last final thesis of umer

a prerequisite for increased agricultural productivity, natural resource conservation and sustainable
development (CCRP, 2009).
Poor agricultural production and productivity is also a problem in Somale Region of Ethiopia due
to low soil fertility and the situation is worsened by cultivating of one crop year after year causing
certain nutrient depletion.The majority of somale region farmers lack financial resources to
purchase sufficient amount of mineral fertilizers to replace soil nutrients removed through
harvested crop products, crop residues, and through loss by runoff, leaching and as gases.
Consequently, poor soil fertility has emerged as one of the greatest biophysical constraint to
increasing agricultural productivity hence threatening food security in this region.
Therefore, it is necessary to adopt improved and sustainable agronomic practices in order to
guarantee improvement in food productivity and there by food security (Landers, 2007). Such
technologies include the use of integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) like intercropping
cereals with legumes (Sanginga and Woomer, 2009). Intercropping legumes with cereals in water
limited areas like the study area can be a principal means of intensifying crop production both
spatially and temporally to improve crop yields for smallholder farmers and for effective labor
utilization per unit of area of available land (Seran and Brintha, 2010).
1.3 Objective of the study
1.3.1 General objective of the study
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of maize-cowpea intercropping systems on
the productivity of the component crops, on soil fertility and investigate the cost effectiveness of
intercropping.
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