From Seed to Market, Transforming Agriculture in Ethiopia

Hurgessa Gutema owns a small farm in Wolisso in central Ethiopia.

With help from a local farming co-operative， his crop yield is rising year after year.

Ethiopia is in the midst of important agricultural shifts that are changing the way smallholder farmers do business. A new organization – the Agricultural Transformation Agency – is bringing in modern planting practices， improving marketing techniques， and revolutionizing the strength in numbers of Ethiopia’s 12.8 million smallholder farmers.

Local farmers associations provide better seeds， fertilizer and training. They also help broker crucial links for small farmers to get their goods to markets.

The Agricultural Transformation Agency also looks at the big picture to ensure food security for the long term.

With support from UNDP and a range of partners， the agency began work in 2011 with the aim of handing over the project to the Government within 15 years.

The impact of new planting practices for Tef， used to make injera， a soft bread and staple Ethiopian food， is a case in point.

“We introduced a new way of planting Tef that reduces the seeding rate and introduces new varieties，” Bomba said. “This boosted yields by a minimum of 30 percent， and in some cases over 100 percent. Having started with just two farmers， this year we’re moving up to two million.”

Working well together

The Agency supports coordination efforts led by the Ministry of Agriculture by helping connect donor Governments interested in working in specific regions， or businesses seeking to invest in the agricultural system.

Supporters include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation， the World Bank， the Nike and Rockefeller Foundations， USAID， the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs， Trade and Development， the Synergos Institute， the Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research， Feed the Future， UNDP and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Effective host Government—led coordination like this is a core principle of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation that helps Governments， businesses and organisations work better together to end poverty.

Phenomenal gains

With average annual growth rates of 10 percent， and poverty rates， down from 40 percent to 29 percent in seven years， Ethiopia has no shortage of interested investors.

“Many private sector partners， both domestic and international see the opportunities to create value here in Ethiopia，” Bomba said.

Eugene Owusu， UNDP’s Resident Representative in Ethiopia， believes the work of the ATA and the Ministry of Agriculture will play key roles in Ethiopia’s long-term development strategy.

“Ethiopia is aiming for agriculture-led industrial transformation，” he said. “Now we’re exporting raw materials， but the intention is to invest in establishing the industrial infrastructure to produce finished products that will add value for export.”

And as for Hurgessa in Wolisso， he’s saving for the future.

“My plan is to change from farmer to merchant，” he says. “I’ll supply a whole range of grains to market.”

埃塞俄比亞正處于重要的農(nóng)業(yè)轉(zhuǎn)型期，而農(nóng)業(yè)轉(zhuǎn)型機(jī)構(gòu)這個(gè)新的組織正在通過(guò)引進(jìn)現(xiàn)代種植實(shí)踐及提高營(yíng)銷(xiāo)技巧等方式，增強(qiáng)該國(guó)一千多萬(wàn)農(nóng)民的市場(chǎng)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力。當(dāng)?shù)剞r(nóng)民協(xié)會(huì)為農(nóng)民增收提供了更好的種子、肥料及培訓(xùn)。隨著糧食產(chǎn)量的提高，該國(guó)貧困率也大幅下降，從而吸引了國(guó)內(nèi)外私有企業(yè)的投資，而該國(guó)也正在從農(nóng)產(chǎn)品原材料出口商向農(nóng)產(chǎn)品成品出口商改變。

[http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/ourwork/ourstories/from-seed-to-market--transforming-agriculture-in-ethiopia/]