Department of Biology, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia.
Depatrment of Ecotourism and Biodiversity Conservation, College of Agriculture, Bedelle Campus, Mettu University, Bedelle, Ethiopia.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2022 Sep 4;18(1):58. doi: 10.1186/s13002-022-00556-2.
Farmers' knowledge has a role in maintaining barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genetic resource, which plays an important role in food security, and provides socio-cultural value to the Ethiopian farmers. However, farmers' knowledge has been ignored in the decision-making process in Misha, Gumer, and Hetosa districts, Ethiopia.
In this study, a semi-structured interview guide was used to carry out comprehensive house-to-house interviews with 357 purposively selected farmers to document their knowledge of barley cultivation, utilization and conservation practices.
The majority of farmers (57.1%) grow barley on 0.5-0.75 hectares. Farmers identified and described 68 barley varieties with various local names, which were given to barley based on different characteristics such as plant height, spikelet length, row type, seed size and color, yield, place of origin, and use-values. Farmers are familiar with the nature, characteristics, end-uses, and preparation of different well-appreciated local meals and drinks. Farmers noticed that the number of barley local varieties has been decreasing in recent years. Introduction of improved varieties was perceived by all farmers as the main cause for the decrease in the number of barley local varieties in their localities. Another factor for the reduction in local barley varieties, according to 24.2% of farmers, was soil fertility degradation. Most of the farmers (65.7%) use their own barley seeds, which they select and save for the next growing season for specific attributes. They have their own indigenous knowledge that they have acquired through experience by growing, selecting, and conserving barley for the last 20-30 years or more.
The majority of farmers gave attention to commercial cultivars due to their better market value. Thus, the introduction of improved cultivars has imposed on local varieties. The indigenous knowledge that the famers acquired through experience could be considered an advantage for the conservation of barley genetic resources by using farmers' participatory approach to widen cultivation and to improve barley local varieties for future use.
农民的知识在维护大麦（Hordeum vulgare L.）遗传资源方面发挥着重要作用，这对粮食安全具有重要意义，并为埃塞俄比亚农民提供了社会文化价值。然而，在埃塞俄比亚的米沙、古默和赫托萨地区，农民的知识在决策过程中被忽视了。
在这项研究中，采用半结构式访谈指南，对 357 名有目的地选择的农民进行了全面的家访，以记录他们对大麦种植、利用和保护实践的知识。
大多数农民（57.1%）在 0.5-0.75 公顷的土地上种植大麦。农民识别并描述了 68 种大麦品种，每个品种都有不同的当地名称，这些名称是根据植物高度、小穗长度、行型、种子大小和颜色、产量、起源地和用途等不同特征赋予大麦的。农民熟悉不同受欢迎的当地餐食和饮料的性质、特征、用途和制备方法。农民注意到，近年来大麦当地品种的数量一直在减少。所有农民都认为，引进改良品种是导致当地大麦品种数量减少的主要原因。根据 24.2%的农民的说法，另一个导致当地大麦品种减少的因素是土壤肥力退化。大多数农民（65.7%）使用自己的大麦种子，他们会选择并保存这些种子，以备下一个种植季节使用，因为这些种子具有特定的属性。他们拥有自己的本土知识，这些知识是通过过去 20-30 年或更长时间的种植、选择和保护大麦获得的。
由于商业品种具有更好的市场价值，大多数农民更关注商业品种。因此，改良品种的引进对当地品种构成了威胁。农民通过经验获得的本土知识可以被认为是通过农民参与式方法扩大大麦种植面积和改善当地大麦品种以用于未来的一个优势，从而有助于大麦遗传资源的保护。
