The research, conducted between 2021 and 2023 by archaeologist Alemseged Beldados Aleho and archaeologist Fikadu Adugna, combined archaeological survey with ethnobotanical and ethnoarchaeological investigation. The team identified and described six agricultural terraces, including both active fields and sites that had been abandoned. Rather than treating terraces as isolated engineering structures, the researchers examined them as parts of a broader agricultural economy: one involving crop diversity, agroforestry, soil conservation, water management and local knowledge passed between generations. The study is significant because the Konso landscape preserves evidence of long-term human interaction with a difficult ecology, while also documenting practices that remain relevant to modern debates over dryland farming and climate adaptation. Its central message is not that an ancient technique can simply be copied elsewhere, but that resilience often emerges from close observation of local terrain and from agricultural systems designed around ecological limits rather than against them.

A terrace works by changing the movement of water and sediment across a slope. On an unprotected hillside, intense rain can rapidly flow downhill, gaining enough energy to detach soil particles and carry them away. This process, known as sheet and rill erosion when it occurs in thin flows and small channels, removes the upper soil horizon where organic matter and plant nutrients are concentrated. Stone terrace walls interrupt that downhill flow. They reduce slope length and water velocity, allowing sediment to settle behind the wall instead of being exported from the field. The structures also increase the time available for water to infiltrate the ground. In principle, this raises soil moisture, reduces peak runoff and limits the formation of gullies. In Konso, where cultivated plots are narrow, fragmented and often built directly into rocky slopes, these effects can determine whether rain becomes a crop-supporting resource or a destructive pulse of erosion.

The terraces are consequently both agricultural fields and water-harvesting infrastructure. Their effectiveness depends on constant maintenance: stones must be repositioned, damaged walls rebuilt and accumulated soil managed as the field slowly changes. The work is labour-intensive, but the landscape’s topography leaves few alternatives. Ox-drawn ploughs require enough space to turn and operate, while tractors and other machinery need broader, more continuous fields and gentler gradients. The Konso system instead relies on hand cultivation and the payra, enabling farmers to work small pockets of soil between rocks and terrace walls. This method permits precision in planting and weeding, although it demands substantial human effort. The study portrays that labour not as evidence of technological backwardness, but as a rational response to terrain in which mechanisation could damage terraces, compact soil or simply be physically unworkable.

Agriculture in the terraced landscape is also diversified across species and layers of vegetation. The researchers recorded crops including teff, sorghum, maize, finger millet, pigeon pea, soybean, linseed, gesho, chat and coffee. These plants do not all serve the same function or occupy identical ecological niches. Cereals provide staple grains, legumes can contribute dietary protein and, through biological nitrogen fixation, may add plant-available nitrogen to soil, while coffee and chat can support household income. Trees such as Moringa stenopetala, often called the cabbage tree, and Terminalia brownii are integrated into the farming system. Agroforestry of this kind can moderate near-ground conditions, provide food, fodder, fuel, medicine or construction material, and help stabilise soil with roots. Tree canopies may also reduce the direct impact of raindrops, an important early step in erosion, although competition for water and light must be managed carefully in dry environments.

The study’s ethnobotanical observations show that the selection of trees is not arbitrary. Plants are valued for multiple, overlapping reasons: their ability to survive local climate conditions, their contribution to soil and water conservation, their use as food or animal feed, and their roles in medicine, construction, ritual and household economies. This multifunctionality spreads risk. A field planted with a single crop can fail completely if rainfall arrives at the wrong time or a pest attacks, whereas a mixed system may continue to provide some food, fodder or income even during a poor season. Intercropping can also make more efficient use of space and time, because species with different heights, root systems or maturation schedules draw on resources differently. The research does not claim that Konso farmers are insulated from drought or climate change; rather, it shows how diversity and structural conservation can reduce vulnerability in a landscape where environmental shocks are recurrent.

Archaeological evidence supports the idea that human use of Konso’s plant resources has considerable antiquity. Excavations at the Koy-koy rock shelter and the open-air sites of Sohaito recovered cultural materials including worked stone tools, pottery fragments, a bead and botanical remains. Among the plant remains were fruit stones attributed to Moringa stenopetala, a species that remains important in Konso agroforestry. Such finds help connect contemporary ecological knowledge with earlier human-environment interactions, although a plant remain alone cannot prove that a particular cultivation technique was already in use at the time it was deposited. The strongest chronological evidence for terrace agriculture in the new study comes from charcoal excavated from an abandoned agricultural terrace. Radiocarbon dating measures the decay of carbon-14 in once-living material; because carbon-14 decreases at a known rate after an organism dies, the remaining amount can provide an estimate of age. The result of 1,235 ± 30 years before present places the charcoal in the early medieval period, subject to the calibration and archaeological context of the sample.

That distinction matters because terraces are complex archaeological features. A stone wall may be rebuilt repeatedly, while soil behind it can accumulate, erode or be redeposited. Charcoal found in a terrace may date the burning or burial of organic material rather than the first construction of the wall. The reported radiocarbon result therefore provides evidence for a long-established agricultural landscape, but it does not by itself establish that every visible terrace is equally old or that the entire system emerged at one moment. The authors interpret the date as a clue to the longevity of traditional terracing, alongside observations of active and abandoned fields and knowledge documented from local inhabitants. More dates from multiple terraces, together with soil studies, stratigraphic excavation and botanical analysis, would help establish how the system expanded, changed or responded to past shifts in rainfall and land use.

The Konso case also carries a warning about the vulnerability of terraced landscapes. A functioning terrace is not a permanent monument; it is a maintained system whose protective capacity can decline when walls are neglected or fields are abandoned. Once breached, concentrated runoff can rapidly remove the soil that earlier generations accumulated, turning a conservation structure into a source of degradation. Climate change may intensify this risk by altering seasonal rainfall, increasing the frequency of heavy downpours or lengthening dry intervals. At the same time, demographic pressure, changing markets and the loss of labour or specialised knowledge could weaken the social foundations of terrace upkeep. Preserving the landscape therefore involves more than conserving stone walls as heritage. It requires recognising the expertise of the people who manage them and supporting agricultural livelihoods that make continued maintenance possible.

The researchers present Konso as an example of resilience and adaptation built through sustained experimentation with altitude, slope, soil and rainfall. Its lesson for climate-stressed agriculture is less about reviving a romanticised past than about understanding the engineering principles and social practices embedded in a living landscape. Slowing water before it becomes erosive, retaining sediment, combining trees with crops and spreading risk across species are all strategies with clear ecological logic. Yet their success depends on local conditions and on the labour and institutions that keep them functioning. As governments and development agencies search for ways to protect food production in increasingly variable climates, the Konso terraces demonstrate that high technology is not the only form of sophisticated technology. In some of the world’s most difficult farming environments, a wall of carefully placed stones, a hand tool and generations of accumulated knowledge can form an agricultural system capable of enduring for more than a millennium.

Subject of Research: Traditional terracing, agroforestry and climate-resilient agriculture in the Konso Zone of southern Ethiopia

Article Title: Farming with Hand and Hoe over the Last Millennia: Traditional Terracing and the Agricultural Economy in Konso Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Article References: Aleho, A. B. B., & Adugna, F. “Farming with Hand and Hoe over the Last Millennia: Traditional Terracing and the Agricultural Economy in Konso Zone, Southern Ethiopia.” African Archaeological Review 42, 635–658 (2025). Original research article

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s10437-025-09641-9

Keywords: Konso agriculture, Ethiopia, traditional terracing, climate resilience, dryland farming, agroforestry, soil conservation, water harvesting, ethnoarchaeology, radiocarbon dating

Push-pull technology is fundamentally an intercropping system that manipulates insect behavior through strategic planting of companion crops. It is characterized by the use of "push" plants that repel target pests away from the main crop and "pull" plants that attract pests, serving as trap crops. Originally developed to manage stemborer pests and striga weeds in cereal production, this approach leverages ecological interactions to reduce reliance on synthetic pesticides, thereby mitigating environmental contamination and enhancing farmer safety.

The core of push-pull technology lies in its ability to disrupt the pest lifecycle and improve yield outcomes by creating a more complex and resilient agroecosystem. By interspersing cereals like maize and sorghum with repellent plants such as Desmodium, farmers can "push" pests away from main crops. Meanwhile, border crops like Napier grass serve as "pull" plants, luring pests towards themselves where they fail to complete their development. This dual action significantly lowers pest populations and guards crops against damage which, without intervention, could decimate yields.

Beyond pest control, the technology addresses the pervasive issue of the parasitic weed striga, commonly known as witchweed, which devastates cereal production across many parts of Africa. Desmodium, the repellent intercrop, releases allelopathic chemicals into the soil that inhibit striga seed germination and growth. This effect not only suppresses a major biotic stressor but also improves soil nitrogen content through symbiotic fixation, positively impacting soil fertility and reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers.

The ecological benefits of push-pull extend deeper, illustrating how agroecological principles can be leveraged for climate-smart agriculture. By enhancing biodiversity in the fields, push-pull systems promote natural enemy populations, such as parasitoids and predatory insects, which further suppress pest outbreaks. This biodiversity enrichment fosters an agroecosystem that is more resilient to climate variability and extreme weather events, contributing to the stability of farmers’ livelihoods in vulnerable regions.

Crucial to the success of push-pull technology is its adaptability to smallholder settings prevalent in Africa. Unlike chemical inputs which require capital investment and continuous supply chains, push-pull can be established with locally available seeds and agronomic knowledge, making it accessible and sustainable for resource-poor farmers. This grassroots compatibility has facilitated widespread adoption in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and other East African nations, where pilot studies have demonstrated substantial yield increases, improved food security, and economic benefits.

However, scientific inquiry now turns towards scaling the technology across wider agroecological zones in Africa. The diversity of climatic and edaphic conditions presents challenges and opportunities to optimize push-pull for varying environments. Researchers are exploring alternative companion crop species that can adapt to drier or more humid climates, as well as integrating push-pull with other sustainable farming practices such as conservation agriculture and agroforestry to maximize synergistic effects.

Moreover, recent technological advances have opened up pathways to deepen the understanding of the mechanisms underpinning push-pull’s efficacy. Metabolomic and genomic analyses of companion plants are shedding light on the specific chemical volatiles responsible for pest repellence and attraction. Insights from these studies may pave the way for enhanced plant breeding strategies to develop improved varieties that produce stronger bioactive compounds, enhancing the system’s effectiveness under diverse pest pressures.

Equally important is the social dimension of pushing push-pull to scale. Extension services, farmer cooperatives, and participatory research have played pivotal roles in knowledge dissemination and farmer empowerment. Gender-inclusive approaches acknowledge that women play critical roles in agricultural management and are central agents in driving sustainable intensification. Building capacity and fostering innovation hubs ensures that push-pull does not become an isolated technological fix but a component of integrated rural development.

The environmental benefits also extend to carbon sequestration and soil conservation. The perennial companion plants used in push-pull systems, such as Napier grass, build above- and belowground biomass that contributes to organic matter accumulation and soil structure improvement. This process reduces soil erosion and enhances the carbon sink potential of agricultural landscapes, aligning with global efforts to mitigate climate change through land use practices.

Despite these successes, challenges remain in widespread adoption. Constraints include seed availability of companion crops, initial labor inputs for establishing intercrops, and occasional variability in farmer uptake due to socioeconomic factors. Addressing these bottlenecks requires policy support, investment in supply chains for quality seeds, and tailored training programs that consider local context and farmer preferences.

In parallel, the ongoing evolution of agricultural policy frameworks is increasingly recognizing agroecology, including push-pull technology, as a strategic component in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By fostering food security, promoting sustainable land management, and enhancing resilience, push-pull embodies the multidimensional objectives of sustainable development in agricultural systems.

Innovative research collaborations and public-private partnerships are further positioned to accelerate the transition from pilot demonstrations to mainstream adoption. Integrating push-pull into national extension curricula and embedding it within farmer support schemes will enable its benefits to reach millions more households facing chronic poverty and environmental degradation.

The future of push-pull technology rests on a dynamic research agenda that balances ecological understanding with socioeconomic realities. By pushing boundaries in both science and policy, the technology can serve as a cornerstone for agroecological intensification that aligns productivity goals with conservation imperatives, ultimately fostering a sustainable agricultural renaissance across Africa’s diverse landscapes.

In conclusion, push-pull technology stands at the nexus of innovation, tradition, and sustainability. Its expansion across Africa holds the promise of transforming food production systems by embedding ecological principles into practice, reducing dependence on harmful agrochemicals, and improving the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers. As challenges such as climate change and population growth escalate, such nature-based solutions offer a potent pathway forward—one rooted in the intimate connection between plants, pests, and people.

Subject of Research: Opportunities for expansion of push-pull technology as an agroecological and sustainable intensification approach in Africa.

Article Title: Opportunities for expansion of push-pull technology as an agroecological and sustainable intensification approach in Africa.

Article References:
Sileshi, G.W., Kuyah, S., Schuman, M.C. et al. Opportunities for expansion of push-pull technology as an agroecological and sustainable intensification approach in Africa. npj Sustain. Agric. 3, 30 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-025-00069-x

Image Credits: AI Generated