Abstract

Although home gardens are important for sustainable agriculture and resilience building in the face of climate change, recent development initiatives failed to include them as a viable option. This ethnobotanical study was conducted to document the role of home gardens for food security, conservation and sustainable use of medicinal and other multipurpose species in Angecha District, Southern Ethiopia. Data were collected from owner of home garden using semi-structured interview, discussions, observations and market survey. Vegetation data was collected from 75 home gardens which were selected randomly. Descriptive statistics was used for data analysis. Food plants were dominant in the home gardens followed by medicinal plants. A total of 44 food plants belonging to 38 genera and 18 families were documented from the surveyed home gardens. Ensete ventricosumwas the most frequent and widely used multipurpose plant and women play a significant role its production cycle from propagation to harvesting. Women were empowered to manage home gardens and sell products in markets. Medicinal plants managed by the farmers 22 (belonging to 21 genera and 17 families). Herbs were the most commonly used growth forms and leaves were the most frequently used parts in traditional medicine. Home gardens were important for enhancing food and nutritional security, promoting ecosystem services and contributing to improving family income. It was concluded that there was high need to promote home gardens as part of sustainable farming system for food security and nutritional requirements, and for sustainable use of plants for diverse needs of communities.

Keywords

food plants, fruits and vegetables, indigenous knowledge, medicinal plants