This blog post was originally published on the Agriculture and Ecosystems Blog

In Ethiopia, access to internet is limited in most areas outside of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city.  So when you see a number of agricultural extension workers in the sprawling mountains and fields of rural Ethiopia holding e-readers, they may seem slightly out of place.

The Livestock and Irrigation Value Chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project, in an effort to both build the capacity of extension workers and connect them with relevant, easily accessible information has called upon piloting of ICTs, in this case e-readers, whereby easier access to information and knowledge can be accessed.

Read more  on the agriculture and ecosystems blog 

Participants in a market-oriented agriculture extension training workshop; March 24-27,2014, Adama.

The predominantly public sector extension service in Ethiopia has gone through tremendous expansion over the past few years. However their approach of service delivery remains more or less production and technology oriented with little attention to marketing.

The Ethiopian government’s current focus on commercial transformation of subsistence agriculture calls for change in approach, methods and work culture of the extension officers. There is a need to shift services that aim at production for subsistence to those that aim at services to market oriented production. Determined to fill in this gap, the Ministry of Agriculture is focusing on building the knowledge and capacities of its public sector staff in agriculture value chain approaches and market oriented agriculture. The LIVES project is partnering in these efforts and organized some training on these new approaches. The first such training was given at the Federal level this past month.

Trainees comprised experts, team leaders and researchers from the various directorates of the ministry of agriculture and the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR). The workshops were held 17-20th of March on value chain development approaches and 24-27th on market oriented agriculture extension in Adama town, Oromia.

Etelaem Tesfaye, a poultry researcher from Debre Zeit research center of EIAR, explained how the training led her to change her perceptions on how best she could look at her research work not only from productivity perspectives but also from a market orientation, better efficiency and profitability. Similarly, Bula Agegnehu of National Artificial Insemination Center (NAIC) says the trends are changing with the increasing demand for improved breeding and semen supply, which makes such training workshops relevant and timely. He explains further how the campaigns on estrous synchronization and mass insemination all over the country have driven NAIC to increase its supply of semen and to revisit its production and distribution systems in order to facilitate market oriented livestock production, particularly dairy.

Market oriented extension services and value chain approaches were new concepts for most of the trainees. ‘These approaches guide you to assimilate your scientific knowledge with the existing context and increase the efficiency of your work’ says Tamerat Seyoum, a veterinarian at Holeta research center of EIAR. The trainees however worry about the applicability and effectiveness of these approaches at the grassroots unless a continuous follow up and coaching is put in place. They stressed on the need for decision makers to be aware and knowledgeable of these approaches so that they could be leading the adoption and implementation processes.

The LIVES project will organize subsequent training workshops at the four project regions in an effort to bring these approaches closer to the grassroots.

Related publications

• New release from IPMS: A guide to market-oriented extension services
• Market-oriented agricultural extension important for Ethiopia – ILRI tells BBC

Dirk enjoying ‘irgo‘ in rural Ethiopia.

Having traveled around the Ethiopian highlands for a while and trying to understand the dairy value chain, I often wonder about the uniqueness of the Ethiopian farmers and how we are trying to assist them.

During the IPMS project and now the LIVES project, we tried to highlight the difference between the liquid milk and local butter value chains, each having a different set of value chain actors and processes. So far so good.

But observing and discussing many dairy operations, I believe there are still some additional opportunities we can explore. Most dairy processing activities in Ethiopia focus on fresh milk, sold in raw, boiled or pasteurized forms to consumers. The unsold fresh milk is usually processed into fresh butter. Any remaining skimmed milk is either sold to consumers or is heated to get a soft cheese known as “ayeb”.

In a recent visit to a milk bar in Mekelle town, I found the unsold fresh full milk being naturally fermented into “irgo” (yoghurt). Part of the fermented “irgo” was also creamed off to churn it into local lactic butter – the system used traditionally in the rural areas.

So what is the lesson I draw from this? If we could increase demand for dairy products obtained from soured milk, then processors might buy sour in addition to fresh milk from producers. This strategy could increase the volume of milk (fresh or sour) that enters the small scale dairy processing business. Based on demand for dairy products, differential prices may be paid for fresh and sour milk.

However, we need to be aware of any human health issue from the processing of raw soured dairy products. Are we not passing on tuberculosis and other diseases? The solution may be to boil the fresh milk at farm level before allowing it to sour. The problem is that we also then kill the lactic acid bacteria which stimulate the natural fermentation process. The answer could be to add pasteurized yogurt to the boiled milk – to allow it to ferment. I am not sure though if you can churn lactic butter from such artificially fermented yoghurt. Maybe dairy experts could shed some light to this.

Early in April, Peter Hooper joined the LIVES project for the coming 12 months to support its livestock interventions.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity to work at ILRI, an organization that I have admired before. Both my wife Elaine and I look forward to our life in Ethiopia” He says.

Peter has a degree in veterinary science and a number of postgraduate degrees including a PhD (majoring in pathology). He earlier worked as a field and administrative veterinarian working mostly with cattle and horses in the northern tropical areas of Australia. He recounted the exciting times he spent working to eradicate contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, brucellosis and tuberculosis, and the measures required following the identification of bluetongue virus.

Afterwards, Peter served CSIRO, Australia’s premier research organization, as a research scientist. His research work included identification of a number of new or emerging diseases, notably a new rabies virus not then known in Australia, the new Nipah and Hendra viruses, and a viral cause of epidemic blindness in kangaroos. He has also worked on nearly all the major animal diseases, including foot and mouth disease, African horse sickness, Newcastle disease and highly -pathogenic avian influenza. Peter’s work has been communicated through various publications and international conferences. He was a key note speaker in two major conferences and has received a gold medal for his contribution to the public good. Peter has worked both in developed and developing countries over the years of his career. He has a long experience in preparation and delivery of ‘hands-on’ training courses for postgraduate veterinarians as well.

He will work very closely with Solomon Gizaw, the livestock expert at LIVES, for the next twelve months. Already, the project organized a field trip for Peter and other volunteers to Ejere district for them to get an overview of livestock intervention activities in the project site. The group visited communal grazing land as well as small scale dairy, poultry and backyard apiculture activities carried out by smallholders.  They also visited a youth group involved in sheep fattening.

Peter is a keen bird-watcher so he is excited to explore the variety of beautiful birds in Ethiopia.

Peter’s contributions to the project is supported by the Australian Volunteers for International Development program.

The Amhara region of Ethiopia produces many cool season vegetables: Cabbages, carrots, beetroot, Swiss chard and lettuce are widely grown and supplied to local markets throughout the year. However, cauliflower, the most expensive cool season vegetable is not well-known to smallholder or commercial farmers in the region.

In Bahir Dar, cauliflower, like cabbage, is eaten roasted, boiled, fried, steamed or raw. Both crops require similar agro-ecology. Yet, the price for one cauliflower in the Bahir Dar open market is about 50 birr while the price of the same size cabbage is 5 birr.

Considering the financial benefits that a farmer may get by producing cauliflower, LIVES regional experts set out to introduce and demonstrate cauliflower production with irrigation in North Gondar zone. The team selected nine farmer fields as demonstration sites and bought ‘seed of snow ball’-a popular cauliflower variety from Harvest General Trading. The first seeds were sown in November 2013 and in March 2014, snow white cauliflower curds are flourishing in the farmers’ fields.

From this promising start, the regional team is now setting out to organize a field day for farmers, extension experts, vegetable traders, input suppliers, big hotel managers, and decision makers to scale up this practice. Since the product is new, the team is working on linking producers with hotels to market the current produce. As the vegetable is a relatively new product in the region, and not widely produced in the country as a whole, greater work remains to scale up and find sustainable markets.

So far, there is no technical knowledge available on agronomic practices, pest and disease management, best suitable varieties and production practices of the crop in Ethiopia. The farmers and development agents involved in the demonstration activity have learned ‘by doing’ but they need further training and skills for deeper knowledge.

To support the field days, the regional team will produce a cauliflower production guide in Amharic and bring more reference materials and guidelines from the national research institute and other places to the district and zonal knowledge centers. Since it is an unexplored area, it may also be useful to have some researchers examine planting dates, spacing, fertilizer rates, pest management practices, and adaptable varieties for the region. Another important fact to act on is market linkage and promotion on cauliflower use in household and hotel kitchens.

Contributed by LIVES regional team, Amhara

There is a broad consensus that most smallholder agricultural systems in Africa are far from being 21st century agriculture. Measured by multiple criteria including the use of technologies, application of inputs, and organizational and institutional set ups required for modern production, processing and marketing of agricultural produces, smallholder agriculture in Ethiopia is not exceptional. Focusing on the educated young ergeneration farming community has the potential to modernize traditional farming.

Behaylu Abraha is a young university graduate who owns and manages ‘YB Plant Micro Propagation PLC’ – a small family business engaged in hydroponic technologies in Mekelle. After working for a private tissue culture company for seven years, he decided to set up a private business in hydroponics (fodder, mushrooms, vegetables, and certified pre-basic and basic potato seeds) in a 420 m2 rented residential house. The actual effective area used for hydroponic fodder production is 160 m2.

Hydroponic fodder production involves the growing of cereal and legume grains using moisture and suitable nutrient solutions without soil, and harvesting green shoots and root mats within days. There are as many controversial issues as there are claims in the use of fodder hydroponics for feeding livestock. The frequently cited weakness is a reduction in dry matter when seeds are converted to sprouts. There are also reports that feeding barley and wheat sprouts led to increased animal performance.

Setting aside the unresolved issues, Behaylu built an ordinary plastic sheet cover to sprout seeds of alfalfa, barley, oats, and wheat. He recalled that at the beginning some of his clients had doubts about the actual feeding value of sprouts, and only slowly realized the benefits after they tasted the sprouts and root mats he offered them.

Today, the number of dairy farm owners relying on Behaylu for hydroponically produced barley fodder has grown steadily, reaching 400 milking cows. There are additional fatteners with more than 140 heads of finishing cattle fed on hydroponic fodder. Some poultry farm owners with more than 10,000 birds are also interested in feeding such green feed.

The current production capacity within the 160 m2 space is 1.2 t/day, and is projected to reach 25 t/day in the near future. For this purpose, the regional government of Tigray has offered Behaylu 3000 m2 land to expand hydroponic fodder production to large numbers of smallholder farmers. In fact there is a need to look at the actual response of feeding root mats and green shoots to dairy cows, poultry and small ruminants under smallholder farmers’ specific context. LIVES is collaborating with Behaylu in capacity development for landless youths and establishing linkages with dairy farmers and fatteners. Such collaboration is expected to yield result based production and economic evidence for some of the controversial issues surrounding the production and feeding of hydroponic fodder in the context of smallholder farmers in Africa.

Contributed by Yayneshet Tesfay, Gebremedhin Woldewahid, and Dirk Hoekstra

Livestock is a significant contributor to economic and social development in Ethiopia, both at the household and national levels. However, the sector suffers from low input-low-output subsistence production and marketing systems. The latter encompasses stock routes, accessible market places, marketing standards and intelligence (information), transport facilities etc.

This story is based on the information obtained from the Addis Ababa Trade and Industry Bureau, from personal observations in the market places and discussions with actors involved in the business.

Addis Ababa has the largest number of butcheries and meat consumers (around 30% of the national meat consumption is in Addis Ababa). To serve these consumers, there are five regional livestock market centers around Addis Ababa: Kerra, Shogolle, Akaki, Karalo and Berchuko established in 1949, 1995, 2004, 1988, and 1987 E.C., respectively. These centers were established for three major reasons. To create suitable market places for traders and buyers to meet; to avoid health and other hazards by avoiding the sale of animals everywhere across the city;  and for smooth flow of traffic. The market centers are primarily meant for local consumption.

There is much diversity in the available infrastructure at the centers. Four of them have concrete fences while the Akaki market has wooden fencing. Although there is water supply in all of them, none have quarantine facilities, waste disposal pits/places, or weighing bridges/scales. Shelters or shades are only available in Shogolle and Berchuko market centers. Veterinary services are available only at Kerra center. Loading/unloading facilities are available at Kerra, Shogolle and Berchuko centers.

In terms of market specialization, Shogolle, Kerra, Karalo and Akaki are specialized is cattle while Berchuko market is specialized in small ruminants (about 95% sheep).

The market days for the Akaki center are Tuesday and Saturday, while Wednesdays and Fridays are for the remaining four.

The livestock supply to the markets varies from season to season. The largest number of livestock is sold from April to September, followed by October to January. The lowest market is in the months of February and March (during Ethiopian Orthodox fasting months).

The main buyers of cattle are butcheries; hotels are the main purchasers of sheep. To a limited extent, individual consumers also buy cattle and sheep. Cattle are mainly slaughtered at nearby slaughterhouses while sheep and goats are slaughtered at individual hotels or houses.        

According to the Trade and Industry Bureau, the supply of cattle is mainly from Oromia, Southern Nation Nationalities People Region (SNNPR) and Amhara. The supply of sheep to Berchuko is dominated by Arsi, west Shoa and north Shoa zones.

Compared to the supply of animals to Addis Ababa, the market centers are not adequate. In addition, the existing market centers do not have all the necessary facilities. Furthermore, technical backstopping is required for the development of the marketing system.

Although LIVES is not involved in infrastructural development, it can assist by capacity development and coaching and knowledge sharing activities in livestock marketing. Without any doubt, project beneficiaries will directly or indirectly benefit from such interventions as these are mostly the ultimate livestock markets.

Contributed by the Oromia regional team and Dereje Legesse 

Photo Credit: Barnett /Flickr

Recently, I was happily surprised to realize that any content we produce has a story angle that is either money (economics – how much now how much later, to whom by whom), politics (rules, responsibilities) people (personal passion community services) or Environment. Whatever content we produce wherever, it’s always from these angles!

In research for development projects such as the Livestock and Irrigation Value Chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project, we produce huge amounts of content, including case studies, opinion pieces, reports of all sorts (monthly, event, trip, annual) briefs, flyers, press releases, emails, podcasts, photos/videos, blogs, the list goes on.

Blogs are proving to be one of the best mechanisms to bring our content to a wider audience, especially in the research and development environment where detailed research outputs of many pages are written and hardly read.

Our observations and reflections from the field or an event, or a book can vividly describe scenarios and potential for those who did not get the chance to participate. It creates awareness and knowledge to a greater audience in a short time, affordably.

As we are producing numerous blog posts in LIVES inspired by our ongoing field activities and the great motivation of our project staff to document them, I thought it might be an opportunity to share a few blogging tips and traps I learned at a recent training workshop.

These include:

• Encourage personal opinions and reflections rather than promotional stories.
• Make story titles short, simple and catchy!
• Less is more. Make your story shorter. 500-800 words is recommended for a blog post.
• Use ‘everyday’ English. This way you keep your reader interested and help them digest it.
• Include images (pictures, videos and podcasts – they make a post lively and increase interest levels.
• Match your content to your audiences.
• Avoid jargon and too many scientific terms.
• Have some ‘theme months’ to help boost readership and interaction through comments.
• Promote your stories through other social media such as LinkedIn, twitter and across the web and promote rss feeds and news alerts so people can subscribe and follow your updates.

Here are some interesting articles on producing content for blogs:

• How to write a great blog post by WLE
• Why blog? Ten things I learned about blogging this year  by Mike Shanahan
• How can I add personality to my organizations’ blog post?  by CGIAR ICT-KM
• Writing Good Blog Posts: The Art of Seduction by Peter Casier
• ILRI’s maarifa blog has updates on ways we communicate our research

This blog post was inspired by the communication workshop event I attended in May 2014. It was organized by the International Food Policy Research (IFPRI) and Farming First for people engaged in communication works of development focused programs and projects in Ethiopia and abroad. It covered topics on planning communication, pitching media and producing content. 

The LIVES project logical framework requires that we conduct rigorous impact evaluation at the end of the project life. To this end, in the past few months, many of the LIVES project team members were out in the field to collect household level baseline survey data. The surveys made use of Computer Assisted Personal Interviewer (CAPI) technology to administer the questionnaires. A total of 80 people were involved in conducting the surveys that included well-trained enumerators who had good computer skills and knowledge of local cultures and languages. The actual field work took about two months. The data collected will also be used to conduct quantitative diagnostic analysis during the lifetime of the project.

The survey work was led by Dr. Berhanu Gebremedhin, the LIVES project Research Coordinator and senior scientist-agricultural economist. Professional inputs on research design, and instrument development were solicited from research staff in the project and partners from ILRI, IWMI and ICARDA. Planning and preparation for this extensive survey took more than four months.

The survey was conducted in all 31 project districts in the four regions of Ethiopia (Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and SNNP). Data were collected from 5,000 households, selected through stratified random sampling, and 500 community level focus group discussions to supplement the household interviews. The sites represented various agro-ecological zones and commodity potentials.

Imported specifically for the baseline survey, the 70 CAPIs facilitated data collection and analysis by reducing time spent on interviews, considerably minimizing human error and inconsistencies, and eliminating paper weight. Use of CAPIs was quite new to the project, although in the past there have been some experiences on the use of Open Data Kit (ODK) in ILRI for simpler data sets.

Once the survey instrument was developed, pre-testing in three of the LIVES zones (Sidama, East Shoa and West Shoa) was done. Necessary adaptations were included. A six-day training and review session was organized for 70 enumerators and supervisors as well as concerned LIVES staff located at regions and headquarters. The group reviewed the survey instrument, and also commented on the required adaptations and additions to the questionnaire. Also, enumerators and supervisors practiced data entry on the CAPIs. After the training, the baseline teams were dispatched to the sample peasant associations in the 10 zones.

After two months in the field, the team came back with tons of experience, challenges, great stories and lessons in addition to the baseline data. The team pointed out that for a successful survey of such magnitude, enumerators had to have data entry skills as they need to focus more on the interviewee and asking the questions, and less on figuring out how to enter data on the CAPI.  This created smooth communications between the two. The team also shared their experience with gender issues where in the north of the country they came across a male household head who threatened to discontinue the interview when asked how much of a certain crop was consumed by that household. This individual was offended by this question and only agreed to take a wild guess after he was convinced of why he was asked that question. The need to go for a gender inclusive approach for quality data even if it requires additional resources is apparent.

Contributed by LIVES baseline survey team

See pictures from the baseline surveys

Heaps of coffee pulp being burned in Jimma

Coffee from Jimma accounts for about 35% of the dry and 40% of the wet processed coffee exported from Oromia region. As one of the major cash crops in Jimma zone more than 65% of the population earn their livelihood (directly or indirectly) from coffee. Based on data from the zonal office of agriculture, it seems there are 64 private investors working on 13,532 hectares of land and 258 coffee processing plants (146 wet and 112 dry coffee processing plants) in Jimma zone. It is also estimated that 112,000 tons of coffee fruits are produced in Jimma zone in a year.

Research results indicate that coffee by-products are a source of severe contamination of rivers and therefore cause serious environmental problems. For this reason, efforts are being made to utilize the by-products. For instance, coffee pulp can be used in the production of feed and compost. Coffee pulp can also replace up to 20% of commercial concentrates in dairy cattle feeding with no adverse effects. Results from feeding studies also indicate that maize can be substituted by dehydrated coffee pulp up to 16% of the total ration, with no detrimental effect on weight gain or feed conversion. Professor Solomon Demeke, a nutritionist in Jimma University, explains that good quality silage can be produced either only from coffee pulp or in combination with forages for dairy feeding.

The use of pulp is not limited to these but also for firewood as it is or by making briquettes for energy. Coffee pulp is also a good source of humus and organic soil carbon which is good for improving soil quality as well.

The common practice in coffee processing plants in Jimma zone is to discard coffee pulp and it is common to see heaps of coffee pulp along roads and in and around the premises of processing plants. Some people however use the pulp as a source of fuel in restaurants. Kahsay Berhe, a research officer in LIVES, also explains that farmers near coffee processing plants in the southern parts of Ethiopia use pulp for composting and fertilization of their coffee tree. There is at least one small factory in Addis which is producing briquettes as a source of energy for specialized stoves.

Out of 100 kg of coffee fruit, about 52% is coffee bean and 48% is by-products (waste, pulp mainly) which means that about 54,000 tons of coffee pulp is produced from Jimma zone, annually.

There is a great potential for LIVES and its partners in Jimma zone to explore ways to the use coffee pulp as a source of alternative livestock feed that is cost effective, locally accessible and sustainable.

Written by: Gemeda Duguma with contribution from Abule Ebro, Nigatu Alemayehu, Adisu Abera and Kahsay Berhe

News and updates on LIVES project

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Program News

LIVES at two years old

During the last few months, LIVES has transformed from a toddler to a fully grown child. Interventions and activities on all project pillars are well underway. The project team at headquarters, regional and zonal level is now all on board.

Gaps in capacity and knowledge management were identified and interventions have been planned at district and zonal levels with focal persons, experts, development workers, model farmers, input suppliers, processers and traders. Various training workshops and experience sharing tours have also taken place and were highly appreciated.

E-readers were distributed to public sector staff and training provided. Thirty three district and zonal knowledge centers that will be used by development agents and experts have been made fully operational.

Project staff have come across various stories from the field and documented their observations, opinions and lessons on the project’s blog page to share with a wider audience. Visit the blog to keep up, and share your comments!

Another major activity in the past few months was the baseline study of 5,000 households – with half project beneficiaries and half control groups.

Value chain interventions

Small scale processing: a pathway to reliable dairy markets in TigrayValue Chain Interventions

Tsehaye Reda, a dairy processor in Adwa district, is addressing smallholder dairy farmers’ market problems through a simplified concept of ‘value chains’ whereby farmers supply their fluid milk to his plant, and supermarkets, retailers and consumers in turn buy pasteurized milk and other processed dairy products from him. He started his business with 9 Holstein Friesian cross bred cows (6 purchased and 3 donated), a 500-liter capacity pasteurizer and a mini milk packaging plant. Although the demand for fluid milk varies, with the current capacity of the plant, he collects milk from 100 smallholder dairy farmers. More

Why don’t dairy processors in Ethiopia buy sour milk from farmers?

Most dairy processing activities in Ethiopia focus on fresh milk, sold in raw, boiled or pasteurized forms to consumers. The unsold fresh milk is usually processed into fresh butter. Any remaining skimmed milk is either sold to consumers or is heated to get a soft cheese known as “ayeb”. In some places unsold fresh whole milk is naturally fermented into “irgo” (yoghurt). Part of the fermented irgo is creamed off to churn it into local butter. Dirk Hoekstra asks if we can increase demand for dairy products obtained from soured milk?  More

Fertigation for forage grasses

Birtukan and her husband are dairy farmers in Arbegona district. They used to feed their cows by renting private grazing land and providing supplementary feed from enset leaves and leftovers from kocho processing. Nowadays, the cost of renting private land has increased dramatically. Hence, Birtukan and her husband decided to try new techniques of forage production that would increase the productivity of their animals and at the same time reduce their feed cost. Fertigation, which is the process of applying irrigation and fertilizer/manure to forage crops proved to be an innovative solution for this couple. More

Maximizing use of agricultural industrial by products in South Wollo 

South Wollo is blessed with an abundance of agro- industrial by-products: wheat bran from flour factories, oil cake from small scale oil processing factories, as well as brewers waste from a brewery. Dairy farmers, especially urban ones in Dessie and Kombolcha, already buy these feed ingredients from small shops or directly from the source. The effect of this increased demand can be seen bythe transformation of these products from “waste” to “valuable” products, which is reflected in the price increase over the past 10 years. More

Hydroponic fodder production for smallholder livestock farmers

Behaylu Abraha is a young university graduate who owns and manages ‘YB Plant Micro Propagation PLC’ – a small family business engaged in hydroponic technologies in Mekelle. After working for a private tissue culture company for seven years, he decided to set up a private business in hydroponics (fodder, mushrooms, vegetables, and certified pre-basic and basic potato seeds) in a 420 m² rental residential house. The actual effective area used for hydroponic fodder production is 160 m2. More

Small-scale feed marketing in East Shoa

Feed is the major input cost incurred in livestock production and is one of the focus areas in LIVES intervention districts. Entrepreneurs in Dugda district, Meki town, are involved in the supply of agro-industrial by product as livestock feed to urban and rural livestock owners. Though it’s a male dominated business there are some women actively involved as well. These entrepreneurs share their lessons and challenges in the business. More

Honeybee colony splitting techniques from a remote village in Tigray

Keshi  Fisseha Berhe lives in the remote village of Derokai in Adwa district. He is an innovator in honeybee colony splitting. He gained basic beekeeping skills from his parents who kept traditional mud hives for honey production.  Back in 2004, he decided to shift to improved box hives when the local agricultural office pushed him to take a loan and buy three hives. Since then, the presence of a lucrative business for honeybee colonies have contributed to his ambition to invent a rapid and space saving colony splitting technique. More

Beekeeping as a family business

Abajihad Ababulgu, his two wives and their children are engaged in backyard beekeeping. His efforts are well recognized by the community and the extension office. He and his family own all types of hives: Traditional (80) hung on the tallest tree in the compound, transitional (30) and modern (8) lined up under a well-built shed in the family’s backyard. The orderly mixture of hives and coffee trees creates an exciting environment for visitors. More

Chicken and egg marketing: Insights from Meki

Chicken rearing is part of the lifestyle of the communities of Dugda. Eleven Peasant Associations are famous for their high chicken production; the soil is fertile and there are fish by-products available which provide excellent chicken feed. These chickens apparently grow faster, maintain their body condition longer during transportation, resist diseases and have bigger and more attractive eggs than those obtained from elsewhere.  More

Cherechera chicken producers association in Amhara

LIVES project recently conducted a rapid assessment on the status of chicken production in West Gojjam Zone. The assessment identified some major challenges such as lack of quality poultry rations, serious skill and knowledge gaps of producers to run chicken farms as a business, financial limitations, shortages in the supply of day-old chicks and veterinary drugs, inadequate health service provision and poor market linkages.

To mitigate these production and marketing challenges, the project facilitated the creation of learning forums/platforms. The first activity was to organize innovation platform meetings, which help producers, processors, traders and experts share their experiences, views, challenges, and success or failure stories. More

Integrating seedling suppliers with fruit growers in Tigray

Attractive and delicious tropical and temperate fruits are much in demand in the local markets of Tigray, particularly Mekelle town. Over the past two decades, research and development partners have worked to improve the regional fruit supply system; mainly through the establishment of public fruit nurseries in some fruit areas. This has led to the development of high value fruit corridors in some parts of the region. For instance, mango and orange fruit corridors are successfully developed in the Rama-Hamedo plain along the Mereb River; there is a papaya and mango corridor around the Raya-Alamata plain; and there’s a banana and papaya corridor around the north-western flanks of the Tekeze River drainage. More

Bananas in Arba Minch

In the early 1980s, Arba Minch state farm had 62 ha of land covered by dwarf Cavendish banana. Experts made efforts to introduce banana to the Lante producers’ cooperative, but failed as the cooperative administrators at that time did not perceive banana as an important cash crop. In 1984, a few experts restarted a dialogue to transform the mainly cereal-based subsistence smallholder agriculture to a more market-oriented system by introducing irrigated banana. After repeated discussions with cooperative leaders and extension staff, banana was introduced on 4.2 ha of the cooperative’s land. More

Kalu fruit seedling association moves to a new business model

Some 5 years ago Berhanu Mulu – the Kalu District fruit and vegetable subject matter specialist, initiated the creation of an association for the production and sale of tropical fruit seedlings – mango, avocado and citrus. Over the years, membership increased from 25 to 53 people.

The association sells seedlings on behalf of its members to NGOs, investors, the Office of Agriculture (OoA) and private farmers.  Orders received by the Association are verified against seedling production records of individual members to determine who can contribute to the required amount of a specific species/variety. Once seedlings have been purchased, members are paid by the association. More

Market performance of irrigated vegetables and fruits

Millions of farmers produce diverse and small quantities of products; at times they produce different varieties of the same crop. Therefore the role of brokers has become important.

Brokers assemble the products of many smallholders, before they reach the wholesaler; they use information in the central market to fix the farm gate prices, never to the advantage of the producers. Wholesalers of vegetables and fruits fix the wholesale prices and the retailers adjust the prices based on the whole prices when they sell them to consumers. This is in a nutshell how markets of vegetables and fruits perform in Ethiopia. More

The rift between variety development and seed supply in Ethiopia

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the research system released or recommended a total of 807 improved varieties of different crop species adaptable to different agro-ecologies of the country. These improved varieties can only boost crop production if their seed or planting material is simultaneously multiplied and made available to farmers and if farmers plant these varieties in their recommended agro-ecology. More

Cauliflowers: Exploring a potential cool season vegetable for Amhara

The Amhara region of Ethiopia produces many cool season vegetables: Cabbages, carrots, beetroot, Swiss chard and lettuce are widely grown and supplied to local markets throughout the year. However, cauliflower, the most expensive cool season vegetable is not well-known to smallholder or commercial farmers in the region. More

Capacity development and knowledge management

Connecting the dots – roles for ICTs in agricultural extension services

Mobile applications (both for dumb and smart phones) are emerging as promising options to inform smallholder producers and provide market information and advisory services. Experiences such as iCow, esoko , Farmer line, and mkisan  offer much to learn from. Farmers use these applications to reach experts or to get market informationl. More

Ethiopian monastery illustrates multifaceted benefits of integrated livestock and irrigated crops

The Estephanos Monastery is on an island in Lake Haik in South Wollo, one of the LIVES sites.  It delivers spiritual, social and development activities for local populations. The monks and hermits started agricultural activities to feed themselves and then continued to set up a farm enterprise that produces various irrigated fruits and vegetables both for the monastery as well as the local markets. More

 Gadissa Gobena: Farmer, entrepreneur and extensionist

Now a full-fledged agriculture entrepreneur, Ato Gadissa Gobena owns about 100 crossbred cows that produce on average 15 liters of milk per day. Alongside the dairying, he cultivates maize, wheat, teff and chickpea; in the dry season he irrigates his land from the Huluka river and cultivates maize. Beekeeping is an integral part of his farm in Ambo. He owns close to 100 modern beehives and each produces about 80 kilograms of high quality honey each year. The honey is sold to wholesalers from Addis. More

News and Events

University staff trained on value chains

The LIVES project joined hands with national and international partners to build capacity of university staff on agricultural value chain development and gender mainstreaming. Berhanu Gebremedhin and Ephrem Tessema recently contributed to a workshop organized by the Netherlands’ NUFFIC program for participants from several Ethiopian universities. The LIVES team shared practical experiences on value chain development and gender mainstreaming.  These universities need technical support to help integrate value chain development and mainstream gender into their curricula. For the LIVES project, they also play important roles to potentially promote and scale up research lessons.

Public sector capacity development

The Ethiopian government’s current focus on commercial transformation of subsistence agriculture calls for change in approaches, methods and work culture of the extension officers. Determined to fill these gaps, the Ministry of Agriculture is focusing on building the knowledge and capacity of its public sector staff in agriculture value chain approaches and market oriented agriculture.

The LIVES project is a partner in these efforts and organized training workshops on these new approaches. The first such training was given at the Federal level. Trainees were comprised of experts, team leaders and researchers from the various directorates of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR).

LIVES joins agribusiness finance fair

On March 1 and 2, lively agribusiness finance fair was held in Hawassa town. The event was organized by Agri-ProFocus and other partners including Hawassa University, the regional government, banks, insurance companies, microfinance institutions and private organizations. The fair included panel discussions, a market place as well as a field visit. More

LIVES imports feed choppers, shredders and grain grinders

LIVES has received and tested multipurpose feed choppers, shredders and grain grinders (all in one).  These machines are light enough to transport to remote areas using donkeys or carts. The machines are not for donation but rather to strategically demonstrate feed use and utilization efficiency to initiate business, particularly for the unemployed youth. The machines can chop wet and dry feed materials such as maize and sorghum stover, Napier grass, etc. and can grind grains to different sizes including for concentrate ration formulation using locally available materials. More

E-readers narrow the information gap

In Ethiopia, access to internet is limited in most areas outside of Addis Ababa.  So when you see agricultural extension workers in the sprawling mountains and fields of rural Ethiopia holding e-readers, they seem slightly out of place. The LIVES Project, in an effort to both build the capacity of extension workers and connect them with relevant, easily accessible information is piloting e-readers as information access devices. More

Project management

New technical staff on board

Amenti Chali, Regional Expert – Irrigated Agriculture for Oromia region, joined LIVES in April 2014. Amenti holds an MSc in Agronomy from Hawassa University and a BSc in plant science from Alemaya University. Before joining LIVES/ILRI he worked as an Assistant Researcher in Oromia Agricultural Research Institute (OARI) – Adami Tulu Agricultural Research Center and agronomy and as an Irrigation Officer in the international Development enterprise (iDE). Amenti will be based in OARI in Addis Ababa.

Mamusha Lemma, Capacity Development and Innovation expert, joined LIVES in February 2014. Prior to joining LIVES, he worked at the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) as a Senior Extension Technical Expert. He holds a PhD in Agricultural Sciences (Agricultural Knowledge Systems) from Hohenheim University, Germany and an MA in Rural Social Development from Reading University, UK

Peter Hooper, Livestock Specialist, joined LIVES in April 2014 as a volunteer to support the project in its livestock interventions. Peter has a degree in veterinary science and a number of postgraduate degrees including a PhD in pathology. Peter served at CSIRO, Australia’s premier research organization, as a research scientist for several years, among other organizations.

Solomon Gizaw, Livestock Expert, joined LIVES in March 2014. Solomon has a PhD in Animal Genetics and Breeding from Wageningen University, The Netherlands. Prior to joining ILRI, Solomon worked as a senior researcher in livestock breeding and management and designing livestock interventions suited to smallholder systems at ARARI. Solomon was the coordinator of the national sheep research program of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research as well.

Zewdie Adane, Research Assistant for the Oromia regional office, joined LIVES in November 2013. He holds an MSc in Economic Policy Analysis from Addis Ababa University; a joint International Master of Science in Rural Development from a consortium of six European Universities through the Erasmus Mundus scholarship scheme and a BA in Economics from Hawassa University. Zewdie has extensive research experience on impact evaluation, innovation platforms and value chains. Prior to joining LIVES, he was a research fellow at the Policy, Trade and Value Chains program of ILRI based in Nairobi.

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Irrigated vegetables such as tomato and onion can easily be produced in the lowlands of Gamo Gofa Zone in Ethiopia. However, despite  growing market demands by local hotels, restaurants and lodges in Arba Minch town, there are only a few farmers who produce irrigated tomato and onion in Arba Minch and Mirab Abaya districts. The Central Rift Valley areas around Ziway and Meki were regular suppliers of onion and tomato until recently.

The main reasons for low yields of locally produced vegetables in Arba Minch include; lack of proper inputs such as seeds and agro-chemicals, frequent damage by pests and diseases, limited knowledge and experiences of improved production techniques, and poor access to market information and linkages.

For years, Ayele and his wife Amarech produced irrigated banana and maize with gravity irrigation from the Sille River. This year however, they decided to try  market-oriented irrigated vegetables as well and they allocated a hectare of land to tomato and another hectare for onions.

After receiving proper training on vegetable production – the quality and amount of seed required, the couple spent ETB 5,000 (approximately USD 250) to buy the Marglobe tomato variety and the Adama red onion variety. They were also trained on proper techniques of seedbed preparations, sowing, watering, field preparation, transplanting in proper spacing, furrow irrigation techniques, weeding, staking of tomatoes, proper applications of fungicides and harvesting.

To fill the gap in the supply of high quality tomato seeds, the couple started extracting tomato seeds. They supplied their neighbours and community with high quality seed and earned about ETB 5,000 from seed sales.

On their farm, the yield of tomato and onion was 254 quintal/ha and 224 quintal per hectare, respectively. As they were linked with potential traders, restaurants and hotels at Arba Minch town, they sold the tomato and onion for ETB 6.50/kg and ETB 5.50/kg on average, respectively.

Ayele and Amarach at their irrigated onion farm. Photo: Birhanu Biazin.

The overall cost-benefit analysis revealed that Ayele and Amarch earned a gross revenue of ETB 191,000 per hectare and a net return to family labour of about ETB 110, 000 per hectare (ETB 98,000 per hectare from onion and ETB 122,000 per hectare from tomato) per season.

Although tomatoes have high initial investment costs and require lots of engagement through the production season, the profit is still higher than onions.

Given their success, Ayele and Amarach are trying to produce twice a year by rotating these two crops. This makes profit margins high while also reducing pest and disease cycles.

Following a field day that was organized to share the couple’s story, several more farmers showed interest in irrigated vegetable production.

It’s the hope of LIVES staff that improved production techniques of irrigated tomato and onion will be adopted by many smallholder farmers, satisfying demand from Arba Minch town. Attention will be needed, however, to stagger planting in order to avoid excess supply.

The case of Ayele and Amarech proves that smallholder farmers can transform themselves to a more market-oriented production system with proper extension services that build their capacities and foster market linkages.

Written by Birhanu Biazen, LIVES Regional Expert, SNNPR With contribution from the SNNPR LIVES team and Dirk Hoekstra

A common misconception about watermelon is that it contains mainly water and sugar. In reality, it is a nutrient-dense fruit. Watermelon is an excellent source of antioxidants such as lycopene, and also contains vitamins A and C which help prevent cell damage, neutralize and remove free radicals and help fight off different kinds of cancers. Watermelon is also rich in potassium which helps maintain blood pressure to prevent diseases such as stroke, heart disease and also decreases the size of the kidney stones. It is frequently used for body detoxification as it contains a large amounts of water and it also helps in “cleaning” our kidneys. It is a fruit that is rich in an amino acid known as L-citrulline, which the body converts to L-arginine, an essential amino acid that helps relax blood vessels and improve circulation.

Watermelon was introduced in East Shoa Zone of Oromia region which is currently the only place where it is produced in Ethiopia. Though the exact date of its introduction in Ethiopia is unknown, farmers near Koka Lake in East Shoa explained that watermelon was introduced in their area in the 1950s by an Italian man who lived in Koka town. Today,  production is limited to the lake shore areas of Koka, especially when the volume of the lake shrinks. So far, irrigation to produce watermelon is not common. Since there is quite a good demand for watermelon by consumers – who buy it from supermarkets as well as from fruit and vegetable shops – farmers are starting to give more of their land to watermelons.

Quality and yield are the main factors influencing watermelon production in Ethiopia.  The quality of watermelons produced in Ethiopia tends to be low compared to elsewhere. In Ethiopia,data afrm farm gate, roadie market and supermarket test showed its average total soluble solids (TSS) content to be less than 6% Brix; the minimum TSS should not be lower than 9% Brix (world standard). The productivity of watermelon is generally low due to lack of awareness by producers on agronomic practices, time of harvest, and variety types.

So far, producers have not received extension services on watermelon production techniques and marketing from the government or NGOs and they sell their produce at farm gate at low prices.

Double transaction is the norm at farm gate (producers, brokers and traders) and all producers sell through the process of “terega” which means that buyers collects all watermelons at the same time. Theads means that mature and immature watermelons are all harvested, resulting in low quality of the produce.

After grading the watermelons at farm gate, brokers sell the immature ones to local retailers for roadside markets. The better ones are sold to traders from the central market for big supermarkets and hotels.

Watermelon in Ethiopia needs significant improvement in the types of varieties, production techniques and marketing. Intervention opportunities for LIVES could be by introducing adaptable varieties that produce good fruits, providing technical and practical training on production techniques supported by demonstration and establishment and strengthening of sustainable input supply and marketing linkages.   

Written by Amenti Chali,  with contributions from Abule Ebro and Nigatu Alemayehu

Smallholder farmer Tesfaye Aregawi runs a farm on a small plot of irrigable land and a dairy cow in Hadish-Hiwot kebele, in Tigray Region. Tesfaye has recently adopted an uncommon irrigation farming practice – he grows Alfalfa on a plot of about 300 square-meters for his dairy cow alongside his high-value vegetable crops. Allocating irrigable plots for fodder production has until now been unthinkable among smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. Neither do smallholder farmers grow sole fodder crops in rain-fed agriculture, where lower-value cereals are produced.

Tesfaye’s story is not an isolated one. Quite a number of farmers in LIVES intervention kebeles have opted to grow fodder in their irrigation and rain-fed plots. For instance, Gebretsadik Abay in Dura kebele, Tigray is delighted that his crossbred heifer conceived at an early age of 20 months, which he attributes partly to feeding alfalfa from his irrigated plot. Similarly, a woman farmer, Lemlem in Genfel kebele, Tigray grows Alfalfa under her irrigated fruit trees, a land which is normally used to grow food crops. She believes that supplementing her cow’s daily ration with Alfalfa increased daily milk production by about one liter. Fodder production in croplands is not limited to Alfalfa only. Grasses are also creeping onto croplands. In Amhara region in Enguti kebele, where LIVES introduced efficient delivery of AI through hormone-synchronization of estrus, farmers like Addis Alemu and Sintayehu Sinishaw, among others, allotted about 225 square-meters of their irrigated land to Napier grass production.

Likewise, farmer Tafere Zemene in Debremawi village decided to grow a productive Rhodes grass in his rain-fed plot of 1500 square meters. The farmer plans to set aside part of his grass plot for seed production thereby providing a source of input for other farmers.

Besides growing sole fodder crops in croplands, other innovative entry points for fodder production are being sought by farmers. No ‘wasteland’ is actually wasted by farmers like Keshi Tewolde-Birhan who lives in Dura kebele, Laelay-Maichew district, Tigray and grows Alfalfa & Napier grass on a 260 square-meter gully. Awareness is rising among farmers coached by LIVES and livestock production is becoming a market-oriented business for them.

What is driving the winds of change in fodder and livestock production? A thorough inquiry may be required to understand the driving forces. However there seems to be two obvious reasons. Farmers may be forced to seek for other sources of feed in the face of dwindling grazing resources. Yet, a shift in livestock development approach might have also played a significant role. Livestock development approach includes coaching of farmers on knowledge-based livestock development and linking them up with input suppliers such as fodder planting materials and market in order to adopt improved farming practices. This is the market-oriented value chain approach for livestock development adopted by LIVES.

The changes being witnessed could be considered as successes. However, to sustain irrigated fodder production in competition with high value irrigated crops and realize a market-oriented system that is envisaged by LIVES, the following needs to be considered. Economies of scale should be addressed as most farmers keep only one or two cows. Fodder productivity from small irrigated plots need to be further improved and fodder processing and conservation technologies should be introduced to sustain higher scales of production. Mechanical feed choppers help ease laborious manual chopping, reduce wastage and facilitate feed conservation through small scale silage making. LIVES’ strategy is to work with clusters of farmers in its intervention kebeles in collaboration with Bureaus of Agriculture, Livestock Development Agencies and other partners in the value chains. Transfer of best practices to learning kebeles will be through a spill-over effect and active dissemination by partners through capacity building and joint planning. It is thus imperative that partners actively collaborate to disseminate the best practices witnessed in fodder development.

Written by Solomon Gizaw, with contributions from Yayneshet Tesfaye, Gebremedhin Woldewahid, Dawit Woldemariam, Haile Tilahun, Zeleke Mekuriaw, Teshome Derso, Worku Teka, Mesfin Tefera

Livestock keepers in Barka-Adisba kebele, Atsbi-Womberta district, Tigray region were once confronted with ‘the tragedy of the commons’, as do many livestock keepers in Ethiopia who depend on communal resources. The idiom ‘the tragedy of the commons’ was coined in 19^th century Britain and expresses the failure of farmers to achieve the collective good of their communal grazing lands through their destructive competitive use. The tragedy is caused by overstocking and overgrazing and expressed in land degradation, feed shortage, low livestock productivity and loss of farmers’ livelihoods from livestock. The Atsbi villagers also had to deal with land policy which stipulated closure of degraded hillside grazing/browsing and discouraged extensive grazing of livestock in communal lands.

The Atsbi livestock keepers however acted proactively through the LIVES’ predecessor project (Improving Productivity and Market Success of Smallholder farmers) in a community-based approach. In 2007, a group of villagers sharing 60 ha of communal land in Barka-Adisba kebele came together and developed by-laws for governing their communal land. They declared the land closed to livestock grazing, apportioned it to the villagers in the group and adopted hay production and stall-feeding for their livestock. These farmers saved their lands from degradation and their livelihoods from peril. This cooperative’s voluntary activity has now been scaled up. The grazing land under sustainable management in the district increased to 4000 ha in 2012.

The Atsbi experience has shown that community-based institutional intervention is a feasible approach to avert degradation of communal lands, losses in biodiversity and livestock productivity as well as farmers livelihoods. This approach is more acceptable to villagers rather than enforcing regulations on them. The success of the approach lies in the fact that it is based on existing social norms and promotes a sense of belongingness. Community-based institutional interventions to prevent the tragedy of the commons could take various forms. For instance, in Dura kebele, Laelay-Maichew district the communal land is passed on to and managed by the village church, while the villagers maintain their use right. Other variations of the community-based approach could be adopted depending on local circumstances.

Changes in social arrangements or institutional interventions may not be the only solutions to avert the tragedy. Technical interventions to rehabilitate and improve grazing lands are also required as most communal lands are already degraded. Otherwise, it might not be feasible to close grazing lands and sustain livestock under stall feeding systems. In its future intervention kebeles, LIVES plans to introduce additional technological interventions to enhance pasture productivity, hay production management and storage including introduction of small-scale manual hay balers. The approach described here is perfectly suitable for promoting intensive dairying and fattening systems with small flocks/herds. Would it also be applicable to extensive systems with large breeding flocks (like the subalpine regions of Ethiopia) which could be the source of animals for the semi-intensive fattening systems and the export market?

Written by Solomon Gizaw, with contributions from Yayneshet Tesfaye, Gebremedhin Woldewahid, Dawit Woldemariam, Haile Tilahun 

Ato Nurhussien with the first born cow of his first cow (Photo:ILRI\Yaynesht Tesfay)

For many poor households, dairying is considered a powerful pathway out of poverty. Marketing of dairy products, however, remains a major challenge to the realization of this potential. In Ethiopia, this challenge is exacerbated by the absence of structured marketing channels and strict religious observance by Orthodox Christians who do not consume animal products during fasting days and seasons. Despite such challenges, there still exist windows of opportunities to exploit niche markets and create wealth. The ability to exploit these markets to a large extent depends on one’s stamina and innovation in establishing reliable market outlets for dairy products.

We want to demonstrate the credibility of this using evidence from a dairy farmer in Agula’a, a small town located 30km north of Mekelle in Tigray region of northern Ethiopia.

Nurhussien Aligoshu is a dairy farmer who has never had a formal education in agriculture and has had no prior exposure to modern dairy farming. His first experience in dairying was in 2006 when a local organization offered him some seed money to purchase a crossbred dairy cow. Nurhussien was able to expand his crossbred dairy herd from 1 to more than 15 cows in just 8 years. His daily milk sales fluctuate between 30 and 70 litres per day depending on demand. Over the same period, Nurhussien’s monthly income from the sale of milk grew from barely 500 Birr to 15,000 Birr.

In addition to managing his dairy cows, Nurhussien has successfully organized and led a dairy marketing cooperative named ‘Daero‘ (with 30 active members) that has been able to find niche markets for liquid milk. Daero cooperative has approved a binding by-law which stipulates that members are not allowed to sell water-adulterated and coagulated/clotted milk. A fine of up to 500 Birr and cancellation of membership rights are imposed on offending members.

The by-law also requires members to participate in various committees which are assigned with diverse tasks. The marketing committee has the sole responsibility of identifying potential milk and heifer markets. The quality control committee oversees the maintenance of herd records and collection of good-quality raw milk to be delivered to cafés, hotels, and restaurateurs through trusted milk collectors/distributors who have established an elaborated business relationship with the dairy marketing cooperative. The selling of replacement heifers, which earns up to 30,000 Birr per heifer, within and outside Tigray, is also another income source enjoyed by the members.

The successful experience of Nurhussien and his fellow cooperative members clearly demonstrates the potential of dairy in boosting income and creating wealth for people with limited options. Members of the dairy marketing cooperative are able to engage in dairying with a clear vision and have managed to create a low- risk environment for dairy farmers. Success came from their overall cooperation, realistic organizational and institutional interventions, sharing of risks, minimizing of ad hoc milk sales and establishing of reliable marketing links with milk collectors/distributors.

In view of the ever-increasing herd size and volume of milk produced by the marketing group members that necessitated other market outlets, the Livestock and Irrigation Value Chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project identified potential clients and facilitated market linkages with large institutional milk consumers. LIVES also collaborates with Nurhussein and other members of the dairy marketing cooperative to test improved dairy technologies such as simplified corn silage using plastic bags.

Written by Yayneshet Tesfay (PhD) with contributions from Dawit Woldemariam and Gebremedhin Woldewahid.

Maize stover in the field is prone to wastage and tramping by animals (Photo:ILRI\ Solomon Gizaw).

Maize is a major food crop in the lowlands and mid-highlands of Ethiopia, but its stover is not utilized efficiently as animal feed, particularly in rain-fed maize production systems. Rain-fed maize producers’ target is commonly grain production which requires that the cobs be harvested at full maturity of the maize plant thereby leaving the stover too dry. Dry stover is low in nutrients (e.g. 3.7% crude protein as compared to 8.8% in green stover), is less palatable and is not well suited to conserve as silage.

Irrigated maize production offers an opportunity which the rain-fed maize farming does not. Farmers in Fale Kebele of Meta Robi District in Oromia region, like most farmers in irrigated maize systems in Ethiopia, harvest green maize at its milk stage to be sold for roasted cobs. This production strategy is governed by the need to harvest early in the rainy season before the cropland is flooded, which is a common occurrence in low-lying irrigated fields in the wet mid-highlands. Similarly, irrigated maize is usually harvested while green in the moist highlands in order to maximize the benefits from irrigation such as the ability to do multiple cropping. In most cases, sweet-corn provides green fodder as the cobs are meant for fresh use and harvested while the plant is still green. Irrigated maize and sweet-corn production thus allows production of green and fresh stover, which is more nutritious and palatable for livestock than dry stover.

However, similar to dry stover, green stover is also not utilized efficiently by Ethiopian farmers in Fale and elsewhere. The common practice is either to graze the stover in situ or collect, store and feed whole stalks to animals. Such practices result in wastage from trampling by animals and loss of nutrients due to drying and leaching from exposure to sun and rain because of inappropriate storage practices.

A farmer youth group in Fale  was introduced to an innovative way of taking advantage of fodder opportunities offered by irrigated maize farming. Known as the ‘livestock technology-led agribusiness approach’, the method involves twin fodder processing and conservation technologies that use a mechanical feed chopper and small-scale plastic-bag-silage making. This fodder technology package reduces wastage, allows mixing total ration, conserves nutrients in green fodders and improves palatability. The agribusiness approach coaches private entrepreneurs or groups of livestock producers to run small-scale fodder chopping services using mechanical feed choppers/shredders. To this end, the farmer youth group in Fale is being coached and mentored by the Livestock and Irrigation Value Chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) Project to start a fodder processing and conservation business.

Written by Solomon Gizaw (PhD) with contributions from Abule Ebro (PhD) and Addisu Abera.

Onions from the Koga irrigation scheme prepared for distant markets (Photo:ILRI\ Yigzaw Dessalegne)

Ethiopia has diversified agro-ecology with altitudes ranging from 200 meters below sea level to 4,260 meters above sea level, various soil types and different seasons. This has enabled Ethiopian farmers to produce and supply different types of fresh vegetables throughout the year. Vegetables produced in the north are marketed in the south, west or east and vice versa.

Unlike in developed countries, the majority of vegetables in Ethiopia are transported and stored at room temperature. These poor transportation and storage methods result in high post-harvest losses and subsequently trigger daily market price oscillation. As a result, vegetable traders in Ethiopia, both at high and low level, take time and great care in monitoring vegetable varieties and prices across the country daily, often using their mobile phones, so that they only buy the small quantities they need for short periods.

Some traders buy their vegetables and collect them from as far as 700 kms away from their home towns. In previous years, vegetable traders incurred high operational costs in transportation and travelling time. Nowadays, however, they are able to solve this problem by using their mobile phones. Traders in Bahir Dar, for example, now use their mobile phones to order for supplies from Adama, Shashemene or Asela, towns which are an average of 800 kms from Bahir Dar. They deposit payments directly in the wholesalers’ bank account and receive their goods without having left their home towns. Traders also explained that, in most cases, they have never even seen their suppliers or bulk customers in person.

This situation illustrates that mobile phones are easing vegetable marketing problems in Ethiopia and they have great potential in providing market information services to vegetable producers and traders. The use of mobile phones to access market and other value chain information is an area that the Livestock and Irrigation Value Chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) Project should build on.

Written by Yigzaw Dessalegne (PhD) with contribution from the LIVES Amhara team. 

To meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the world is going to have to ‘act local’. This story is an example of that. It’s about hardships faced by farmers in Sidama, one of Ethiopia’s leading coffee-producing zone, which lies south of the capital, Addis Ababa, and in the country’s Southern Nations, Nationalities and People region.

Farmers and farming systemsin the once extremely fertile midland regionhere are stressed by an increasing human population. A high proportion of children here are malnourished and the farming systems are still more subsistence- than market-oriented. With the rise of Ethiopian markets for cash crops and dairy products, farmers here are specializing in such crops as coffee and chat, which are replacing the region’s traditional food crops like ‘Enset’ (Enset vetricosum).

A modest, unlikely vehicle for farmers here to make ends meet is the pineapple, which was introduced about 50 years ago. Pineapples should do well here, where the warm climate and soils suit the plant. Although pineapples can fruit throughout the year, in Sidama, the peak harvests are from April to May and October to November.

Because pineapple farming is limited to just a few districts in Ethiopia and is grown by just a few producers, the pineapple value chain is underdeveloped in the country. Among constraints faced by pineapple farmers are lack of planting materials, little knowledge of optimal production practices and inadequate marketing system.

Read the full post on the CGIAR Development Dialogues blog

Hybrid tomato seedings at Florensis Ethiopia PLC (photo credit: ILRI\Amenti Chali).

In recent years, use of hybrid varieties of vegetables has become common in East Shoa zone of Oromia region of Ethiopia. This zone is endowed with favourable climatic and edaphic conditions and is close to major markets. At the moment, East Shoa is the source of fresh fruits and vegetables for major markets including those in Addis Ababa.

Hybrid vegetables reduce environmental pollution as high productivity reduces expansion of irrigated land and thus reduces the aggravation of soil salinity, especially in the Rift Valley areas.  In addition, hybrid vegetable varieties are more resistant to disease and pests compared to conventional ones (open pollinated varieties) and thus help reduce the amount of fungicides and pesticides that need to be applied.

In the past few years, farmers have started using hybrid varieties for better yield and to fetch higher prices. Greenlife Trading and Markos PLC are some of the pioneer suppliers of hybrid vegetable seeds in the country. In East Shoa, farmers estimated revenue from the sale of hybrid tomatoes is 200 times more than the open pollinated varieties (OPVs); which means that there is higher yield and better market price. Farmers in Bora and Dugda districts of East Shoa zone say the yield of recently introduced hybrid tomato (Galilea variety) is about 80 ton/ha while that of OPVs is about 20 ton/ha. One farmer from Bora explained that farmers who grew hybrid tomatoes on 1.5 ha harvested 7 times more and earned 700,000 Birr (about 3,500USD) while, OPV tomato produced only twice more and earned 30,000 Birr (about 1,500USD) from the same size of land.

The practice of germinating and raising hybrid vegetable seedlings is emerging as a professional and commercial activity in East Shoa. Previously, farmers produced seedlings of open pollinated varieties at a relatively low cost in their own nurseries. The price for 200 seeds of locally produced tomato seeds was 0.46 Birr, while the price of one seed of hybrid variety is 0.46 Birr. Despite their higher price, there is increasing demand for hybrid seeds in the zone.

Initially, many farmers started raising seedlings of hybrid vegetables in traditional nursery beds but were unsuccessful. One model farmer in Bora District purchased Galilea hybrid tomato seeds which he planted, as a trial, in traditional nurseries in one hectare at a cost of 23,920 Birr (about 1,196 USD). But the seeds were of poor quality and most failed to grow and he lost about 11,960 Birr (598 USD).

In 2012, Florensis Ethiopia PLC, a private commercial company, started producing high quality tomato seedlings to make more hybrid tomato seedlings available to farmers. The company uses special media (peat moss) imported for rooting of flower cuttings, for seedling production on trays. The seedlings are then sold to farmers in the zone and to those in other parts of the country like Alamata, Dire Dawa, Arba Minch and to commercial farms like Upper Awash Agro-industry PLC.

After the failure of his first trial, the model farmer from Bora District entered into an arrangement with Florensis Ethiopia to raise seedlings on 2.25 ha. He bought the seeds for 23,920 Birr and paid a service charge of 18,000 Birr (about 900 USD) to have the seedlings raised, incurring a total cost 41,920 Birr (2,096 USD). After three weeks, he collected healthy  seedlings from the company for planting. He gave away excess seedlings to a relative, who planted them on a 0.5 ha piece of land. Had he followed his own traditional way of seedling management using seeds of hybrid variety, he would have paid 65,780 Birr (about 3,289 USD).

Despite the success of such arrangements, Florensis Ethiopia allocates only 5% of its time and resources to raising seedlings for farmers.

Smallholder growers therefore have to wait at least two months to submit their orders and a minimum of 19 days is required for the seedlings to be ready for transplanting. This supply delay has forced some farmers to pay about 2.80 Birr per seedling from farmers with excess seedlings grown at Florensis Ethiopia (at only 0.35 Birr/seedling). Lack of hybrid seedlings is therefore a major bottleneck for expanding hybrid tomato production in East Shoa and other parts of Ethiopia.  Also, no attempt has been made so far to substitute the imported rooting media with locally available materials except from ongoing research efforts at Adami Tulu Agricultural Research Centre.

To ensure sustainable hybrid tomato production in the zone and beyond, alternative sources of quality seedlings supply are important. Hence, the Livestock and irrigation value chains for Ethiopian smallholders (LIVES) project is exploring options for formulating and demonstrating vegetable seedling growing media from locally available resources by improving previous attempts with technical support from local players.

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Effect of seedling management on yield and quality of tomato at Adami Tulu Jiddo Kombolcha District, Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia

Written by Amenti Chali and Zewdie Adane with contributions from Kahsay Berhe, Dirk Hoekstra and Abule Ebro.