USE OF HOME GARDENS AND THEIR SPECIES COMPOSITION AND DIVERSITY IN MIDAKEGN WOREDA, WEST SHOWA ZONE, OROMIA REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

Understanding the importance of home gardens in the production of food, generating income, traditional medicine and other useful products for human beings is indispensable. In Ethiopia, research and documentation on home gardens are very few. The present study was intended to investigating the role of home gardens for improved livelihoods, plant species composition and their diversity. This study was conducted in Midakegn Woreda, West Showa zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia from September 1, 2015 to August 30, 2016. Sixty home gardens from 4 kebeles with different altitudes were purposive random selected for data collection. Data were collected using home garden tour, semi-structured interviews, and market surveys. Seventy three plant species belonging to 36 families were recorded in the study area, of which 20 (27.4%) trees, 17(23.3%) shrubs, 32 (43.8%) herbs and 4 (5.5%) liana species. Of the total plant specis as the major18.4%were food providing species,17.6% income generating speciesand14.7% medi cinal specis.Fabaceae had the highest number of specie , followed by the families Poaceae,Rosac eae &Lamiaceae.Solannumtuberosum,Rhamnus prinoides,Aliumsativum,Birassicacarinata,Licop ersicoe sculentum,lactucasativa,capsicumannum,Zeamays,Ipomoea batatas and Alaium cepa were among the cash earning and consumption plants frequently found in home gardens. It can be concluded that home gardens of the study area are rich in biodiversity, the average species per home garden was19.34ranging from 11to29. Based on findings of the current research, it is recommended that farmers should be encouraged to manage their home gardens as home garden s play important role in ensuring plant biodiversity, food security and increasing house hold inc ome. Community members in the study area should, therefore, be made aware of the role of home garden plants in fulfilling their nutritional and other requirements as many seem to be not very much aware of such fact.