Assessment of farmers’ knowledge and perceptions of coffee yield reduction due to weeds and their management in Ethiopia

The home of Coffea arabica is in Ethiopia, where it has high genetic diversity and suitable growing conditions; unfortunately, the national average yields of coffee remain low due to no technical advancements and diverse, complex biotic and abiotic constraints. Hence, this study was conducted in eight major coffee-growing zones of Ethiopia to assess farmers' knowledge and perceptions of coffee yield reduction due to weeds and the farmers' weed control practices. A purposive and random sampling technique was used to generate primary data from coffee growers (N = 320) using a semi-structured questionnaire. Quantitative data were analyzed using a three-stage nested design, and the dependent and independent variables data were subjected to canonical correlation analysis. This study revealed variation in coffee yield (t ha(−1)) among the assessed areas based on farmers’ knowledge of estimating coffee yield. The average yield level ha(−1) was very low (0.37 t ha(−1)) and different among the surveyed areas. The average coffee yield gap as compared to the current national level (0.64 t ha(−1)) was observed to be 42%, and this low yield was highly correlated with weed infestation (r = 0.879) and type of weeds r = −0.528). This investigation indicated a single factor or association of different factors contributing to the low yield level of coffee in the study areas. Thus, it is concluded that predictor variables accounting for the low yield levels need to be considered when planning future strategies to attain the yield potential of C. arabica in Ethiopia.