Ethiopia highlands

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Africa RISINGEthiopia Highlands


The Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation (Africa RISING) program comprises three research-for-development projects supported by the United States Agency for International Development as part of the U.S. government’s Feed the Future initiative.

media type="custom" key="25211168" align="right" Through action research and development partnerships, Africa RISING will create opportunities for smallholder farm households to move out of hunger and poverty through sustainably intensified farming systems that improve food, nutrition, and income security, particularly for women and children, and conserve or enhance the natural resource base.

In Ethiopia, the main aim of the project is to identify and validate solutions to the problems experienced by small-holder crop-livestock farmers. Some problems arise from the difficulties facing farmers in managing natural resources and achieving efficiencies from managing crops, trees, water and livestock together. These efficiencies are often influenced by other factors such as access to inputs and the reliability of markets. To address this complexity, Africa RISING takes an integrated approach to strengthen farming systems. It conducts participatory research that identifies technologies and management practices that work for farmers and take account of contextual issues like markets for inputs and outputs, community and other institutions and of the policy environments that influence farm households.

Sites [edit | edit source]

In Ethiopia, the project works in eight interventions kebeles ((the lowest administrative units in Ethiopia) in four woredas/districts of Amhara, Oromia, SNNP and Tigray regions

Region Woreda/district < kebeles
Amhara Basona Worena < Goshe Bado and Gudo Beret
Oromia Sinana < Salka and Ilu-Sanbitu
SNNPR Lemo < Jawe and Upper Gana
Tigray Endamehonei < Emba Hasti and Tsibet

Gender in AR Ethiopia[edit | edit source]

Research[edit | edit source]

To address the program-wide hypotheses listed in the program framework (cgspace.cgiar.org/handle/10568/25079), the project’s research is organized around 5 research components and 7 research themes. The components are:

  • Component 1: A full characterisation and stratification of households within engaged communities as a basis to identify and propagate improved technologies and management strategies
  • Component 2: Activities supporting action at a more integrated, community scale, including support for peer-to-peer knowledge exchange within communities and strengthening and augmenting existing practices
  • Component 3: Participatory market opportunity identification, and value chain analyses leading to the establishment of multi-stakeholder platforms ( read more about innovation platforms)
  • Component 4: On-farm adaptive research to identify the strongest, options for integrating research deliverables with existing practices to promote sustainable intensification
  • Component 5: Identification of options and processes for wider scaling and active formation of implementation partnerships.

The research themes guiding current activities were developed in the September 2013 work plan and are:

  1. Feed and forage development.
  2. Field crop varietal selection and management.
  3. Integration of high value products into mixed farming systems.
  4. Improved land and water management for sustainability.
  5. Improving the efficiency of mixed farming systems through more effective crop-livestock integration.
  6. Cross-cutting problems and opportunities
  7. Knowledge management, exchange and capacity development

To implement the Africa RISING rolling [http:hdl.handle.net/10568/35382| work plan] that was developed in 2013, a set of 33 research protocols targeting the main problems and opportunities was developed. [https:cgspace.cgiar.org/handle/10568/58477| Download information on research protocols]

In 2013, a series of diagnostic exercises were carried out with the following participatory tools:

In 2012, six early-win projects were implemented in Ethiopia

Expected results [edit | edit source]

By the end of the project, the project will have delivered the following:

  • Knowledge and skills in farming communities will have been strengthened equitably, allowing all family members to benefit.
  • We will see farmers operating systems that are ‘sustainably intensified’- that is, levels of production and productive efficiency have increased in ways that can be maintained both environmentally and economically over the longer term.
  • Improved partnerships among farmers, support services and other value chain actors will have re­duced uncertainties about market function; more reliable input supplies will support more resilient production that will ensure a more consistent profit from produce sold at market.

Partners[edit | edit source]

The Africa RISING project in the Ethiopian highlands is led by scientists from the International Live­stock Research Institute in partnership with scientists from other CGIAR centres. It is implemented in close partnerships with national and local partners:

  • Academic institutions:

Wachemo, Mekelle, Madawolabu, Debre Berhan and Hawassa universities; Maichew Agricultural College

  • Regional research organizations:

Amhara Regional Agricultrural Research Institute, Southern Agricultural Research Institute, Tigray Agricultural Research Institute, Oromia Agricultural Research Institute

  • Federal research organizations:

Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research, Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute

  • Offices of Agriculture:
  • Endamekoni (Tigray), Basona Worena (Amhara), Lemo (SNNRP) and Sinana (Oromia)

Agricultural Transformation Agency >

Contacts[edit | edit source]

Peter Thorne, Project coordinator ILRI, Ethiopia (p.thorne[at]cgiar.org) [[1]] Simret Yasabu, Research communication specialist ILRI, Ethiopia (s.yasabu[at]cgiar.org)

About Africa RISING in Ethiopia[edit | edit source]

Implementation plans:


External evaluation (2015)[edit | edit source]

ETH Project USAID commissioned External Evaluation(2016)[edit | edit source]

Latest news and updates[edit | edit source]

rss url="http://feeds.feedburner.com/africarisingEthiopianews" link="true" number="10"


Partner Research Forum meetings

Africa RISING Ethiopia calendar of activities[edit | edit source]

media type="custom" key="27348386"

Reports and Documents[edit | edit source]

These are the most recent Ethiopia-specific documents uploaded on CG Space: media type="custom" key="27348376"

Key documents

Field and other reports[edit | edit source]

File:AR farmers Field day report July 23-26 2014 mdaa.docx

File:Debre Berhan AR Field-Trip 25-28 June 14 Aberra.docx

File:Lemo AR Field-Trip 2-6 July 14 Aberra.docx

Africa RISING-CGIAR Partners Monthly meetings[edit | edit source]