Typification and differentiation of smallholder dairy production systems in smallholder mixed farming in the highlands of southern Ethiopia.

ABSTRACT: The present study aimed to classify smallholder dairy production systems by analyzing land allocation for various crop types and characterizing them based on integration with specific crops which is gap in earlier studies. A total of 360 smallholder farmers were interviewed to generate firsthand information in addition to using secondary data sources. The classification utilized K-means clustering, while discriminant analysis was applied to accentuate the distinct characteristics of dairy production systems (DPSs). Subsequently, for a particular crop to be considered dominant, the minimum farmland allocation had to exceed 30%. Based on this, the 360 respondent farmers in the study areas were categorized into four distinct DPSs: diversified crop-based (DCB) at 31%, enset-based (EB) at 28%,

SUBMITTER: Azeze T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11361680 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature