Page 40, THISDAY, Vol 15, No. 5609
N
ew report calls for making better use of Ethiopia's native livetock resources, expanding livestock export markets and favourab le livestock
regions to transform the coun-
try's large livestpck sector, particularly that of sheep and goats. According to the International
Livestock
Research Institute. (ILRl) , despite Ethiopia's wealth (in types as weU as numbers) of livestqck resources, scientists
By Crusoe Osagie
. TuesdaY, August 31; 2010
wit"
A.gency Reports
Ethiopian · Fanners,' implemented by the Government of Ethiopia and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). . "Although Ethiopians raise vast numbers of small stock, about 25 million sheep and 21 . million goats, the nation's livestock sector continues to underperform. The new re)X>t1
cites a multitude of technical,
report that national levels of
socio-economic and biological
livestock production remain
problems
far below expectations. ILRl said a new working paper, 'Sheep and goat production and marketing systems in Ethiopia,' offers strategies for raising those levels. The report is published by a project, ' Improving Productivity and Market Success (IPMS) of
country's sheep and goat production . These include livestock diseases and parasites, poor-quality feeds, inaccessible livestock inputs and inappropriate methods for delivering extension messages. Inadcquate markets, including
constraining
the
insufficient access to markets
and market information as well as low market prices, also prevent livestock farmers from achieving tlle great potential their animals offer" ILRl said. ILRl researchers Azage Tegegne, . Berhanu Gebremedhin . and Dirk Hoekstra, •among -other authors oftheleport, are quick to point out that the Ethiopian livestock sector has many 'favourable opportunities to increase sheep and goat productivity.' The report recommends supporting alternative production systems that will not only inlprove small-scale production systems but also speed development of larger scale specialized sheep and goat production .systems. Small stock production shoula be stratified, the scientists said, and different zones delineated for different kinds
when they (or their related of production systems. The products) are sold in markets. report says, for example, that 'Fanners are using the herding and other forms of increased income to expand extensive livestock-based sysand increase the numbers of tems are more suited to the country's vast western, eastern animals in the fattening program and to purchase agriculand southern lowlands as well tUIaI inputs like seeds, fertilizas supalpine sbeep-based er and farm tools. Household regions, whereaS . intensive . items, especially food , are also market-otiented systems are better suited to the wet bigh- . more accessible. They are also able to pay for their children's lands. where farmers typically education', said Tegegoe, who mix crop growing with animal is also a research scientist with husbandry. Among the places where the the project. Findings from the project in Improving Productivity and · Gomma show that households Market Success of Ethiopian made a profit of Birr Farmers project is working to 2,250-4,500 (US$ I 67- 333 increase productivily of small USD) annually from the sale animal stock is Gomma 'of fattened animals . In the first District, where sheep fattening round , 120 fanners (38 cycles have been set up and are women) fattened 5 sheep per run by women. household in three montl.ls. The project is enabling Most managed to fatten 15 fanners to increase the producsheep in three cycles in a year tion of sheep and goats, witll translating . to significant larger numbers of healthier anihousehold income for farmers mals fetching higher prices
and their families. As a result of this success, the fattening program is now used by more fanner groups and landless urban youths. "Women in particular bene· fit from this project, especially in areas where women's groups focused on sheep fattenmg have been established. Fattening activities for small animal stock are traditionally carried out by WOO1Cn, who use income generated from this project to meet household and family needs. There is great potential to expand the project," Tegegoe said. The report also recommends Fter use of technological mterventions to better exploit the country's genetic diversity and improve its breeding stock and to better control livestock diseases. And it suggests ways to reorient the country's livestock extension services for better delivery to livestock keepers.
EU, FAO .to Boost Agricultural Potential ,,e fertile lowlands that cover one-fifth of Liberia are part of a European Union and FAO-supported plan to cut tlle nation's dependence on rice imports improve the livelihood of vulnerable farmer families. TIle Liberian government has prioritiied the rehabilitation of swamps, especially those with damaged or abandoned rice fields, noting that lowland farms have the potential to yield up to 80-90 percent more rice than upland ones. "In using more of our lowlands, not only will we get hiliher yields. we will also minimize deforestation and soil erosion,'! said J. Qwelibo Subah, DirectorGeneral of Liberia's Central AgricultuiaJ Research Institute, ~nderl ining the environmental benefit of his govemmenrs plan. ''In the swamps, you can grow two, three crops of rice per year, compared to just one per year on upland slopes," said Sheku Kamara, FAO Agricultural Engineer. "With upland rice, instead, you have to move to another area after each harvest. TIlCn you slash and bum to clear brush and trees. Then you move to another area, and you repeat that,' Kamara explained. Kamara has provided technical support for a 2 OOO-hectare swamp and irrigation rehabilitation project funded by the European Union Food Facility (EUFF),. the . EU's massive response to high food prices in developing countries. Liberian rice production has increased significantly since the end of a 14-year civil war in 2003. It jumped from 85 000 metric tonnes (mt) in 2005 to 144 000 mt in 2007, for-example. Still, Liberia imPorts 60 per- . cent of the rice consumed in the country, according to government figures. In Bong, Nimba and Lofa counties, up to 5 000 men and . women, many of whom fled rural farms during the conflict, are reviving defunct lowland farms, repairing irrigation systems, and receiving training in sustainable farming techniques. "During the war, we went away. After that, we had no money. no way to work," said 8endu 8endeh, of Sarnay, in
Ti _~
f
~1
......
and
Bong Counly • as she stood ·on swampland that she and her neighbors had rehabilitated. "Now we know how to set up the bunds," Belldeh said, referring to the dirt embanknJents il1at crisscross the fields and serve as inrigation control, work platforms and footpaths. 'We were taught bow to take rice from a nursery and transplant the seedlings for a better crop.' Bendeh .and other villagers also received seeds, tools, fertilizer and Other pest management supplies. TIlC EUFF is channeling €45 ;... million through FAO to Liberia as part of its two-year, €I billion effort to help developing cotin-, .. ' tries in Africa, Asia and ·uitiil ·: America move towards long: term fOod sOCurity: . , -,. In Liberia, the· EUFF is p3rt of a multi-faceted initiative by the government and the UN Joint Programme for Food Securily and Nutrition which aims to pr0vide emergency assistance to food-insecure housebolds while also building the capacily of • L-R: Chairman of Odua of Commerce} Mines and Agriculture and} Chief OlaiJan Alnbi, briefing the media on the forth Liberians to improve their livelicoming Odua trade/air holding iu Iba4an. Wilh him is director general} ODUACCIMA } Rev Leke OSllnbunmi hoods.
Drought-tolerant Maize Variety to Generate $1.5bn for Africa
~
climate change intensifies drought conditions in Africa and sparks fears of a ew cycle of crippling food .·shortages. a study released by Intemationallnstitute of Tropical Agriculture finds widespread adoption of recen~ developed drought-tolerant varieties of maize could boost harvests in 13 African countries by 10 to 34 percent and generate up to US$15 billion in benefits for producers and consumers. ' We need to move deliberately, but witll JUgency, to get these new varieties from the breeders to the farmers, because their potentiaJ to avert crises is considerable,' said Roberto La Rovere, a · socio-economist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Cente, (known by its Spanish acrooym ClMMYT) and· lead author ·of the study, which was produced in partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (!ITA). "Our analysis shows that with high rates of adoption, more than four million producers and consumers would S\'C their poverty . level drop significantly by .
By Crusoe Osagie
with
AgrnCJ Rrporu
2016,' lle added. TI,e study was conducted as part of the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa [nitiati ve (D1MA) implemented by·OM' MIT and !ITA with funding from tl,e Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Howard G. ButTett Foundation. CIMMYf and !ITA have worked with _national agriculture research centers in Africa to develop over 50 new maize varieties that in drought conditions can produce yields that are 20 to 50 percent higher than existing varieties. TIlC CIMl'i1YT-!ITA analysis of the benefits of conventional drought-tolerant maize for Africa, O( DTMA, examined the potential impact in Angola, Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi. Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The researchers found that under "conservative yield" improvements, the new varieties would provide faimers and consumers
with food and income worth USS537 million, while under more "optimistic yield improvements," their value would increase to US$876 million. Moreover, the researchers estimate that if drought-tolerant maize completely replaced existing varieties in the countries studied. the benefits could reach US$15 billion. Fanners and consumers in Kenya,' Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe would see the greatest benefits, the authors note, because maize dominates local diets and livelihoods, and farmers in these countries have a bistory of rapidly adopting improved maize varieties. '"The goal now is to make drought-tolerant maize easily available to millions of ~maII holder growers .,in. countries where droughts, which always lurk as. a perennial threat to food production , are expected to become more common and more severe," said Hartmann, director general of !ITA. "Maize is life for 300 million in Africa, and as climatic conditions deteriorate, it is up to researchers in
cooperation with governments, seed companies and fanners to ensure that maize production does not coUapse." For ,example, a peerreviewed study published last year by Stanford University and the Global Crop Diversily Trust warned that by 2050, growing conditions in most African countries will be hotter than any year on record and that many varieties of maize now under cultivation will no longer be viable. Another study from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRl) warned that a failure to transition to drought-tolerant maize could diminish yields across the region by up to one ton per
heciare. Some of the new drought-tolerant maize seed is already reaching fanners' fields. Ths year alone, four new varieties developed by br<;eders with !ITA and the Government of Ghana that are both drought-tolerant and resistant to the para$itic weed Striga were officially released. The C!MMYT-llTA study
examined past trends in adoption of improved maize varieties and cautioned that there could be wide variations in the rate at which farmers' transition to drought-tolerant · maize. For example. adoption rates are pr0jected to be as high as 85 percent in Kenya and Zambia, but only 20 peroent in Benin, 30 percent in Mali , and 27 percent in Mozambique. 'It is very important foreveryone at all points in the value chain to coordinate their efforts so that we address tl,e challenges that in the past have made it very diflicult for many African farmers to obtain seed of improved crop varieties,' said Wilfred Mwangi, associate director of CIMMYTs global maize pr0gram ant! leader of the D1MA project. According to Mwangi, farmers will adopt a new crop variely if it otTers distinct advantages. But they still face barriers to obtaining improved seeds. "Over the years, many fanners in sub-Sabaran Africa have continued to grow old, lowyielding. and unsuitable maize varieties,