With irrigated vegetables development, interventions on the uses of improved inputs such as water lifting devices; varieties; on-farm water, nutrient and pest management, and access to credit and market information were introduced in Atsbi-Womberta district, Ethiopia. Besides, skill and uptake capacity of vegetable growers, extension service providers and vegetable traders were improved accordingly. The response to the integrated interventions in the value chain of vegetables indicated that the total annual income increased from less than 16,733 in 2000 to more than 3.0 million USD in 2008. Simultaneously, beneficiaries increased by 82% while irrigated vegetable coverage by 87%. These successful changes in income attributed to improved capacity of actors to manage irrigated vegetables effectively in response to emerging opportunities and challenges including shifts in irrigated crop choices in reply to nutrient mining, pest load and market demand. Hence, the introduction of highland pulses in rotation with vegetable successfully breaks the pest load and increase soil fertility while simultaneously generating high income. Moreover, the presence of attractive market for vegetables and alternative crops triggers the expansion of water harvesting and utilization, increased crop diversification and sharpened the choice of marketable crops to optimize income.
Ethiopian needs to achieve accelerated agricultural development along a sustainable commercialization path to alleviate poverty and ensure overall national development. In this regard, sustainable commercial of smallholder dairying provides a viable and growing opportunity; with deliberate, appropriate and sustained policy...
Ethiopia has a diverse agro-ecology and sufficient surface and ground water resources, suitable for growing various temperate and tropical fruits. Although various tropical and temperate fruits are grown in the lowland/midland and highland agro-ecologies, the area coverage is very limited....
Given the diversity and context-specificity of innovation systems approaches, in March 2007 the World Bank organized a workshop in which about 80 experts (representing donor agencies, development and related agencies, academia, and the World Bank) took stock of recent experiences...
The IPMS project proposes to ‘contribute to improved agricultural productivity and production through market-oriented agricultural development, as a means for achieving improved and sustainable livelihoods for the rural population’ in Ethiopia. To accomplish this goal the project supports development and...
Graduate programs in agriculture and allied disciplines in Ethiopia are expected to make concrete contribution to market-oriented development of smallholder agriculture. This, among others, calls for realignment and engagement of the programs with smallholder farmers and, value chain, R&D and...