ethiopia to determine the adoption rate, determinate factors, and community perception of improved beekeeping technologies. A multistage random sampling method was conducted to select study districts. A total of 180 beekeepers were interviewed for this study with a proportional random sampling method from adopters and non-adopters of technologies. From a total of 180 beekeepers, 61 (33.9%) and 119 (66.1%) were adopters and nonadopters, respectively. The majority of respondents stated that high yield, ease for inspection, and quality of honey are the main advantages, while high cost, the need for high skill, and access to technology are the major detriments to the adoption of Dereje Tulu ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dereje Tulu is a researcher at Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), Tepi Agricultural Research Center. His research work focuses on veterinary sciences. He has published various papers in several scientific journals. Melkam Aleme is a researcher at EIAR, Tepi Agricultural Research Center. He has been conducting different research on animal production and apiculture. Gezahegn Mengistu is a researcher at EIAR, Tepi Agricultural Research Center. He has been carried out different research on animal production and apiculture. Ararsa Bogale is a researcher at EIAR, Tepi Agricultural Research Center. He has carried out various researches on animal production and honeybee. His key interest is in honey bee disease and modern hive improvement. Amsalu Bezabeh is senior researcher at Holeta Bee Research Center. He is a national honey bee research program coordinator. His research interest is mainly on the improvement of honeybee production in Ethiopia. Esayas Mendesil is Associate Professor of Entomology at Jimma University. His research areas include beneficial insects, insect ecology and integrated pest management.

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The need to evaluate and identify the adaptability of these improved forage crops on station had been to identify the promising forage species to the particular agro-ecology. On farm evaluation and demonstration of Rhodes grass and Stylosanthus guanensis was carried out on 20 farmers' fields in Yeki and Sheko districts of Sheka and Bench-Maji zones during 2016 and 2017 cropping seasons. The study was to evaluate and demonstrate Rhodes grass and stylosanthus gaunensis at farmers' level and to assess farmers' opinion. The forages were planted on 10×10 plot size on each farmer's farm land. Dry matter yield, seed yield data and farmers perceptions were evaluated. The result indicated that there was variability in performance of the improved forage species between the districts and among the farmers within the districts. The dry matter yield and seed yield for Rhodes grass obtained range from 6-10t/ha and 190.3-315.4 kg/ha respectively. For Stylosanthus guanensis, the highest dry matter was obtained in sheko district (5.1t/ha) and the lowest mean dry matter yield recorded in yeki district (3.5t/ha). Similarly, highest seed yield (269.5 kg ha -1 /year) was obtained in sheko district whereas the lowest seed yield (179.2 kg ha -1 /year) was obtained in yeki district. Most of the farmers were select Rhodes grass than stylosanthus on majority of selection criteria. Further demonstration of improved forage crops allows farmers to improve their knowledge and understanding on cultivation and utilization of forages crops for their animals.

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