Line sowing of teff has brought tremendous change in production (pictured, above)
The government has been pursuing policies aimed at boosting agricultural production and productivity. Increasing the availability of improved seed, chemical fertilizers, and extension services for small scale, resource poor farmers has been taken as an important tool to improve agricultural productivity. These interventions have led to improvements in both agricultural outputs and yields. But there is still an urgent need for substantial progress as the country has yet to see payoffs in terms of higher and more stable cereal yields, lower consumer prices for food staples, and zero dependence on food aid. Tailoring ways to strengthen smallholder access to inputs, technology, and information is crucial and improving the incentives for their use and adoption is of crucial importance.
In the effort to make the vision of boosting productivity and ensuring food security a reality, the quantity of improved seed supplied to smallholders has been increasing during the last decade. In effect, agricultural extension services are meant to make available seed, chemical fertilizers, and credit services to the smallholder farmers. The agricultural sector has witnessed new packages to support other crops and livestock, improved post harvesting technology adoption and encouragement of natural resource management, mainly aimed at diversifying output and getting beyond a focus on cereals. As productivity is essentially regarded as a result of technological problem, the focus has been to widely diffuse the needed technological and technical inputs, particularly fertilizers and improved seed , mainly to areas with low productivity.
The government has tried to implement this technology-led extension programme during the last couple of decades. The acceptance and implementation of these programmes among the smallholder farmers is mandatory for its success and attainment of the final goals. The newly adapted line sowing of teff, the common food crop in Ethiopia, has shown significant improvements in the amount of production per hectare on lands of smallholders who implemented it during the last farming year.
Endale Gebre (PhD), Deputy Director of Seed Research Section with the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute says there is a room for optimism based on the outcomes of efforts made so far. teff is one of the crops on which the Institute has been undertaking research since many years ago. As the crop is produced only in Ethiopia, the researches conducted on it and use of the crop exist only in research centres of Ethiopia, although some European countries have since recently started to introduce it in their market. Dr. Endale says teff is not lucky enough to attract global fund and focus like maize and wheat, on which widespread research is underway in different parts of the world to improve production and productivity.
The research undertaken on teff so far has enabled the institution to introduce and distribute above 30 technological, information and system of production and other related outcomes to the country’s farmers, he noted. “Many kinds of improved teff seed varieties have been supplied during the last three or four decades. And the research activity is widening and getting stronger from its inception with very limited capacity. Most importantly, the recent years have witnessed provision of more new improved varieties,” he said. Compared with other crop varieties that are common among Ethiopian farmers, Teff is categorized under crops with very low yield. A decade ago, not more than 0.8 tonne of teff is produced per hectare by the smallholder farmers. However, the effort to introduce new technological and technical inputs for production and productivity have brought significant changes during the last few years, Dr. Endale said.
The average amount of national teff production per hectare has now reached about 1.2 tonnes. But in some areas especially which are favorable for the crop, the amount has reached from three up to five tones per hectare. According to him, the officially recorded amount by the Institute so far is 4.6 tonnes per hectare. “ The difference comes from individual farming performance in land use, implementation of newly introduced farming technologies and techniques and of course the agro- ecological scenario.” what is most important, presently, changed agronomic practices by the research institute have shown that it is possible even to increase the amount of teff production per hectare up to 8 tonnes, he noted.
There is a chance to boost the productivity further if it is possible to enhance the use of improved seed varieties and production systems in the near future, he exclaimed. However, the agro-ecological, soil, weather, land use and knowledge differences make the amount of production on each individual farm very different. “You may provide the technical and other supports equally to all farmers but the rainfall, soil and other natural and man-made reasons make the difference.” The next focus of the research institute should be to prepare improved seed varieties that can boost productivity in various agro-ecological zones and soil types so that, there would be significant growth in productivity in many areas of the country, he noted.
Moreover, the average growth of the overall amount of national production of teff has increased by about 20 per cent. These is a great leap forward as compared to the previous times and this is an opportunity for making the needed difference in teff production, he remarked. Dr. Endale emphasized the need for use of micro nutrients in addition to the common fertilizers(DAP and UREA)that are widely in use at present. The research institute is trying to get improved seed varieties for domestic crops in cooperation with many international research institutions. We are working in cooperation with various international institutions by providing them with different varieties and we also take from them what is important for us. For instance, we have to import improved varieties for wheat, sorghum, soyabean and others. As we undertake these tasks with mutual agreement and consensus, there is no fear of leak of unnecessary GMOs.” he explained.
Another researcher who requested to remain anonymous, and who commented on the issue said that the increasing role of the state may not provide the intended growth stimulus to the agricultural sector. Specifically, due emphasis should be given to building a dynamic private sector that could enable to promote fertilizer, seed, credit and market information system, he noted. According to him, greater flexibility in ways of providing inputs and services to smallholders can open up new market and technological opportunities in the agricultural sector. The extension system also requires deep reform in such a way that can tangibly change the knowledge and know-how of the farmers in the effort to boost productivity and production via using research outcomes.
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