Issue 8; March 2011
Editorial
Seed sector developments in South
& West Oromia
In January/February of 2011, LSB hosted its regional
workshops, facilitated by the respective innovator
teams in their backyards. In this, the 8th issue of the
newsletter, we reflect upon the regional workshops
and the progress made thus far, but also we look to
the future of LSB in Ethiopia. This month, the main
focus; however, is on LSB and Partnerships
developments and activities in South & West Oromia.
The current issue has been compiled by Tesema
Abate, Shemsu Baissa, Diriba Fufa Tore, Arfasa Kiros,
Kedir Nefo, Shiferaw Tafesse, Abdo Woyema of the
South & West Oromia LSB team, Belew Damene
G/Hiwot of Self Help Africa, Tesfahun Alemu, Shimelis
Gezahegni and Tarekegni Etana of the Kulumsa
Agricultural Research Centre, and Walter de Boef,
Mohammed Hassena, Marja Thijssen and Gareth
Borman of the Center for Development Innovation.
Outline of this issue
To kick-off this month’s edition, the coordinating team
of the project from Wageningen provide an overview of
the planning process for accelerated LSB
development in its next phase.
Shiferaw Tafesse, Mohammed Hassena and Kedir
Nefo report on partnerships in S&W Oromia;
highlighting the challenges faced, the importance of
partnerships in problem-solving and the contributions
made thus far towards sustainable seed sector
development. Following that, Kedir Nefo and Shemsu
Baissa of the LSB team at Oromia Seed Enterprise
(OSE), talk about embracing diversity in the region but
also the importance of devising general focal activities
for addressing issues.
Farmers in Arsi Zone favour barley production because
of its commercial potential. Asella Malt Factory is the
first and largest malting factory in the country and
demands large quantities of barley for realizing
capacity. Tessema Abate et al. from OSE discuss the
importance in linking barley seed producers with grain
producers in the area. On a slightly different note,
Abdo Woyema et al. describe the success in supplying
quality seed of superior hybrid maize varieties in Omo
Nada, stating that, “the SPC will exist as a unique
example on how to transform SPCs with high numbers
of members, working within contractual arrangements,
into viable local seed businesses”. Following that, the
team from OSE go on to describe three new
innovation sites, and then, along with Mohammed
Hassena, reflect on the regional workshop held in
February and agree that there is a strong sense of
ownership among farmers and that autonomy is
becoming a far less abstract concept. Belew Damene
G/Hiwot and Tesfahun Alemu, Shimelis Gezahegni and
Tarekegni Etana from Self Help Africa and Kulumsa
Agricultural Research Centre, respectively, provide
their contributions to the newsletter. Both of these
organizations have links to the LSB project and share
some of their vast experience in the seed sector in
Oromia with our readers. In the final contribution,
Walter de Boef, advisor to the LSB project, shares his
excitement for entrepreneurship in Haramaya, by
referring to the out-growers scheme of Raaree Horaa
SPC as the next “Haramaya Seed Enterprise”.
LSB project
The LSB project is a joint effort of Bahir Dar University,
Haramaya University, Hawassa University, Mekelle
University, Oromia Agricultural Research Institute,
Oromia Seed Enterprise and the Wageningen UR
Centre for Development Innovation. Partners include
several organizations within Regional Government
(BoARD and RARIs), Federal Government (EIAR and
ESE) and NGOs (EOSA, ORDA, REST, SHDI and several
others). The project is funded by the Dutch Ministry of
Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation and the
Directorate General for International Cooperation
through the Embassy of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands, Addis Ababa.
Contact and information
For more information on the LSB project please
approach one of the coordinators or visit the website:
http://portals.wi.wur.nl/agrobiodiversity/
Local Seed Business Project
Local Seed Business Newsletter
Integrated planning process: accelerating learning and
innovation in the LSB sites
By Walter de Boef, Marja Thijssen, Mohammed Hassena and Gareth Borman
Planning process ensuring acceleration in
LSB development
In the period 27 January till 8 February, the LSB project
organized five regional workshops. The workshops were
strategic in the process of guiding activities within the regions
and LSB site for 2011. The major aim of the entire process is to
ensure that in 2011 the process as used for strengthening the
SPCs in the LSB sites are consolidated to a level that they
become regional and national references for LSB development,
i.e. the current planning at regional and local level has to ensure
that we make significant achievements. Further, we aim to
monitor and evaluate the achievements in LSB consolidation and
acceleration late 2011 with the assessment for principles and
critical success factors. Processes are put in place for those
topics for the LSB sites where we need to ensure that they are
moving to higher scores for the indicators in the framework.
Planning process for consolidation before
out-scaling
The current planning process is also strategic, as in the second
phase of the LSB project within the larger framework of the
Integrated Seed Sector Development Programme in Ethiopia,
Phase II will act as reference for two major development
elements. Firstly, it will guide the development for strategies for
LSB out-scaling, whereby; we aim to develop likewise processes
in more sites run by partner organization. The methodology and
process for strengthening should be well developed before we
begin coaching and supporting other organizations in out-scaling
the ISSD Ethiopia Phase II Programme. The goal is to multiply
the existing number of LSB sites by a factor of between 5 and
10, which in reality means moving from 33 up to between 160
and 320 sites by 2015. Secondly, the current process will guide
the development of strategies for LSB up-scaling by identifying
the details of, and focussing upon, issues that are addressed in
partnership projects, such as specifics on cooperative bylaws,
seed quality monitoring mechanisms and others.

Local workshops at LSB sites (second consolidation of
planning)
 National LSB workshop
 Local workshops
In Amhara, Oromia and SNNPR, each unit organized, in the
month of January, a series of workshops at LSB site level.
Participants were members of the Executive committees of the
SPCs, and their local partners of WoA, DA and NGOs. In Tigray,
the LSB unit called for a regional workshop in which all sites
joined with their partners, shared experiences and started a
planning process. The outcome of each workshop was a list of
key topics that need further support for strengthening and
accelerating LSB development.
Regional workshop
Participants in the regional workshops were representatives of
each SPC and the local partners of each LSB site (WoA, DA,
research centres and NGOs); they were complemented by
representatives of key partners from regional government (BoA,
RSE, RARIs, NGOs, HLIs, etc), representatives of leading
organizations responsible for the implementation of partnership
projects, local LSB unit (coordinator, assistant coordinator, LSB
innovators and partnership facilitator, LSB-MSc students) and
members of the Wageningen UR/CDI team. During the 2 day
workshop, the progress in development among the LSB sites
was shared, and proposals to further elaborate on processes to
support the SPC in their LSB development were discussed. A
short list of key topics to be addressed was identified in each
region. Topics vary between market linkage, access to early
generation/basic seed, to financial management and cooperative
organization. Table 1 provides an overview of the topics
identified in the five workshops.
Table 1: Summary of key topics to be addressed per region
Amhara
Financial
Components of the integrated planning
process
Management
The planning process has five steps that are associated to the
workshops as milestones:
 Local workshops at LSB sites (first consultative and
initial planning)
 Regional LSB workshops
Management
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
Cooperative
X
Early Generation
Seed & PVS
Oromia
E
SW
X
X
X
Seed Quality
Marketing
Oromia
X
SNNPR
Tigray
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
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In each workshop, working groups including local partners
elaborated upon actions to be addressed for these key priority
topics. Basically, for each topic a short list of about five actions
was prepared, indicating responsibilities for implementing those
actions by the SPC itself, the LSB project and other partners.
For example, for the topic ‘Financial Management’, actions
identified were ‘strengthening book keeping capacities’,
‘management of customer relationships’, ‘access to credit for
production’ and ‘design of savings programmes for enhancing
infrastructure’. Some variation in the method for identification of
actions among the regions exists, more importantly, in the
current approach, actions for strengthening LSBs are based on
regional consultation rather than national design. The outcomes
of the working groups were discussed in plenary and are used
further by the LSB teams for planning.
Follow up steps after the workshop
Each regional LSB team first prioritized topics to be addressed
among and within the sites. Then for each topic, key actions
were identified. Crucial was it that the team also internally
discussed the workshop outcomes, considering those actions
that were suggested be included and those that they believe
absolutely cannot be excluded, before arriving at a final agenda.
Each team, based upon their expert insights of each site and the
general overviews of the sites within the region, was able to
make such an informed decision. This was subsequently
transformed into a work plan describing several actions
necessary for addressing each topic. Each action includes a
number of activities, that are in general among the following:

Assessment or diagnosis

Awareness raising and local planning

Networking for inputs with specific partners

Design of local mechanism or capacity

Capacity development of local partners

Coaching and monitoring implementation

Evaluation of the success and impact of the process
With these detailed plans, they will identify a subset with actions
appropriate for each LSB site which subsequently shall be
discussed in detail at the second local consultative workshops.
Crucial is it that the allocation of innovation funds to the LSB
sites for 2011 will be embedded within this process of service
provision by the LSB units to the SPC partners. During the
National Workshop this month of March, the five LSB teams will
share and discuss the processes as designed to strengthen and
accelerate LSB development in their sites. This is an opportunity
for sharing processes and fine-tuning the design. For example, in
all regions several actions will be address related to financial
management and marketing; therefore, it makes sense to
explore the current variation in process design among the
regional teams. We aim to maintain that diversity, since it
reflects the variation among the regions and between specific
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
sites, but also to share and discuss these designs to fine-tune
and support the LSB teams in the consolidation of their
approaches.
Smart plan: more success
accelerating LSB development
design
in
Through this intensive three month consultative and creative
planning process which reflects upon the achievements, lessons
learnt, key topics, process designs and service provision we aim
to boost LSB development. Emphasis should not only be placed
on the actual advances in LSB developments but also on learning
and innovation in the design of approaches for supporting SPCs
in their development. The outcome of this year’s planning and
implementation will be reflected upon early in 2012. This
reflection gives us the chance to reshape and further improve
processes. We will know better on how to support a much larger
and diverse group of partners in out-scaling LSB. We will also
know in what areas we encounter critical constraints which
require transformation through new innovation partnership
projects within the context of up-scaling. With the current
process, the LSB project is consolidating, in 33 locations and
five regional units, a stepwise learning and innovation process
that during the regional workshop was referred to by local and
regional stakeholders as crucial in strengthening the seed sector
in Ethiopia.
Walter de Boef is LSB Advisor, Marja Thijssen and Gareth
Borman are, respectively, coordinator and assistant coordinator
responsible for the LSB project and Mohammed Hassena is
national partnership coordinator. They are either staff members
or associates of Wageningen UR/CDI.
Mohammed Hassena discusses out-scaling opportunities with
NGOs at the Amhara regional workshop in January this year.
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Regional and local levels partnership for seed sector
development in Oromia
By Shiferaw Tafesse, Mohammed Hassena and Kedir Nefo
Importance of partnership for seed sector
development
Based on the baseline study at innovation sites and the
discussion during last year’s regional workshop, the importance
of partnership among the key partners in seed sector was
underlined in Oromia. It was suggested that strong linkage
among stakeholders and collaborative efforts through common
understanding would be mandatory for sustainable regional seed
sector development. It was also commented that linkage among
partners would avoid overlapping and contradicting activities by
stakeholders and contribute for efficient resource utilization for
the same goal. In this regard, the LSB partnership project has
initiated and facilitated partnership among key stakeholders at
local and regional levels.
Who leads
activities?
the
regional
partnerships
Partners have their core business, hence the emphasis each
gives to the design and implementation of common activities are
usually limited. As the result, designing common activity is
already difficult from the outset. To overcome such a limitation it
was necessary to create a team of experts who will address the
critical factors in sector development and give innovative
recommendations on how to overcome these as well as follow
up on their implementation. At regional level, the regional seed
core group comprising seven members was established in
August 2010. Members are representatives of the following
organizations:
 Oromia Seed Enterprise (Regional Public Seed
Enterprise);
 Oromia Agricultural Research Institute (OARI);
 Oromia Agricultural Bureau (OAB);
 Haramaya University;
 Anno Agro-Industry (Private Seed Company);
 Pioneer Hi-bred Seeds Ethiopia (Private Seed
Company); and
 Self Help Africa (NGO).
Success of the team will be reviewed by a bigger audiance
known as the Regional Platform. The Regional Platform will
guarantee the implementation of the proposed ideas.
Regional seed sector priority problems
Regional partnership is aimed at solving problems critical to the
sector in the regions which request help in identifying where
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
constraints exist. Through consultation partners make clear the
major challenges in the sector. These challenges are generally in
the area of policy, regulatory systems and technical capacity.
Out of many challenges, partners agree on three major issues
that are critical to the sector. These include access to early
generation seed by seed producers, seed quality and inefficient
distribution systems. The topics are presented in short below.
Access to early generation seed
In Oromia, access to early generation seed is a constraint to the
sector. As a result, demand for access to basic seed among
public seed enterprises, the private seed companies and seed
producer cooperatives (SPCs) is high. In actual fact, these
institutions get early generation seed through a quota system.
However, what they are allocated on an annual basis is by far
below their demand. The problem is more pronounced in access
to hybrid seed than non-hybrid seed.
Seed quality
Quality of seed supplied is far below standard. There are cases
in which crop failures have been recorded due to non-germinated
seed that was distributed to the farmers. Such cases have put
even the government in expenses to compensate affected
farmers. This situation has discouraged and disappointed the
farmers who have purchased seed hoping for better production.
Inefficient seed distribution system
The existing seed distribution systems lack clear accountability.
Most of the time, once seed is dispatched from the seed
producers, there is no well-designed strategy in place to make
them or subsequent operators in the value chain liable for any
quality loss. This situation exist under a centralized seed
distribution system controlled by the government. It is suspected
that the government controls seed distribution fearing the
possible behavior of private companies to unreasonably increase
the price, adulterate seed and concentrate seed distribution in
limited areas only. Nevertheless, inefficiency and quality
accountability within the government controlled distribution
system is a major challenge.
Designating strategic projects
Once the core team has identified the critical problems such as
the examples described above, they take further action in
designing projects which help to overcome problems and
stimulate a more pluralistic seed sector in the region. Some of
4
these projects offer initiative to experiment new approaches
while others try to strengthen existing systems to ensure
sustainable quality seed supply. Five projects are designed by
the core group and are briefly described below.
Project 1: Improving the availability of early
generation seeds supply in Oromia
Shortage of early generation seeds (EGS) is one of the major
challenges of the seed sector in Oromia. As a result, private
seed companies, public seed enterprises and SPCs are seriously
competing for EGS. To improve its supply, a partnership has
been established among key players in the chain. The key
innovation is to start multiplying EGS outside the research
stations by involving potential private and public institutions with
access to suitable and significant areas of land. Agricultural
research centers contribute the breeder seed to be multiplied
and technical backstopping through strong follow-up. The other
partners provide appropriate land and undertake agronomic
activities which range from planting to harvesting.
Project 2: Improving seed marketing in
Oromia
Production of seed is decentralized; including producer
cooperatives, private seed companies and public seed
enterprises. The government then pools all produced-seed and
distributes it to the farmers through unions and cooperatives. In
contrast to the decentralized production phase, dissemination is
centralized. As a result, distribution is considered by many as
inefficient. This partnership innovation project aims to create
alternative seed marketing mechanisms. Through this innovation,
the timely seed delivery to farmers through agro-dealers is
envisaged. The key innovation is that agro-dealers will be
supported in their establishment within selected woredas. The
objective is to create better seed access for farmers. The
farmers will purchase seed from the dealers, thereby introducing
a local seed market. In this partnership innovation project, seed
producers such as OSE, ESE, Pioneer Hybrid and Anno Agroindustry will participate and market their produce through their
agro dealers in selected woredas. Members of the LSB unit and
partners will monitor the seed sales, and evaluate the efficiency
of the marketing system. Moreover, they will draw lessons learnt
exploring further up- and out-scaling in the future.
Project 3: Supporting internal seed quality
improvement of seed producers
Poor quality of the seed has become the major challenge
resulting in crop failure and yield reduction. This is mainly
attributed to the limited capacity of the seed certifying body in
the region and the poor internal seed quality control procedures
applied by producers. This partnership innovation project aims to
assess and analyze existing internal seed quality control
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
procedures of seed producers and develop the support for them
to enhance their procedures and capacities. It also supports the
seed producers in the implementation of developed internal seed
quality control procedures. The task is also to identify and
evaluate best practices that, in follow-up, may be out-scaled
within the LSB project among other partners. Technical experts
support each producer in enhancing their strategy and also
monitor their implementation. Finally, the seed certifying body
will be provided concrete data on monitored and inspected seed
fields. The seed certification process is facilitated and is
predicted to become more efficient and effective. For this
project, three farmers’ cooperative unions and two private seed
companies will participate.
Project 4: Supporting the establishment of
a regional seed regulatory body
The seed regulatory body in Oromia is not independent but is a
part of the regional Bureau of Agriculture (BoA). It is thereby
constrained by a lack of capacity. Constraints in the seed value
chain aggravate and generate complex challenges and
pressures from time to time. No mandated and capable
institution exists to handle these issues. For example, no
agency, with authority, exists that can respond to complaints
regarding poor seed quality delivered through the current seed
distribution channels. The BoA is making an effort to push the
government to establish a separate authorized seed regulatory
body with the required capacity. The LSB partnership project will
support the regional government in the establishment of such a
body. Logically, the partnership innovation project will be
implemented in close collaboration with BoA. Several meetings
and workshops will be organized and facilitated for lobbying and
creating awareness on the importance for its establishment.
Various specific feasibility studies will be conducted providing
inputs for its establishment.
Project 5: Supporting the design of an
efficient seed system in Oromia
In Oromia, the existing seed system is not well structured and
faced with many challenges. Little clarity exists on
responsibilities, complementarities and even competition among
seed value chain actors. Frequent overlapping of activities along
the seed value chain results in low performance and
accountability in service provision. By taking this into
consideration, Oromia regional government, through BoA, is
intending to restructure the seed sector. Therefore, the
partnership innovation project will support this effort. A
consultant through the partnership project will be hired to assess
performance and will be requested to explore mechanisms for
enhancing accountability. Subsequently, meetings and
workshops will be organized for ensuring that concerned
stakeholders contribute to, and join in, this re-organization of the
5
seed sector in the region, which aims at higher performance and
increased accountability in service provision.
Implementation of partnership projects
The designed strategic partnership projects will be implemented
in partnership with identified partner organizations, both in the
public and private sector. The regional core group will play a
vital facilitating role in ensuring that the proper implementation of
the project takes place. The commitment of the BoA and other
regional partners has been appreciatively observed.
Shiferaw Tafesse is partnership facilitator at the Oromia LSB Unit
based at Oromia Seed Enterprise; Mohammed Hassena is
national partnership coordinator associated with Wageningen
UR/Centre for Development Innovation; and Kedir Nefo is
coordinator of the LSB project in Oromia SW region; he is
General Manager of Oromia Seed Enterprise.
Progress of the Local Seed Business (LSB) Project in South
and West Oromia Region
By Kedir Nefo and Shemsu Baissa
Agriculture: mainstay of Oromia’s economy
and livelihood
In Oromia agriculture is the major economic activity which
contributes for about 65% of GDP and 89% of the region’s
population livelihood depends on agriculture. Seed acts as a
basis for crop production which is an important component of
food security and driver of economic growth in Ethiopia. The
diversity of agricultural environments in Oromia region
determines the diversity of the seed supply systems. Key issues
of seed business are availability, accessibility, price, quality and
the use of improved seed. Farmers in the Oromia region use
seed sources that vary from their own saved seed to seed
supplied by the formal sector, seed obtained through relief and
even by purchasing imported seed. Farmers’ saved seed
contributes more than 90% of the total. Therefore, it is
paramount to devise a mechanism that expands the availability
and use of improved seed at local level.
The LSB innovation sites in SW Oromia
The innovation sites coordinated under OSE are presented in
Figure 1. They are distributed across Bale, West Arsi, Jima,
West Shewa, Arsi and East Shewa zones. These sites were
selected systematically to represent the diverse agroecosystems and cropping systems in the region and also
thorough strategic discussions with Woreda Offices of
Agriculture, Cooperative Promotion Offices and NGOs working in
the respective areas. A baseline study was conducted at each
site based on principles of critical success factors given in the
training at Hawassa in 2009 for innovators and coordinators.
LSB Project in Oromia
The Local Seed Business is coordinated by Haramaya University
in East Oromia Region and by Oromia Seed Enterprise in
collaboration with Oromia Agricultural Research Institute in South
and West Oromia (SWO). The objective of the LSB project is to
accelerate the transition of farmer groups and community or
cooperative based seed production towards self-reliance in
which organization becomes autonomous in their operation,
commercial and entrepreneurial in their approach. The LSB
project also aims to enhance linkages between farmer
organizations and the relevant stakeholders in the seed supply
chain. The LSB project in SWO has started on seven innovation
sites in 2009 and added three sites in 2010. The innovator team
consists of two seed experts, an agri-business expert, a farmer
organization expert and a regional partnerships facilitator.
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
Figure 1: Orientation and location of LSB sites from the
innovator team offices.
Variation in LSB sites
The variation in the LSB sites is significant in terms of agroecology, number of members, seed production experiences,
6
financial capacities and educational levels. Some of the sites
have started seed production since 2004 while others only
started recently. The altitude of the sites ranges from 500 to
3900 masl. The number of members within cooperatives varies
from 26 to 261; however, common is it that female
representation is very low. The major crops produced in the LSB
sites are wheat, maize, potato, barley and others.
general assembly of each SPC. Pictures iii and iv show the
discussions of the business plans in two of the LSB sites. The
process of developing a business plan has motivated SPC
members to think beyond where they are at present, towards
becoming more self-reliant, entrepreneurial, and market oriented
in the future.
Action plan and their implementation
For each of seven initial LSB innovation sites, a total of 42,000
ETB was provided. The grant fund was utilized for prioritized
investments such as office furniture, weighing balance, safety
box, canvas, office and warehouse construction. The investment
is appreciated by each SPC.
Two priority challenges were selected and action plans were
prepared for each of the seven sites based on these priorities
announced during the regional workshop held in Adama on
January 20th 2010. It was planned that the general focal
activities should be the improvement of basic seed supply,
market linkage, internal seed quality management and
awareness on autonomy. The LSB team, in collaboration with
stakeholders at each site, has facilitated the design of action
plans with the full involvement of local seed business
cooperatives. Pictures i and ii illustrate activities as undertaken.
Increased autonomy in production;
processing and marketing yet
no
Cooperatives have produced seed of different types with the
technical support of the LSB innovator team in collaboration with
different stakeholders. However, no LSB cooperative has
engaged in seed processing, cleaning and packaging activities.
Rather, they have continued to sell raw seed under contract to
providers or to any other potential seed buyers.
Business plan formulation:
entrepreneurship
motivating
A business plan was developed for each of the seven innovation
sites established in 2009. The LSB project team has facilitated
its formulation and the outcome has been approved by the
Grant: encouraging autonomy
Future plans
The LSB team emphasizes the implementation of business plans
at each of the seven sites and the development of business
plans at the three newer sites. Continuous follow-up, technical
support and documentation of innovation developments will be a
key role of the team. Strengthening the organizational, financial
and technical capacity and the marketing know-how of members
and their cooperatives is paramount. For sustainable seed
business development, building the capacity of each cooperative
in a way that they become self-reliant, in every aspect of their
business, requires the greatest attention. Finally, linking these
cooperatives with different support mechanism; reshaping the
structure of the seed value chain, is vital for project success and
in making a lasting impact.
Kedir Nefo and Shemsu Baissa are, respectively, coordinator
and assistant coordinator of the LSB project in Oromia SW;
Kedir Nefo is General Manager of Oromia Seed Enterprise (OSE);
Shemsu Baissa is manager of OSE’s Seed Production and
Quality Control Department.
Malt barley seed business at Lemmu Bilbilo innovation site
By Tessema Abate, Abdo Woyema, Arfasa Kiros, Diriba Fufa, and Shiferaw Tafesse
Introduction
Lemu Bilbilo innovation site is found in Arsi zone of Oromia
Regional State. It is located at a distance of 243 km from Addis
Ababa and 68 km south east of Asella town; the capital of Arsi
zone. The altitude of the area ranges from 1500 - 3900 masl.
The area is well known by its crop-livestock mixed farming.
Several cereal crops, predominantly barley and wheat, as well as
the pulses field pea and Faba bean, and some oil-seed crops,
are produced. Oil crops, particularly rapeseed of the variety
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
known as yellow Dodola, is widely produced as a rotation crop
and also for commercial purposes. Malting barley is preferred by
farmers because of its use for household consumption and its
economic importance in the market. Asella Malt Factory is the
first and largest malting factory in the country. It demands
30,000 tons of malt barley for realising its annual capacity. This
market almost guarantees malt barley as a cash crop for
farmers.
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Agriculture and industry link: fostering
skills and practices
Chiba Mika'el SPC was established in 2004 with a total member
number of 110 farmers. Most of the members are model
farmers in producing seed of malting barley. The Cooperative
Promotion Office of the woreda supported their organization to
produce malt barley seed. It has been producing seed based on
the contractual agreement signed with Ethiopian Seed Enterprise
(ESE). The cooperative is established with the objective of
meeting the seed demand of the local community by producing
improved malt barley varieties. Accordingly, the LSB have been
producing seeds of various malt barley varieties such as Holker,
Misikal-21, Beka and HB-1533. Moreover, members of the
cooperative have good technical experience in maintaining
isolation distance and rouging mixtures. They have gained this
knowledge and practice through many training workshops given
by partners; however, their actual practical experience accounts
for the quality in their seed production. Currently, Chiba Mika’el
LSB is working as a link between malt barley producers and
agro-industry (the malt factory) by supplying seed for the grain
barley producers.
Facilities: supporting autonomy and market
advantages
The LSB has a warehouse facility with a capacity of 1000
quintals (shown in the picture below) which was constructed
through the financial support of the LSB project and from SPC
members’ in-kind contributions. Having the common storage
facility for seed produced by its members contributes to the
avoidance of seed contamination, to fumigation efficiency, to
generating a conducive situation for customers, and to further
targeting a larger profit margin when marketing takes place at a
later stage in development.
Seed marketing
The cooperative follows two marketing strategies to sustain its
seed business. One of the strategies is selling seed on a
contractual basis to ESE for a 15% mark-up on the grain market
price at an agreeable time. The second strategy is selling seed
to local grain producing farmers, using different promotional
techniques such as organizing farmers’ field days and using
word of mouth advertisements. In the future, the cooperative
wants to pack and sell seed in different sizes to reach diversified
demands of customers. Besides these activities, the cooperative
works towards accessing new varieties with better qualities for
malting purposes and for achieving higher yields of seed that is
demanded in both the grain and the seed markets. The
introduction of new varieties is a key element in moving towards
seed entrepreneurship. However, malt barley varieties in the
country are very few in number and are mostly old. As a result,
the yield and quality is getting poorer. The LSB-SPC hopes to
access new, high yielding and better quality malt barley varieties
from Kulumsa Agricultural Research Center (KARC). They believe
that adding these varieties to their portfolio will enhance their
market potential.
Business plan
The SPC has prepared a four year business plan which can
strengthen its seed business activities and guide the cooperative
in a clear direction towards the future. The prepared business
plan has indicated the profitability and direction of the business.
The business plan was prepared by the innovator team in
consultation with executive committee. According to the
business plan, the SPC is going to produce and sell a total of
more than 1700 quintals of malt barley seed on an annual basis
by the end 2013, assuming an annual increase in production of
about 10%.
Partners in seed production
A warehouse constructed at Chiba Micha’el SPC through financial
support of the LSB project and members’ contributions.
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
Lemmu Bilbilo Woreda Cooperative Promotion Office (WCPO),
ESE, Woreda Office of Agriculture (WOA), KARC and Oromia
Seed Enterprise (OSE) are the major stakeholders involved in the
seed sector at the innovation site. These stakeholders have
signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work
collaboratively in solving the seed supply problem of the woreda
by clearly defined roles and responsibilities:

Lemu Bilbilo WCPO organizes trainings on cooperative
principles, legality assurance and also provides auditing
services.

WOA provides technical training and field inspection
services.

ESE supplies basic seed, training on quality seed
production and also signs contractual agreements to buy
seeds of malt barley that attain the quality standards of the
enterprise.
8


KARC has taken responsibilities of providing early
generation seeds (basic and pre-basic), technical training on
basic and certified seed production and to increase the
variety choice for members of the SPC through preextension demonstration.
The FAO-Crop Diversification and Marketing Project works in
close collaboration with the farmers on capacity building
activities even though it is not a signatory of the MoU.
market which links grain malting barley producers with Asella
Malting Factory.
Tessema Abate is farmer organization innovator, Abdo Woyema
and Diriba Fufa are seed innovators, Arfasa Kiros is business
innovator, and Shiferaw Tafesse is partnership facilitator. All are
members of the Oromia SW LSB Unit based at OSE.
Contributions of the LSB project
Oromia South West coordination unit of the LSB Project is
currently facilitating partnership activities at the innovation site
as well as providing technical and financial support to the SPC.
For example, it offered training on the issues of seed marketing
and reliable basic seed sources and created awareness on the
principles of cooperation and autonomy. The business plan
prepared by the LSB team was approved by general assembly of
the SPC. The Project provided a grant for warehouse
construction and purchase of a weighing balance.
Unique characteristics of the site
Lemmu Bilbilo innovation site has a good network with partners
such as early generation seed producers (KARC) and woreda
government offices. Markets include both ESE and grain
producers. Most notably, the cooperative has a rather secure
Training at Lemmu Bilbilo innovation site
Hybrid Maize Seed Business in Omo Nada, SW Oromia
By Abdo Woyema, Arfassa Kiros, Shiferaw Tafesse, Diriba Fufa and Tesema Abate
Introduction
Omo Nada innovation site is located in the south east part of
Jima Zone, Oromia Regional State. The site is bordered with
SNNP Regional State in the south eastern part. Omo Nada is
300 km from Addis Ababa and 66 km from Jima town. The
altitude ranges between 500 and 3500 masl. Rainfall of the
woreda is weakly bi-modal with a short rainy season during the
months of April and May and a long rainy season extended from
months of June to August.
Nano Boneya Seed Producer Cooperative
Before 2009, seed was produced by the group of farmers under
the kebele administration management. The kebele administrator
was the group leader of the seed producers. However, with the
advice and support obtained from WCPO, Nano Boneya SPC was
legalized in 2009. Currently, the SPC has 261 members
including 50 woman. The size of the committee is sixteen, of
which the members are democratically elected and divided into
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
different sub-committees. They include the Executive Committee,
the Field Inspection and Quality Control Committee, the Seed
Marketing and the Credit Committee. Members are identified
based on willingness, social acceptance and personal
capabilities.
Hybrid maize:
business
the
selected
crop
for
At the site different crops are produced for household
consumption and sales. Maize, sorghum, khat, coffee and
banana are some of the major crops produced. Nano Boneya
SPC focuses mainly on hybrid-maize seed production. Hybrid
maize is preferred because of its area coverage and
importance. For seed production, irrigation facilities in the area
create a favourable production environment. However, limited
availability and high technical demand of improved varieties
hamper area expansion. To get basic seed the SPC has
engaged in contractual arrangements with OSE.
9
Maize seed production activity
Maize seed production was initiated on 6 hectares of land in
2006 by a group of farmers using irrigation working in
contractual agreement with ESE. Onwards, seed production has
been increasing within the kebele (Table 2) and expanded to Toli
Beyam, Nada Chala, Biso Gonbo and Toli Sabata kebeles (Table
3). The expansion was facilitated by the WOA. The major
objective for the intervention was to solve the scarcity of quality
seed of superior maize hybrids in the district. Currently, hybrid
maize seed is widely produced on clustered fields.
Table 2: Improved in-situ maize seed production by Nano Boneya
SPC in 2008/09 and 2009/10
Year
Variety
Area (ha)
Participants
2008/09
BH 660
27
106
2009/10
BH 543
6
86
BH 660
48.25
120
Table 3. Maize seed production in Omo Nada Woreda 20082009/10
Year
Kebele
With ESE
Toli
2008/09*
Sabata
Toli
Variety
Area (ha)
Participants
UCB
15
27
BH 660
18
42
BH 660
22
19
BH 543
10
50
BH 543
4
12
BH 660
28
48
BHQPM
22
48
10
45
8.5
48
composite
Sabata
Nada
Chala
Toli
Sabata
With OSE in
Nada
2009**
Chala
Toli
Sabata
With OSE
Toli
2009/2010
Sabata
*
Nada
BHQPM
Chala
542
Biso
BH 543
542
Gonbo
*Rain fed, ** Irrigated
Source: Omo Nada ARD Office, 2009
Partners in seed production
At Omo Nada innovation site several government and nongovernment organizations function in the seed sector. Woreda
Office of Agriculture, WCPO, World Vision Ethiopia, Jima FCU and
OSE are identified as the major partner organizations. Besides
those, Bako and Jima Agricultural Research Centres and Jima
Agricultural Mechanization Research Centre have also been
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
working in the innovation site. These partners contribute to
capacitate the LSBs in different aspects; sponsoring technical,
leadership, management and seed quality control trainings,
basic seed provision, upgrading traditional irrigation schemes,
providing audit services and giving advice on seed business.
Contractual market arrangement
The SPC sells ‘raw seed’ for a price defined in the agreement to
OSE for further processing and marketing. Under this
agreement, the SPC also receives technical supports free of
charge from OSE. Raw seed price is set in two ways under
contractual agreement. The first, is the use of a pre-negotiated
price of 700 ETB per quintal. The second, is productivity based.
This means that with productivity increase, through better
farming practices, above 30 quintals per hectare, a bonus
amount of approximately 25 ETB per quintal is added to the
fixed agreement price. OSE uses this approach to encourage
farmers to following intensive and improved agronomic practices
to increase productivity, hence income.
Contribution of the LSB team
One of the identified key actions for development at this site is
improving autonomy. In order to raise the SPC awareness in this
regard, the LSB team has organized a training workshop for the
executive committee and some members of SPC which
addresses the following points:

Organization and management, including structure, the
committee, roles, responsibilities and legality (by-laws,
articles of association, foundation meeting minutes and the
names and contact addresses of members and the
management committee);

Record keeping, including costs, income, finance, auditing
reports and other relevant documents;

Seed marketing, including negotiation and price setting
agreements (especially with contract organizations);

Internal seed quality control, including capacity development
of the SPC internal seed quality control system (from site
selection to post harvest handling).
Currently, the SPC is managed by its executive committee that is
responsible for day to day decision making and management of
the SPC. A business plan has been prepared by the LSB project
team in consultation with the executive committee which is a
good start in moving forward in a clear direction and an
advantage over its competitors.
Organizational challenges
The context under which the SPC operate its seed production
poses some challenges. Unreliable basic seed source,
unfavourable attitudes towards seed business and business
relations, membership size, poorly enforced internal by-laws and
a lack of capital to purchase produced seeds from its members
10
are some of the challenges. Sometimes it is observed that these
issues limit the scale, scope and activities of production but also
the potential to reach autonomy and entrepreneurship within the
SPC. It is a challenge for the LSB project to work with this SPC
in designing and implementing mechanisms to tackle these
issues for sustainable growth and development of seed
business. Once these issues have been tackled, the Nano
Boneya SPC will exist as a unique example on how to transform
SPCs with high numbers of members, working within contractual
arrangements, into viable local seed businesses.
Abdo Woyema and Diriba Fufa are seed innovators, Arfassa
Kiros is business innovator, Shiferaw Tafesse is partnership
facilitator and Tesema Abate is farmer organization innovator. All
are members of the Oromia SW LSB Unit based at Oromia Seed
Enterprise.
The three new innovation sites in South and West Oromia
By Diriba Fufa Tore, Tessema Abate, Abdo Woyema, Shiferewu Tefesa and Arfasa Kiros
In Oromia South and West, three new innovation sites were
included in 2010 based on their seed production experience and
the opportunity they present to realize local partnerships with
new organizations.
Ambo innovation site
Ambo district is located in West Shewa, 114 km from Addis
Ababa on the main road from Addis Ababa to Nekemt. Its
altitude varies between 1380 to 3030 masl and rainfall ranges
from 800 to 1000 mm per annum. Common crops grown in the
area are teff, wheat, barley, maize, pulses (field pea, faba bean
and chickpea), and horticultural crops (potato, garlic, tomato
and onion). Crop rotation of faba bean with cereal crops is
common. Double cropping is also very common in areas
cultivated on vertisols. Chickpea, teff and barley are the major
crops used in the double cropping system. The district has
suitable conditions for potato seed tuber production.
The SPC is called Illamu Goromiti. It produces seed potatoes of
three varieties; red scalet, caesar and mondial. The cooperative
was established in 2010 with 30 members. Solagrow PLC is the
major partner of the SPC who provides support in technical
assistance in seed production, basic seed provision and in
taking responsibility for marketing. Technical assistants of the
company on a regular basis monitor and supervise the SPC
members. Farmers produce potato seed tuber for the purpose
of generating income. Each farmer is allowed to manage and
produce seed on a 500 m2 plot of land.
Contractual arrangement with Solagrow
PLC
Illamu Goromiti sells its produce exclusively to Solagrow PLC.
The company buys seed tubers, consumption tubers and also
undersized tubers for consumption. The pricing method varies
for the three different tuber classes:
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)

Seed tuber is sold for an additional 2 ETB per kilogram on
the current market price.

Tuber for consumption (ware potato) is sold with an
additional of 0.75 ETB per kilogram to the current market
price.

Undersized tuber is also sold to the company for 1.50 ETB
per kilogram above the current market price.
Members of the Illamu Goromiti have the experience of working
together in the field. If one of the members is absent on a
working day without official permission the SPC punishes that
member with a cash penalty. The SPC also has a mechanism of
sharing risks and benefits.
Dendi innovation site
Dendi innovation site is located in Dendi Woreda, West Shewa
Zone. The name of the SPC is Ifa Beri Agricultural Product
Marketing Cooperative. It was established with the support of
HUNDE (a local NGO) in 2007 and currently has 126 members.
The cooperative has several years of experience in grain
marketing which by now has partially shifted to seed production
and marketing. In this cooperative, production of quality seed is
allowed only for experienced and committed members. The SPC
produces and supplies quality seeds of tef (kuncho variety) and
wheat (HAR 1685 and HAR 604). It is currently being supported
by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The agency’s
focus is promoting quality seed production by supporting the
cooperative to sell its produce to Ambo Farmers Cooperative
Union under a common contractual and pricing agreement,
adding a 15% margin to the current grain price.
Arsi Negelle innovation site
Arsi Nagele District is located in West Arsi Zone of Oromia
Regional State, 226 km from Addis Ababa. The area is located
within the Great Rift Valley with an altitude range of 1500-3500
masl. The woreda receives annual rainfall ranging from 500 to
1150 mm. The district has 43 rural kebeles; Turge, Kararu,
11
Bukuwalda and Argada, with access to irrigation from rivers
feeding Abiyata, Langano and Shalaa Lakes. Lake Langano is in
close proximity to Argada Shaldo SPC. Argada Shaldo,
Gadamiso, Labulephis, Yakalalesa, Turge and Shopha are SPCs
in the woreda. The names of these cooperatives are adopted
from the names of the rivers used for irrigation in their
respective kebeles. Major crops grown in the woreda are maize,
wheat, sorghum, barley, onion, tef, pulses (mainly haricot bean)
and horticultural crops (potato and shallot) among others. All of
the above crops are cultivated for home consumption but also
for commercial purposes. Maize is widely produced using both
irrigation and rainfed cultivation. The main sources of seed in the
area are Duro Langano Horticultural Crops Marketing Union, OSE
and ESE.
committees including 22 of its members in its structures.
Argada Shaldo SPC is being supported by Sasakawa Global
2000 through Duro Langano FCU.
Argada Shaldo SPC was established in 2004 and is the LSB
innovation site. It has 87 members of which 10 members are
female farmers and the majority of members have lower than
grade 8 level formal education. The cooperative is managed by
a management body consisting seven members. It has sub-
Diriba Fufa and Abdo Woyema are seed innovators, Tesema
Abate is farmer organization innovator, Shiferaw Tafesse is
partnership facilitator and Arfassa Kiros is business innovator. All
are members of the Oromia SW LSB Unit based at Oromia Seed
Enterprise.
The cooperative has been producing onion for the last three
years although production has decreased recently due to
disease outbreak. The SPC has since shifted towards cereal
seed production. Currently, it has started, using irrigation, the
production of seed of two hybrid maize varieties (BH 660 and
BH 543). Duro Langano FCU purchases the raw seed from the
SPC, purchasing BH 660 from the SPC at 600 ETB per quintal.
Oromia Seed Enterprise then purchases the raw seed from the
FCU. The SPC has been able to supply 348 quintal of hybrid
maize seed so far.
Oromia SW regional workshop: reaching common project
ownership
By Abdo Woyama, Kedir Nafo, Diriba Fufa, Arfasa Kiros, Shiferaw Tafes, Tesema Abate, Shamsu Bayisa
and Mohammed Hassena
Following the last workshop which was organized by the Oromia
South and West LSB team based at Oromia Seed Enterprise,
Mohammed Hassena sat together with the coordinators and the
team. The current article is their reflection upon the 2011
regional LSB workshop held in February.
LSB project. The problems of the seed sector seem to be
clearly understood and shared by all. What remains is to identify
innovations and design activities which can be set into action for
LSB development in Oromia South and West Regions.
Confidence in the project’s process
Because we know the farmers in the SPCs well, we had primarily
invited active farmers and those persons that actively participate
in actions, training exercises and other activities such as the
SPC business plan development. Moreover, having at least two
participants from each cooperative proved valuable, as they
supported each other, shared ideas and experiences with others
and are consequently in a better position to provide feedback to
their colleagues on return to the innovation sites. Farmers
demonstrated by their active participation that they clearly
understand the direction of the project. They share an ownership
of the project and its dynamics.
We started the workshop with clear direction to get good inputs
from both farmers and institutional participants. Compared to
what last year’s workshop achieved, we concluded that there
was a clear difference between what was then discussed and
now. Last year, we discussed and translated the baseline report
into action; thus a translation from theory and analysis was put
into practice. Now we were able to discuss common practices
and working experiences with the SPC members and partners
who have been engaged in the design of action. Local
participants had been inspired by the recent local workshops
and had a clear agenda to bring to the discussions. Therefore,
outcomes were near to most of our expectations. This reflection
shows a common and shared confidence in the process of the
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
Strong relationship with SPC farmers
Active farmer expression of interests
Few high level officials were present during the workshop;
consequently farmers were open in their expression of opinions.
12
In other meetings, we really had to empower farmers to talk in
front of officials, inviting them in an active manner to participate.
Now we experienced that this expression and participation was
more natural. A surprise was that during this workshop, the
discussion flowed more organically.
Autonomy: sense of problem and solution
ownership
Participating farmers were clear in expressing their problems
and how they foresee to actions for tackling them. They
focussed on internal problems and no longer attributed problems
to the absence of interventions by others. This position is a
reflection of emphasized autonomy; their ownership of problems
and solutions emerges during the process of strengthening the
cooperatives. As a result, the topic of cooperative management
was highly debated. One of the issues discussed was the quality
and availability of early generation material. Farmers were
explaining that research institutes and governmental bureaus are
creating a great deal of problems by providing SPCs and
farmers with poor quality seed. These were actually hot
discussions and several hard words from farmers were shared
during this open opportunity to put some facts on the table.
also support their private competitor next door if there exists the
opportunity to strengthen the entire seed sector. It is up to the
cooperative to compete and survive, and even outperform, in
market sales and profit, their neighbouring private enterprise.
Thus it is time for us within the LSB project to be a bit harder on
cooperatives to push them more towards autonomy and
business orientation. This was generally agreed among the
innovation team during our reflection period. It seems a logical
step for moving towards accelerated LSB development, as
planned in the 2011 activities of the project (see also the first
article in this Newsletter).
Table 4: Priority topics in the various LSB sites in S&W Oromia.
Topics
AT
B
D
E
J
ON
S
Cooperative management
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Financial capacity & management
X
X
X
Business orientation & market
X
X
X
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
X
X
strategy
Access to alternate varieties
X
Agronomic management
X
Processing and value addition
X
Access to basic seed
As illustrated in the table below, cooperative and business
management ranks high among the important topics identified at
all LSB sites in South and West Oromia (displayed in Table 4 on
the right). Ato Mohammed focused his interventions on
cooperatives’ autonomy and business orientation. The first day
of the workshop, we showed to participants what type of
cooperatives the LSB team wants to create. In response, some
farmers were not happy with Ato Mohammed’s expressions that
when analyzing their seed businesses critically, he considers
none of them a true cooperative. His argument is that they are
not autonomous but mostly operated within closed contractual
arrangements with OSE, Unions, NGOs or the Bureau and do not
operate as a single functioning unit. However, at the end of the
second day, farmers had better comprehended the long term
vision of the LSB project, communicated by Ato Mohammed, and
confirmed that their cooperatives indeed are not yet reflective of
the autonomy and entrepreneurship which is being targeted by
the LSB project. The quote of the day was “the anatomy of a
camel is ugly because she was made by a committee” showing
how much managing cooperative with committees emerges as a
problem. Running day-to-day business by committees is difficult.
They always seek consensus, when in certain instances expert
knowledge and leadership decision making is required. It is clear
that cooperatives are originally established as development
organizations, but now with these SPCs in the LSB project, they
become business organizations. Ato Mohammed clearly
indicated that since the cooperative is a business unit, we may
X
X
Profitability of seed producers
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Quality
Seed transport
X
X
Key: AT=Adami Tullu; B=Bekoji; D=Dodola; E=Ejere; J=Jeldu;
ON=Omo Nada; S=Sinana
Partner participation
Compared to last year we have invited those people from offices
and organizations that are really responsible for activities related
to seed business. We did no longer invite heads, and this choice
resulting in getting actual inputs. In addition, we have also
among us a parliament member who we hope will present the
voice of LSB developments at the federal level. However, we
observe that there is disagreement between the perception of
problems within the seed sector among government offices and
the perceptions of farmers and local partners. This situation
shows the distance between policy and decision making and the
practice of farmers. It is through the regional workshops and
also the Partnership Programme that we aim to bridge this gap.
Having learnt our lessons this year, it is a good idea to organize
a workshop for dealing with local issues whilst simultaneously
generating an opportunity for others to become more aware. To
really tackle the issues at regional level we need to transfer
these important topics to a specific forum which is created
within the core group and platform of the partnership component
of the programme.
13
Concluding lessons learnt
The workshop has demonstrated that the innovator team has a
specific position bridging local and regional realities in the seed
sector. Our self-esteem on this position was reaffirmed during
the workshop. Furthermore, we realized that what we have been
organizing and facilitating is more than simply workshops (with
the emphasis placed on the literal meaning of the word ‘work’)
but also a sense that we are facilitating the changing of mindsets through innovation and learning. Last year, participants
perceived LSB as our and not their project. More recently, they
have been asking for their share of the resources and benefits.
The common attitude has shifted towards
participation
dedicated to the process of planning and defining actions,
expressing the attitude of ownership among local farmers and
their partners.
Abdo Woyama, Diriba Fufa, Arfasa Kiros and Tesema Abate are
innovators; Shiferaw Tafes is regional partnership facilitator;
Kedir Nafo and Shamsu Bayisa are respectively coordinator and
assistant coordinator of LSB-Partnership project of Oromia South
and West, and Mohammed Hassena is national partnership
coordinator.
LSB members on training at Nanno Boneya SPC. Members are
becoming more confident to raise their own opinions and
contibute towards planning. Autonomy is a fundamental principle
of the LSB project for seed sector development in Ethiopia.
SHA’s experience: cooperative based seed production
enhancing food security in Oromia
By Belew Damene G/Hiwot
Introduction to SHA in Oromia
Self Help Africa is an international non-governmental organization
based in Ireland and the UK who is implementing development
programs in Ethiopia with the vision of rural Africa free from
poverty and hunger. In Ethiopia three programmes operate in
Oromia and SNNPR. Almost 43,500 rural households benefit
from SHA’s activities in the seed sector.
Agricultural
Project
Cooperative
Development
proportion of the demand. This has contributed to the wide use
of low yielding local varieties, low quality seed and limited use of
improved agricultural technologies. The reality is well known; low
production and productivity. Self Help Africa’s experience shows
that cooperative based seed multiplication has the potential to
significantly increase food security and farm income for rural
households. The project has organized commodity specific seed
multiplier farmer cooperatives (see Table 5 overleaf). Five seed
potato and five wheat seed producer cooperatives have been
established in Oromia region.
Agricultural Cooperative Development Project in Oromia region is
financed by the European Union and ICCO. It started in 2007 and
will be concluded in 2011. The main objective is to increase
income of target agricultural cooperative members through
empowerment of cooperative societies in the value chain
system, and thereby improving food and livelihood security.
Why cooperative based seed system?
Farmers can access seed both from formal and informal
sources. However, the formal system supplies only a small
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
14
Table 5: SHA-organized distribution of improved wheat and
potato seeds to SPCs (2007 – 2010)
Year
2007
2008
2009
2010
Crop
No.
Amount of
Area
Type
SPCs
Seed (qt)
(ha)
Wheat
6
400
268
Beneficiaries
266
Potato
2
340
32
140
Wheat
8
642
428
430
Potato
4
475
26
154
Wheat
5
230
153
156
Potato
5
532
29
245
Wheat
13
2,670
1,780
3,334
Potato
-
-
-
-
Cost sharing:
sustainability
ensuring
ownership
and
The cooperative based seed multiplication approach is
implemented by SHA in collaboration with Holeta and Sinana
Agricultural Research Centres and Government LDs. The
partnership is based on a cost sharing arrangement. Key in the
approach is to link seed producer cooperatives with grain
marketing cooperatives. SHA encourages the cost sharing
investment in infrastructure development and facilities. It aims to
develop ownership among beneficiary communities. The
arrangements have promoted and ensured sustainability for all
project inputs before phasing out. The project has built three
diffused light stores (DLSs) in a cost sharing arrangement with
potato seed multipliers. Wheat seed multipliers in Bale and West
Arsi Zones have paid a counterparty contribution of 30% for the
investment made to establish post-harvest and storage
infrastructure.
Linkage
between
SPCs
and
Marketing Cooperative Unions
Consultation with SHA’s partner SPCs has provided valuable
insights in the project’s impacts and benefits:

Due to the introduction of high yielding improved varieties in
the target woredas, the productivity has increased in the
project operational woredas from 120 qt/ha to 280 qt/ha
for potato and 15 qt/ha to 35 qt/ha for wheat;

On average, seed multiplier farmers annual sale of seed has
reached up to ETB 30,000 – 60,000;

Farmers increasingly are able to satisfy their annual seed
demand;

SPCs are privileged with access to basic seed through
arrangements with FCUs, OSE, ESE and through research
centres’ extension services;

The promotion and introduction of the cooperative based
system has, on the one hand, increased the household
income of the seed producing farmers and, through
increasing productivity, has also increased the income of
those farmers using quality seed of improved wheat and
potato varieties;

In the intervention areas, cooperative based seed systems
are progressively contributing to meeting the demand, at
woreda level, for quality seed of improved wheat and, in
various parts of the country, potato varieties (Table 6);

Technical knowledge and skills of farmers has increased at
all levels in the value chain;
Cooperative management and leadership has been upgraded.
Table 6: Seed demand and supply in West Shoa, Bale and West
Arsi Zones and SPC’s contribution (2007 – 2010)
Year
Type
Grain
The project has made significant efforts to link SPCs with grain
marketing cooperative unions. Siko Mendo and Raya Wakena
Farmer Cooperative Unions (FCUs), in Bale and West Arsi Zones,
are linked to five wheat seed multiplier primary cooperatives,
supporting input supply, access for loans, grading, packing and
marketing of quality seed. In partnership with FCUs the project
has installed seed cleaning facilities for the SPC. On average,
FCUs process and distribute 6,000 qt of C1 certified seed that
has been collected from the SPCs. The SPC-FCU link has
protected the young seed multipliers cooperatives from
competition with big state farms and private seed companies.
Robi Berga FCU treated five potato seed multipliers in West
Shoa Zone in the same manner and on average 5,000 qt of high
yielding and disease resistant (late blight) potato seed has been
collected from the SPCs, stored in DLS annually, and distributed
among farmers.
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
Project impacts and benefits
Zone seed
Zone seed
SPC seed
SPC
demand
supply (qt)
supply (qt)
contrib.
5,100
400
(qt)
2007
2008
2009
2010
Wheat
12,137
in %
8
Potato
3,645
1,254
340
27
Wheat
12,321
5,431
642
12
Potato
3,985
1,546
475
31
Wheat
15,210
6,385
230
4
Potato
4,200
2,065
532
26
Wheat
21,285
9,249
3,334
36
Potato
-
-
-
-
Linkage between SHA and LSB partnership
Self Help Africa is the leading partner organization for Sinana
and Dodola LSB innovation sites. Based on its experience
working with community seed multiplication and its active role in
linking WOA, OSE and other stakeholders, SHA has been
selected by the LSB project as the NGO representative in the
Oromia Regional Core Group, supporting the implementation of
the partnership component of the project.
15
Lessons learnt
The cooperative based seed multiplication schemes have been
witnessed to be a problem-solving initiative which contributes to
increasing seed security at the local level. Strong linkages
among stakeholders turn out to be crucial for sustainable seed
sector development. Since food security is heavily dependent on
seed security, the impact of the project may move way beyond
those engaged in seed production. Quality seed of improved
varieties are becoming more easily available and are thereby
increasing productivity and production, ensuring that food is
secure at the household, kebelle and woreda levels.
Strengthening of primary seed producer cooperatives proves to
be a critical step within agricultural development programmes.
Belew Damene G/Hiwot is Agricultural Cooperative Development
Project Coordinator with SHA in Oromia Region.
The SPCs and Union jointly work to grade and pack quality seed
using seed-cleaner sponsored by the project and Unions
KARC: supporting malt barley seed production chains in Arsi,
Oromia
By Tesfahun Alemu, Shimelis Gezahegni and Tarekegni Etana
Introduction
Crop mandate
Kulumsa Agricultural Research Centre (KARC) is one of the
research centres in the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural
Research (EIAR). It is located about 167 km southeast of Addis
Ababa in Arsi zone of Oromia Regional State. The Centre
operates within the wide range of agro-ecological zones, ranging
from cool highland to semi-arid areas. Its vision is to become
one of the leading agricultural research centres in generating
and disseminating problem-solving agricultural technologies for
the highland regions of the country.
KARC has the national mandate for coordination of research on
bread wheat, faba bean, field pea, and malt barley. It also works
strongly with other research centres in research with the
following crops: durum wheat, food barley, highland maize,
chickpea, lentil, highland oil crops (linseed, Ethiopian mustard
and Niger seed), and several root and vegetable crops.
Thematic areas
KARC covers a wide array of topics. It is engaged in germplasm
enhancement through the evaluation of exotic germplasm,
hybridization, screening and selection. It further houses several
variety development programmes. In concordance with its
mandate in genetic resource conservation, it contributes to the
rejuvenation of germplasm in collaboration with the Institute for
Biodiversity Conservation. In the seed value chain, it is
responsible for the maintenance of breeder seed and its initial
multiplication. Other activities include technology transfer, such
as availing released varieties through informal seed production
systems and development oriented research.
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
Technology transfer
The centre has been undertaking technology transfer activities
since its establishment using a variety of approaches. These
include demonstration, popularization and scaling out.
Accordingly, improved varieties of crops have been widely
transferred to farmers in the highlands of the country.
Active role in seed supply beyond the
original mandate
In addition KARC plays an active role in seed supply. Its seed unit
produces annually, on average, over 6000 quintals of breeder,
pre-basic and basic seeds of various crops which it distributes to
its clients (small farmers, seed enterprises, private farmers,
other public agencies and NGOs). KARC also serves as a major
seed source of forage crops to the animal sector.
16
Informal seed multiplication scheme
Expected project outputs
KARC provides basic seeds of different varieties to seed
producer farmers through the informal seed multiplication
scheme. In turn, seed producers distribute the seed to many
grain producers through farmer-to-farmer seed exchange and
marketing systems. With this approach, the most promising and
released KARC crop varieties are popularized in woredas and
zones in the Centre’s direct vicinity. Aligning with the informal,
rather than the public formal seed system, within a relatively
short period of time, a large number of farmers have been
reached. Learning from this practice, KARC is now, for four
years, promoting and disseminating improved malt barley
varieties HB-1533 and Misikal-21 in malt barley producer areas
of Arsi and West Arsi zones. Seed producer farmers used the
seed obtained from KARC as a basis for their seed production,
contributing to availing quality seed of improved varieties in the
malt barley producer zones. The result has been a significant
increase in quality malt barley production and supply to Asella
Malt Factory.
The expected project outputs include availing economically
profitable packages of improved malt barley production
technologies. Improved malt barley technological packages will
be adequately popularized and promoted. Seed of improved
malt barley varieties will be produced for further multiplication by
seed producers. Barley research capacity is built up in terms of
manpower skills and laboratory facilities. Quality seed of
improved varieties will be distributed to farmers in Arsi zone. The
project has disseminated more than 240 qt of basic seed to
975 farmers within seven woredas of Arsi zone in the year 2009
and 2010. Each farmer received 0.25 qt of basic seed of malt
barley and produces about 8 qt of C1-certified seed on an
average 0.25ha plot. In the coming years, each farmer should
distribute at least five quintals of C1 seed to grain producing
farmers. This practice has been implemented for the last four
years in Digelu Tijo, Lemu Bilbilo, Shashemene, Kofele and Kore
woredas of Arsi and West Arsi zones. The activity started
training selected farmers. The training workshop was conducted
by a team of KARC researchers and technical assistants.
Development agents also participated to ensure follow-up and
supervision of seed production in their respective kebeles. A
total of more than 770 farmers and 110 DA’s has joined in the
training process. It did not only address technical but also postharvest and distribution aspects. Farmers were advised to sell or
exchange seed with other farmers through the bartering system.
They were advised to sell or exchange only seed not for grain
consumption. The approach worked very well and the number of
malt barley farmers using the Misikal-21 variety, in the above
indicated woredas, has increased significantly, reaching
majority. Asela Malt Factory witnessed the majority purchase the
new Misical-21 variety from the above indicated woredas in the
year 2009 after the informal distribution of the seed.
Boosting domestic malt barley production:
a public private partnership
Only a small portion of the malt demand for breweries (about 33
%) has been met through local supply from Asella Malt Factory.
The balance has been fulfilled through importing malt, which
costs the country over 30 million USD per year. The gap
between current production and consumption levels show the
potential for further expansion of domestic supply of malting
barley. This suggests that barley growing farmers in Ethiopia
have opportunities to supply malting barley to the growing
domestic markets that can partially substitute imports. In
boosting domestic malt barley production, EIAR/KARC, Asella
Malt factory and four breweries (Meta, BGI, Harar and Bedelle)
joined in a true Public-Private Partnership, the first of its kind in
Ethiopia. The partnership’s objective is to improve malt barley
production and productivity thereby contributing to increasing
the income of farmers in malt barley growing areas and to
satisfy the local demand for malt barley. The Malt Barley Project
(short title) consists of three major components:
 Malt barley research on development/adoption of
improved varieties, crop management and basic
research;
 Technology multiplication and promotion including seed
multiplication, demonstration and scaling out of
technologies, and the development of informative
publications;
 Research capacity building including training of
research staff, establishment of laboratory facilities,
and strengthening local and international linkages.
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
Linkage with the LSB Project
The KARC malt barley development support project has a good
link with the LSB project in Oromia South and West as it works
within one of the innovation sites of the project. KARC is one of
the key partners of the LSB project operating in Lemu Bilbilo
District. The research centre has signed a MoU with Chiba
Mika’el seed producers cooperative to provide early generation
seeds and technical training on malt barley seed production.
Tesfahun Alemu is Malt Barley Project coordinator, Shimelis
Gezahegni is barley breeder and Tarekegni Etana is senior
technical assistant. All authors are staff members of KARC.
17
Haramaya SPCs stunning outgrower scheme to prospect
future members
By Walter de Boef
Oromia East LSB Region: potential in seed
entrepreneurship
Haramaya University, which hosts the LSB unit in East Oromia,
with sites in Eastern and Western Hararghe, hosted its regional
LSB workshop on the 24th January 2011. Since it was the first
workshop in a series of five others, the entire Wageningen
UR/CDI LSB related staff and associated consultants, including
Mohammed Hassena, Marja Thijssen, Gareth Borman and Walter
de Boef, joined the LSB team of Haramaya University. During the
workshop, primarily representatives of SPCs participated. All
local and district government officials were not able to join since
they were attending a training workshop on the Government’s
Five-Year Plan of Growth and Transformation. Consequently, the
workshop shaped a forum in which the SPC leaders, some NGO
representatives, some representatives of development offices
and the teams from Haramaya University and Wageningen
UR/CDI openly discussed the advances and challenges of LSB
developments in Hararghe. The Wageningen team was really
surprised by the strong entrepreneurial and innovative spirit of
the SPC representatives. We were also impressed by the strong
and fruitful relationship that Haramaya University has cultivated
with the seed producer groups; this relationship is beyond that
fostered by the LSB project. This linkage between farmer
entrepreneurs and a well-established and known academic
institution shows a fruitful ground for experimenting with
processes of accelerating the development of SPCs in
autonomous and fully commercial LSBs.
What is the right number of members of a
SPC?
During the workshop, while discussing financial management and
access to finances, one of the groups indicated that increasing
the number of members of a cooperative (through purchase of
their share), is a way to increase access to capital. I could not
resist the temptation to challenge the entire group, questioning
what the most optimal size of a cooperative is. Dissimilar
positions were shared. One participant expressed his strong
view that (aligned with the intention of the Cooperative Law)
within a development context; a cooperative should be open to
anybody who wants to join it as a member. My point in return
was that this would create unmanageably sized seed
cooperatives. From experiences in other countries, we know that
the optimally manageable size of a smallholder cooperative is
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
approximately 30 members, but taking into account the
relatively small size of landholding in Ethiopia, this number may
be greater in reality. Based on the experiences of very
successful SPCs with many members organized into clusters
(e.g. Marwoled in Amhara) as reflected upon by Mohammed
Hassena in the January 2011 LSB Newsletter, this issue is as
clear-cut as it seems. One of the SPC chairmen responded to
the question that the growth of members should be controlled
through admitting to the cooperative only diligent and
trustworthy farmers having the required skills and potential for
becoming a commercial seed producer. Herewith, the
discussion returned to the issue of access to finances, showing
that other mechanisms should be looked for in saving and credit
schemes to access the capital to purchase inputs and
equipment required to become more autonomous in producing
and marketing seed.
Symbiotic relationship between Haramaya
University and the SPC
Raaree Horaa Improved SPC was legally registered and acquired
its name early in 2010 through Haramaya WCPO. The LSB
project supported the legalization process. Currently, the SPC
has 31 active members. The major crop for commercial seed
production is potato. At a small scale, it is exploring commercial
seed production of onion, carrot and cabbage. The SPC
accesses basic seed of those crops from Haramaya University,
benefiting from their close proximity to each other. At the same
time, Haramaya University benefits from the close proximity to
such a seed producer group, as it can outsource seed
production, thereby being able to respond more adequately to
supplying the continuous demand for quality seed of improved
varieties, adapted to the specific conditions of Hararghe.
How does the SPC out-growers scheme
work?
Ato Mustafa Sali, the chairman of Raaree Horaa SPC, shared his
experiences with the out-grower scheme. Looking into the
progress of the cooperative, 80 other farmers asked to be
admitted as members. Raaree Horaa SPC only identified the 10
best and planned to check the remaining by affiliating them as
out-growers to the cooperative. In the current (off)season, potato
seed is being produced by more than 70 out-growers. Thereby,
the SPC uses a methodology likewise to that used by ESE, OSE
and other public entities engaged in farmer based seed
18
production, integrating it with farmer ‘field-school’ methodology.
It contracts the farmers to produce seed, provides training and
inputs to these farmers and strictly monitors the quality of their
seed production. It has set up a quality control committee with
seven of its experienced farmers. Each of the members coaches
and supervises a group of 10 out-growers. If farmers do not fulfil
technical requirements, the supervisor has the authority to
intervene in production. So far, we did not see a likewise system
among the other 33 LSBs. It is very interesting, especially when
reflecting upon the cooperative’s entrepreneurship and that
question which arose earlier about the ideal number of members
in a farmer cooperative.
The most striking and innovative part of the arrangement is that
the outgrower scheme is used to firstly train and secondly;
groom future members. The SPC aims to open membership on
an annual basis to five of the most outstanding out-growers.
Herewith, it really is incorporating entrepreneurship and the
required excellence for quality seed production in its
organizational structure. By sharing this experience, I hope that
various stakeholders engaged in cooperative management
reflect upon their position on ‘what the optimal size of a SPC
should be’ and ‘what appropriate mechanisms there are for a
farmer to become a member’?
Cooperative
and/or
university-based
Haramaya Seed Enterprises
varieties, pre-basic or basic seed and also a source for guidance
in promoting innovation and development. Its link to the
neighbouring SPCs may be very important in fulfilling its role as a
centre for academic excellence and a contributor to agricultural
development through community, extension and research
services.
Walter de Boef is LSB Advisor associated with Wageningen
UR/Centre for Development Innovation.
Raaree Horaa SPC committee members in their office at
Haramaya LSB site. Posters on the wall show a more
responsible approach to financial management.
Surprised and excited by the scheme, I reacted during the
meeting, that Raaree Horaa SPC can be considered the future
‘Haramaya Seed Enterprise’. Of course, this remark was taken
with much humour, but I was serious. In its operations and
strategy, the members of the SPC in this LSB site have the
potential to grow from simply a cooperative, or group of
farmers, to becoming an enterprise. The strong relationship with
Haramaya University may be considered an asset, providing the
access to basic seed of ever-new varieties that are adapted to
the agricultural conditions of Hararghe. However, discussing the
issue with Dr Nigussie Dechassa, the coordinator of the LSB unit
at Haramaya University, led to a striking point: isn’t the LSB
project developing a competitor seed producer among its
neighbours?. To my view, it is not; the Raaree Horaa has the
spirit and potential of becoming an example for many other
cooperatives producing in an innovative manner and
commercializing quality seed potatoes and seed of various other
vegetables. The role of Haramaya University, perhaps also in the
running for setting up the ‘Haramaya Seed Enterprise’, is, and
should be, being a source for new and better performing
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
Raaree Horaa SPC committee members displaying dormant
potato tubers for planting.
19
Training opportunities Wageningen UR CDI
Course
Dates
Location
Application deadline
NFP fellowships
Facilitating multi-stakeholder processes and
social learning
Plant genetic resources and seeds: Policies,
conservation and use
Market access for sustainable development
5 – 23 September 2011
The Netherlands
1 February 2011
31 October – 18 November 2011
India
1 May 2011
31 October – 18 November 2011
The Netherlands
1 May 2011
21 November – 2 December 2011
The Philippines
1 May 2011
Transition to sustainable crop and livestock
systems
For the complete course overview and application on-line visit the website:
http://www.cdi.wur.nl/UK/services/Courses/overviewcourses2011/
Contact persons LSB Project
Organization
Person
Position within LSB
E-mail
Bahir Dar University
Dr Tadesse Dessalegn
Amhara regional coordinator
[email protected]
Hawassa University
Dr Hussein Mohammed
SNNPR regional coordinator
[email protected]
Haramaya University
Dr Nigussie Dechassa
[email protected]
Mekelle University
Dr Fetien Abay
Oromia East regional
coordinator
Tigray regional coordinator
Oromia Seed Enterprise
Ato Kedir Nefo
Oromia Agricultural Research
Institute
Centre for Development Innovation
Dr Amsalu Ayana
Centre for Development Innovation
Mr Gareth Borman
Centre for Development Innovation
[email protected]
Dr Walter de Boef
Oromia South and West
coordinator
Oromia South and West
coordinator
LSB – Wageningen UR/CDI
coordinator
LSB – Wageningen UR/CDI
assistant coordinator
LSB – Advisor
[email protected]
Centre for Development Innovation
Ato Mohammed Hassena
LSB – Partnerships coordinator
[email protected]
Embassy of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands
Mr Joep van den Broek
ISSD coordinator
[email protected]
Dr Marja Thijssen
Local Seed Business Newsletter 8 (March 2011)
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
20