Issue 4; March 2010
Editorial
LSB development in Tigray
In December the five regional Local Seed Business
(LSB) teams completed the base line studies of the 24
local seed production sites involved in the first phase
of the project; the analysis was shared with local and
regional stakeholders in five regional workshops in
January and February 2010. Based on the analysis
and regional workshop discussions, the regional
teams are developing for each site an action plan,
working towards the establishment of market driven
seed production and local seed businesses. This 4rd
edition of the LSB Newsletter focuses on Tigray
region, where the programme is coordinated by
Mekelle University. With the regional focus we want to
share the regional diversity as well as commonalities
on LSB development among the regions addressed in
the LSB project. This issue is compiled by Fetien Abay,
Ibrahim Fitiwi, Walter de Boef and Marja Thijssen.
Outline of this issue
In the first contribution of this issue Walter de Boef
and Marja Thijssen reflect on the series of regional
multi-stakeholder workshops and give a synthesis of
the outcomes, with the priority topics to address in
transforming the innovation sites into successful LSBs.
The next three articles as contributed by the Tigray
coordination team, i.e. Fetien Abay and Ibrahim Fitiwi,
focus on agriculture, seeds and genetic diversity in
Tigray region. They address the seed system in
Tigray, the valuable crop genetic diversity in Tigray’s
informal seed system, and the specific LSB pathways
for LSB development in the semi-arid agricultural
system in Tigray.
The Tigray innovator team, consisting of Beyene Tedla
Gessesse, Nugus Kassa and Gebrezgiabher Muruts
contribute three articles on the LSB project in Tigray.
First they describe the status of the LSB project, with
the activities accomplished so far. Next they discuss
the process and outputs of the Tigray regional multistakeholder workshop, and follow up at the innovation
sites as well as at the regional level. In the last
contribution they introduce themselves, give their
backgrounds and describe their roles in the project.
Two students of Mekelle University introduce their
research associated with the LSB project in Tigray.
Getachew Mergia tries to understand the seed
marketing system in three sites associated to the
project, with its challenges and opportunities for LSB
development. Kiros Haleform focuses on barley
participatory variety selection studying variety
adoption, variety dissemination, and seed distribution
of farmer preferred varieties. He will look for
opportunities for PVS to strengthen LSB development.
Find in this issue some details on upcoming
international and regional trainings as organized by the
Centre for Development Innovation. Note that
Ethiopian professionals will be eligible for fellowships
for the Genetic Resources and Seeds training as
organized in India in November.
Finally find a schedule with upcoming LSB project
activities for 2010.
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
Agriculture, Nature Management and Food Quality and
the Directorate International for International
Cooperation through the Royal Netherlands Embassy
in Addis Ababa.
Contact and information
Fore 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
Reflection on series of regional multi-stakeholder workshops
By Walter de Boef and Marja Thijssen
Workshop Oromia South and West, Adama, 20 January 2010
Workshop Tigray, Mekelle, 29 January 2010
Workshop SNNPR, Hawassa, 22 January 2010
Workshop Oromia East, Haramaya, 10 February 2010
Workshop Amhara, Bahir Dar, 26 January 2010
Local Seed Business Newsletter 4 (March 2010)
2
Five multi-stakeholder consultations
In January and February, the LSB project organized a series of
five regional multi-stakeholder workshops. They were organized
by the Oromia Seed Enterprise, Hawassa University, Bahir Dar
University, Mekelle University and Haramaya University in
cooperation with Wageningen UR Centre for Development
Innovation in the Netherlands. Key input to the workshop were
the reports of the assessments of the innovation sites as
prepared by the five innovator teams. In principle, the LSB teams
consulted the local stakeholders directly associated to the
innovation sites and regional stakeholders on the outcomes, and
will use this consultation to develop future strategies and
interventions to be undertaken by the LSB project at local and
regional levels.
Workshop objectives
• Enhance awareness and ownership among regional partners
on the LSB project;
• Present and discuss the results of the baseline study of the
•
•
•
•
LSB innovation sites among stakeholders;
Based on the baseline study, identification of priorities for
interventions in the LSB innovation sites;
Based on the baseline study, identification of possible
contributions from other stakeholders to LSB development;
Identification of possible services from the LSB team
promoting LSB development beyond the innovation sites;
and
Partner consultation and decision making on the continuation
of LSB activities.
Participants
To facilitate the consultative process, each regional LSB team
invited representatives of the key partners in each innovation
sites, being leaders/representatives of farmers’ cooperatives or
organizations. In addition, representatives of the Woreda and
Zonal Agriculture and Rural Development Offices were invited; in
the case that key partners included NGOs, their local staff also
participated. Each site was represented by five up to ten
persons during the workshops. The table below shows the
numbers of local representatives during the five workshops. All
workshops had a similar representation, with local stakeholders
accounting for more than 40% of the total number of
participants. The composition of the regional stakeholders
participating in the workshop varied from region to region. In the
Amhara, SNNPR, Oromia South and West, and Oromia East
workshops, various stakeholders (BoARD, seed enterprises,
research organizations and NGOs) were well represented. In the
Tigray workshop, the composition reflected strong local
stakeholder participation and limited regional representation. In
the Oromia East workshop, the hosting organization (Haramaya
University) was very well represented fostering further
embedding of the LSB project within its academic programme.
Local Seed Business Newsletter 4 (March 2010)
In conclusion, the local level participation ensures that the
outcomes of the five workshops have a strong ownership with
local partners. For the regional stakeholders, the synthesis of
the workshop outputs gives a more general overview of
stakeholder perceptions.
Stakeholders participating in regional workshops
Stakeholder group
Am So
Ti
OS
OE
#
%
WoARD & ZoARD (extension, DA)
Coops, farmer organizations
8
10
7
12
13
13
13
6
9
9
50
50
Subtotal
REGIONAL STAKEHOLDERS
18
19
26
19
18
100 42
ESE & RSE
BoARD
Coop Promotion Office/Agency
RARI & EIAR
NGO
International organizations/projects
4
2
1
2
1
5
4
4
4
3
1
2
3
3
4
1
6
5
3
15
13
3
Subtotal
LSB TEAM
15
11
1
7
11
45
19
LSB coordinating organization
Coordinators & innovators
MSc students
LSB international coordination
2
4
2
1
8
6
3
2
10
5
3
1
2
8
2
3
21
4
7
1
43
27
17
8
18
Subtotal
TOTAL
9
42
19
49
19
46
15
41
33
62
95 40
240
LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS
1
Am: Amhara; So: SNNPR; Ti: Tigray; OS: Oromia South and
West; OE: Oromia East
Workshop process
The five workshops followed a similar process; the two authors
in their capacity of advisor and coordinator of the LSB project
coached the regional teams in facilitating this process. In
preparation for the workshop the LSB team, advisor and
coordinator reviewed and discussed the reports of the
innovation site assessments on organizational principles and
success factors for product innovation. Through the discussion
main topics relevant to strengthen LSB development in the
respective region were identified. The LSB team prepared a
presentation in which it shared the synthesis with the workshop
participants. The programme had the following steps:
• Presentation of the LSB project, a general overview and
placing it within integrated seed sector development;
• Presentation of the synthesis of assessment results;
• Discussion and further refining of topics in a plenary
discussion; reflection by local and regional stakeholders;
• Local level stakeholder working groups prioritizing topics,
and identifying local stakeholder and LSB contributions in
addressing these topics;
• Regional stakeholder working groups prioritizing topics, and
identifying regional stakeholder and LSB contributions in
addressing these topics; and
• Sharing outputs and conclusion.
3
Topics identified by innovator teams
Topics identified by local stakeholders
Through the innovation site reports of the different regions we
identified topics to be addressed in LSB development that are
common among regions; see the table below. Decision making
(as part of the organizational principle autonomy) was identified
as a key issue to address by all teams, which is logical since in
most innovation sites, the seed producer cooperatives/farmer
organizations are embedded within farmer based seed
production schemes or have a strong relation with either BoARD
or a NGO. The following principles are common among at least
four regional teams:
• Market boundary, which indicates local or community
orientation in marketing seeds
• Access to inputs and services and support by stakeholders,
which is also related to autonomy and reliability of service
provision (such as basic seed, inputs and marketing
services)
• Entrepreneurship, which is an indicator for the commercial
orientation and organization of farmer groups
• Flexibility/awareness of changing conditions, which is an
indicator of the capability of the farmer organization to
respond to changes in environment, markets and policies,
and
• Product line, which is an indicator for the diversity in
products as crops, varieties and type of quality produced.
The other topics were only identified among three or less teams.
It should be realized that in each workshop only those topics as
identified by the teams and based on the results of the
assessments, were presented to the participants.
During the stakeholder workshop, the local stakeholders
associated to the innovation sites prioritized tree topics from the
list. The table below summarizes the outputs of this exercise,
the numbers the table indicate the number of times that topics
were prioritized among the 24 sites. The topics decision making,
access to inputs and services (stakeholder support),
entrepreneurship and seed quality were prioritized by 7 up to 10
of the in total 24 sites. Decision making was mentioned at least
one time in all regions. This confirms the priorities as given by all
teams, and thereby proves that these topics should be
considered in the design of interventions and support by the LSB
project. Some topics are very specific to some regions.
Examples are legal status of organization and access to financial
resources/credit which were solely mentioned by several sites
in Amhara region. These topics deserve special attention in this
region, as the process of legalization of seed producers’
cooperatives needs to be enforced and credit in this region is
proportionally more expensive in this region and thereby less
accessible than in for example Oromia and SNNPR. It should
therefore be concluded that some topics should be addressed in
all regions and sites, whereas others are very site or region
specific. The consultation during the regional workshop provided
more details on specific topics. Vision and business plan was not
prioritized by local stakeholders as a specific topic; however,
many of the other topics prioritized are part of a business plan
Topics identified based on the assessment of the innovation
sites by the LSB teams for each region
Topics
Decision making, autonomy
Market boundary
Access to inputs and services
Entrepreneurship
Flexibility, awareness changes
Product line
Customer demand and feedback
Marketing strategy
Vision and business plan
Access to production technologies
Organizational structure, management
Seed pricing
Seed quality
Legal status of organization
Access to finances, credit
Am
So
Ti
OS
OE
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
5
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
x
: Positive score for this topic by team, based on analysis
Am: Amhara; So: SNNPR; Ti: Tigray; OS: Oromia South and
West; OE: Oromia East
Local Seed Business Newsletter 4 (March 2010)
Topics prioritized by local stakeholders during multi-stakeholder
workshops
Topics
Decision making, autonomy
Access to inputs and services
Entrepreneurship
Seed quality
Marketing strategy
Product line
Seed pricing
Access to finances, credit
Access to production technologies
Flexibility, awareness changes
Market boundary
Legal status of organization
Customer demand and feedback
Organizational structure, management
Vision and business plan
Am
So
Ti
OS
OE
#
1
3
2
2
1
2
1
2
3
3
3
2
1
1
1
2
3
2
3
1
1
1
1
2
10
9
8
7
5
5
4
4
3
3
3
2
1
1
3
5
3
2
4
2
4
1
2
1
1
1
1
: Positive score for this topic by team, based on analysis
: Number of sites with stakeholders prioritizing this topic
Am: Amhara; So: SNNPR; Ti: Tigray; OS: Oromia South and
West; OE: Oromia East
#
Topics identified by regional stakeholders
The consultation on topics with regional stakeholders further
confirms that entrepreneurship, access to inputs and services/
stakeholder support are key topics that in addition to the site
,
4
Topics prioritized by regional stakeholders during multistakeholder workshops
Topics
Entrepreneurship
Access to inputs and services
Decision making, autonomy
Marketing strategy
Seed quality
Market boundary
Flexibility, awareness changes
Product line
Vision and business plan
Customer demand and feedback
Access to production technologies
Organizational structure, management
Seed pricing
Legal status of organization
Access to finances, credit
Am
x
x
x
So
Ti
OS
OE
#
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
4
3
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
: Positive score for this topic by team, based on analysis
: Regional stakeholders prioritizing this topic
Am: Amhara; So: SNNPR; Ti: Tigray; OS: Oromia South and
West; OE: Oromia East
x
level, need to be addressed at regional level; see the table
above. It should be realized that several topics cannot be
addressed individually but are part of larger strategy or
intervention such as the facilitation of the formulation of a local
seed business plan, that incorporates topics such as
entrepreneurship, decision making, product and seed quality,
and marketing strategy, linking this with a guiding vision.
However, the current consultation of stakeholders at regional
level, clearly indicates that the LSB project should provide
capacity building and advisory services in LSB development on
the site level, as well as should provide specific facilitation
services more at regional level, for example organizing
stakeholder support, facilitate the access to inputs (basic seed),
help in the development of financial products supporting LSB
development and support the development of appropriate legal
mechanisms and policy that promote LSB development.
General reflection
The organization of five regional multi-stakeholder workshops
has been a significant investment in the embedding of the LSB
project within stakeholder forums in the respective regions. The
conceptual background of the LSB project within Integrated
Seed Sector Development has been shared with regional and
local stakeholders, creating the understanding that the LSB
project does not aim to address the entire seed system, but
rather focuses on the formation and strengthening of local seed
businesses. The consultation of stakeholders on the outputs of
the assessment was well structured and offers further details for
decision making on the type of interventions and services that
the LSB project should provide at the local (innovation site) and
regional levels. The LSB project with the series of national
gatherings scheduled late March, has reached the moment to
move from situation analysis of its 24 innovation sites towards
action, i.e. provide targeted services in accelerating local
groups of farmers engaged in seed production, becoming more
commercial, better organized and more autonomous in their
seed entrepreneurship.
The seed system in Tigray
By Ibrahim Fitiwy and Fetien Abay
Tigray: crop cultivation under marginal
conditions
Tigray Region, in the northern highlands of Ethiopia, is known for
a long history of crop cultivation under diverse geographic,
climatic, and socio-cultural conditions. The region represents
one of Ethiopia’s semi-arid grain producing areas. The formal
seed system has been less successful in supplying adapted
varieties and quality seed. The estimates for the percentage of
farmers who purchase seed produced from the formal system
ranges from 5% to 10%.
Formal and informal seed system
Ethiopia like other countries has not adequately addressed the
issue of providing farmers in marginal production environments
with access to good quality seed. Less attention has been paid
Local Seed Business Newsletter 4 (March 2010)
to strategies which are appropriate to crops that are adapted to
dryland environments, which constitute 40% of the country.
Consequently, the system is bound to fail in situations where
improved varieties of those crops turn out to be less attractive
for farmers. The formal seed system while targeting semi-arid
agriculture has developed improved varieties of wheat, teff, field
pea and lentil; it produces seed of a few varieties of those
crops. This is in contrast to the informal seed system in which
farmers use and produce seed of more than 20 field crops and
a multitude of local landraces. The study conducted by the LSB
innovators in Tigray shows that in study areas the only crop
handled by the formal system is wheat with two varieties, which
is in contrast with the informal system in which more than 10
local wheat varieties are used.
5
Perception of the informal system
A dominant perception continues to exist that the informal seed
system is “low-tech”; it is considered the result of a delay in
farmers’ adoption of certified hybrid maize or improved wheat
variety seed. However, given adequate training, farmers show to
be far from unskilled and reject technologies based on clear
assessment; consequently their choice to maintain and obtain
seed through the informal seed system appears to be intentional
where it best suits their production system and livelihood
strategy.
Seed stakeholders in Tigray
The major stakeholders in the formal seed system in the region
are Tigray Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), Mekelle
University, the Ethiopian Seed Enterprise (ESE), the Bureau of
Agriculture and Rural Development (BoARD) and NGOs. They are
responsible for components of the seed system or directly
distribute seed themselves. NGOs active in the seed sector
include REST, Irish Aid, World Vision, IPMS/ILRI, Orthodox
Church, Action Aid and Catholic Relief Services.
BoARD and Tigray-ESE: facilitating farmer
based seed production
Total number of and area planted with improved varieties in
Tigray in 2009/2010
Crop
Wheat
Teff
Chick pea
Faba bean
Field pea
Lentil
Sorghum
Sesame
Maize
Barley
Finger millet
No. of
varieties
Quintal
Hectare
6
5
3
4
3
2
2
2
9
2
54,700
18,860
1,200
380
130
40
850
250
1,300
100
36,467
62,867
1,200
190
87
50
8,500
2,500
5,200
286
The annual potential seed requirement is estimated to be more
than 150,000 tons, but the formal sector supply does not
exceed 20,000 tons, of which 80-90% comes from ESE. BoARD
and ESE aim at the distribution of quality seed of improved
varieties released by research. A key strategy to achieve this
goal is the promotion of farmer based seed multiplication. The
total cultivated land in the region is estimated to be 1.04 million
hectares. The annual seed distributed by the formal seed sector
in the 2009/2010 production season was about 35,810 quintals
which covered around 52,212 hectares (5% of the total
cultivated land in the region). The distribution of improved
varieties through the informal farmers’ seed exchange is
estimated to reach up to 6.3%. Through this system more than
Local Seed Business Newsletter 4 (March 2010)
42,000 quintals (28,000 quintals of wheat and 14,000 quintals
of teff) were distributed within and between communities. The
estimated area covered is 65,200 hectares (wheat 18,600 ha
and teff 46,600 ha). These figures demonstrate the importance
of the informal seed system in disseminating preferred varieties,
in addition to the efforts being made by BoARD and ESE-Tigray
branch. Recognizing the contribution of informal seed exchange,
the area being covered and the amount distributed of improved
varieties is presented in the table above.
REST: promoting seed banks
REST has supported the establishment of 16 Community Seed
Banks (CSB) located in Central, Eastern and Southern Tigray.
The seed banks were established as a solution to the prevailing
seed shortage problem faced after disasters. The seed bank
relieved farmers from rural money lenders who exploited seed
insecurity and furthered aggravated the rural livelihoods. The
CSB, as a local institution, offers potential ground for mobilizing
collective action towards promoting conservation and utilization
of plant genetic resources at grassroots level. It offers synergy
of the formal and informal seed systems, providing options for
sustainable livelihood to resource poor households.
MU: national pioneer in PVS
Mekelle University (MU) is not only involved in training of
agricultural experts/development agents but also conducts
action research that contributes to agricultural development of
the region. Participatory varietal selection (PVS) has been
pioneered at Atsbi and Endamekhoni districts (where LSB
innovation sites are located). In the PVS, preferred varieties were
identified in the target environment and experiments were
conducted under farmers’ conditions, involving 50 farmers per
site as experimenters. Consequently, they disseminated seed of
preferred varieties to other farmers. Likewise to MU, TARI has
been engaged in PVS and disseminating varieties.
LSB in Tigray: specific strategies
The LSB project in Tigray builds upon the specific semi-arid
agricultural characteristics of the region. The LSB sites are
located where BoARD and ESE are working with the farmer
based seed scheme in order to advance seed multiplication of
locally preferred improved varieties. In another location MU and
TARI are working with farmers in PVS, thus identifying those
varieties adapted to the specific production environment. The
LSB builds upon the basis of farmer based seed production and
PVS, and enforces the farmer organizations, strengthens their
commercial orientation and autonomy, promoting economic
development within the limitations provided by the production
environment. Thereby, the LSB project in Tigray is quite different
from the other regions where production environments are
encountered that favour seed production and its business.
6
Dr Fetien is assistant Professor in plant breeding at Mekelle
University. As researcher she is taking a leading role in Africa in
the development of participatory approaches in barley breeding
and promoting local innovation for rural development. She is
coordinator of the LSB Project in Tigray Region. Dr Ibrahim is
head of the Department of Dryland Crop and Horticultural
Sciences (DCHS) of Mekelle University. He is assistant
coordinator of the LSB project in Tigray.
Informal seed system in Tigray: treasuring crop genetic
diversity
By Fetien Abay and Ibrahim Fitiwy
Maintaining diversity in informal seed
system
Most farmers in semi-arid agriculture in Tigray use their farm
saved seed or seed obtained from other farmers in their
communities. The dominance of the informal system is partly
explained by the fact that improved varieties are not adapted to
local production environments and released varieties do not
adequately respond to farmers’ preferences. The informal seed
system by it’s embedding in farmers’ livelihood strategies is
responsible for the maintenance of genetic diversity, especially
of major crops like barley, sorghum, wheat and teff. Using this
diversity, farmers respond to continuously changing biotic but
above all biotic stress factors. Dryland agriculture is often
stigmatized as not being interesting for crop production and
increasing productivity, but it actually hosts a unique diversity
that has co-evolved with changing agro-ecological conditions.
This diversity is accompanied by indigenous practices and
innovations.
Semi arid agriculture: centre of diversity
One way for the farmers to protect themselves against
continuously changing stress factors is to grow crops and
varieties that differ in terms of sowing dates, flowering dates,
duration of the growing period, and pest and disease
susceptibility. In this way, farmers reduce the risk of losing the
entire harvest. Areas with high environmental diversity and
variability that are regarded as marginal for modern agriculture
therefore emerge as centres of diversity for many crop species.
Genetic diversity dealing with
environmental variation
Recent collections by Mekelle University of local barley and
sorghum varieties in Tigray have shown great diversity in agromorphological traits, such as height, earliness, disease
resistance, stem and/or seed colour, and various quality traits.
In 1997, the national barley breeding programme organized a
Local Seed Business Newsletter 4 (March 2010)
“Barley Travelling Workshop in Ethiopia” which was attended by
national and ICARDA breeders. During the workshop ICARDA
barley breeder Dr. Salvatore Ceccarelli observed barley grown
from the road to the top of the mountains suggesting the
importance of barley for marginal areas or as he said it “the
crop closest to God”. It is unfortunate that instead of building
upon and enforcing the wide variation available in barley, current
breeding practices target at releasing few varieties with a broad
adaptation.
Farmers in Tigray: custodians and creators
of diversity in situ
Although the Tigray region has experienced over several
decades profound demographic, economic and environmental
problems, the local farmers have still managed to retain and
enhance the diversity of their varieties. The improved varieties
released do not perform well under the environmental conditions
found locally and the local farmers therefore usually cultivate
only their own varieties. The value of local varieties as a source
of drought resistance for example has been demonstrated by
research. In those areas, farmer-breeders are increasingly
recognized as custodians of germplasm in situ, and as sources
of germplasm for collection for ex situ conservation. They are
also providers of improved local varieties and producers of
quality seed; moreover they are potential partners in
participatory plant breeding.
Farmer breeders: producing varieties with
locally desired characteristics
Mr. Kahsay Negash is a farmer in Bolenta. He is 87 years old
and a very creative experimenter. Over a period of ten years, he
developed two varieties of barley that combine the agronomic,
morphological and eating preferences of local farmers. The
challenge for breeders is to establish cooperation in
participatory breeding with farmers like Mr. Kahsay.
7
Combining traditional and scientific
knowledge through PPB
Traditional knowledge, varietal selection and farmer innovation
practiced in Tigray indicate how vital maintenance of crop
genetic diversity is to household food security. The richness of
traditions surrounding the cultivation and processing of crops is
one of the factors explaining why local varieties are maintained.
Researchers from the University of Mekelle have been able to
build upon these household strategies. In participatory varietal
selection and enforcing farmer innovation, MU in its breeding
and research programmes is trying to find the adequate balance
among crop productivity, household food security and the
maintenance of plant genetic diversity.
PPB, diversity and LSBs
In the specific situation of Tigray with its semi-arid agriculture,
participatory plant breeding is an approach that may build upon
and enforce the use of genetic diversity in crops with a specific
adaptation. The development of a wide array of locally adapted
varieties proves an interesting basis for local seed business
development. Farmers working with breeders may disseminate
newly identified varieties in their locality; thereby the link
between participatory plant breeding and LSB may serve as
model to use the existing genetic diversity and speed up the
dissemination at local level of a diversity of adapted varieties.
Specific pathways to LSB development in semi-arid agriculture
in Tigray
By Fetien Abay and Ibrahim Fitiwy
Starting points for LSB development in
Tigray
Local groups: a foundation for seed
business development
Farmers have strong informal exchange and renewal of varieties.
For crops where improved varieties can be adopted, they usually
grow a number of varieties of one particular crop, not just the
most high-yielding varieties. The strength of the informal system
indicates the availability of the knowledge in seed production but
also indicates the shortcoming of the formal system. Despite the
importance of the informal system, few initiatives of MU, TARI,
BoARD and REST aim to strengthen it. Subsequently, its
improvement is limited or nonexistent, and it should be realized
that the system has many shortcomings.
Local level group formation and farmers organizations will be
important to encourage collective efforts targeting at availability
of locally adapted varieties. For the low input conditions of
Tigray, Local Seed Businesses (LSB) are essential to introduce a
diversity of varieties that are needed for dissimilar conditions in
the field (variation in space and time) and for the reduction of the
chances for pests and diseases. LSB can build on existing
groups engaged in farmer based seed production and result
from groups engaged for some years in participatory plant
breeding.
Informal system: starting point for seed
sector development
PVS and LSB: an essential combination
It has been proved that once farmers in marginal environments
are exposed and obtain access to improved varieties, the
informal seed sector can be a reliable and efficient way to
access improved varieties of crops. Farmer experimenters and
seed producers need to be organized to be strengthened in
seed supply. An important element is to enhance the access to a
diverse set of crops and varieties. The inadequacy of the formal
seed production to cater the needs of farmers in low input
agriculture should not be considered as a shortage of improved
seed, but rather as an inferior performance of improved varieties
in those production environments.
Local Seed Business Newsletter 4 (March 2010)
Participatory varietal selection initiated by MU and TARI and
demonstration plots established by the BoARD has encouraged
farmers’ interest to experiment and exchange information on
varieties. Farmers had the chance to regain access to lost or
disappeared local varieties in PVS trials. Through the MU
programme on participatory barley breeding, i.e. the selection of
materials from segregating populations of cross products;
farmers were able to increase access to preferred genotypes.
The establishment of Local Seed Businesses will be an effective
pathway to strengthen the link between the informal and formal
seed systems and thereby contribute to seed security, enhance
food security and moreover promote rural economic
development in Tigray.
8
LSB Project in Tigray
By Nugus Kassa, Beyene Tedla Gessesse and Gebrezgiabher Muruts
Innovation sites
Results of the assessment
In Tigray region the LSB project currently works with four
innovation sites; find some details on the sites in the table
below. The sites have a dissimilar origin. In three sites the basis
is contractual seed production with BoARD and ESE, even
though different additional partners (TARI, MU, REST and World
Vision) are also active. The project is considered vital in
enforcing seed supply and promoting the entrepreneurship of
farmers’ communities. In this paper the activities accomplished
by the LSB project in Tigray region so far are shortly described.
After all the necessary data were gathered from the four
innovation sites, they were documented and analyzed using a
standard format provided by the project. In summary, the results
show the following:
• Business boundary indicates that most of the seed business
takes place within the woreda and tabia; it is encouraging
that a good seed market exists.
• Autonomy indicates that two systems exist; the first is the
contractual seed production arrangement in which farmers
have very limited autonomy, and the second being the
informal system in which individual farmers have full
autonomy. Farmers, however, lack capabilities related to
various technical, marketing and financial aspects; therefore
their capacity and organizational structure needs to be
enforced before they can operate as autonomous seed
enterprises.
• Product line refers LSB capabilities in understanding
customers’ demands and interests in crops, varieties and
type of seed quality. This capability requires a lot of
attention, in order to reach a stronger market orientation.
The team found that through the contractual arrangements
farmers have neither awareness nor capacities to address
this aspect vital to entrepreneurship.
• Marketing refers to farmers taking a proactive approach in
promoting their seeds in the market. The information
gathered shows that they do not have a plan to promote
because, they either have been producing individually in
small amounts and lack commercial orientation, or have
been bound by the contractual arrangement for seed
production. For the LSB to be viable, capacities or a well
defined structure in seed marketing will be required.
• Entrepreneurship appears to be little developed among the
innovation sites in Tigray. The farmers at almost all of the
sites have a good local market for the seeds they are
producing. But this is not created using business and
marketing principles. All their efforts focus on having
sufficient food to provide for the family first; thereafter they
base their marketing strategies on surplus production. The
farmers are not connected to the market based on market
orientation. Consequently, a move to entrepreneurship
should be taking into account this strong subsistence and
livelihood focus of the farmer families involved.
• Machinery and equipment are critical in farm management,
seed processing and storage. It was reported they have
indigenous knowledge on how to produce seeds. Farmers do
Innovation sites in Tigray region
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
Location, zone, woreda
Crops
Central, Laelay- Machew, Hastebo
Eastern, Astbi-Wenberta, Felege-Weyni
Eastern, Astbi-Wenberta, Habes
Southern, Endamekoni, Mekan
Teff, wheat
Potato
Barley
Wheat
Entry point LSB
Key partners
Contractual seed multiplication
Cooperative, experience, support
from NGO
Contractual seed multiplication
Contractual seed multiplication
REST, TARI, BoARD
TARI, BoARD, World
Vision
MU, TARI, BoARD
BoARD, ESE
Stakeholder consultations
The project started with visits of the innovation team together
with the coordinators to BoARD, Cooperative Office and REST, to
discuss the project’s strategies. The support of these
stakeholders in the LSB project is essential in achieving the
intended objectives. The aim of the consultation was to have a
common basis and overview of the LSB project, its objectives
and the activities to be executed. At this moment, these
stakeholders are highly motivated to cooperate with the LSB
project in providing the necessary information and assigning
experts to help the innovation team.
Baseline study
The baseline targeted at the collection of information required to
assess the current situation at the innovation sites and its
potential for the development towards a local seed business, in
terms of the principles of organizational development and
success factors for product innovation. Data were collected
through household and stakeholder interviews using a
questionnaire, focus group discussions and semi-structured
interviews.
Local Seed Business Newsletter 4 (March 2010)
9
•
not have access to the technologies for seed processing and
limited access to storage infrastructure. To increase the
quality in production and processing, their capacity to
access improved technologies needs to be increased.
Vision is required for developing a seed business with
consciousness of production, financial and marketing
aspects. All sites have some type of vision, but it is not
structured and transformed into a plan. It is therefore crucial
that the LSB project will support the formulation of the vision
and its translation in a local seed business plan that will
further structure the growth and development of the
enterprise, but also will guide support by partners and the
LSB project.
Multi-stakeholder workshop
During the multi-stakeholder workshop a general overview of the
project, its objectives, background of the four innovation sites,
and results of the base line studies were presented. The
participants included representatives of the four innovation sites
(which formed the majority of the participants), regional
stakeholders and MSc students. After the presentation of the
outcomes of the assessment with the above mentioned topics,
participants in working groups discussed in detail topics and
follow up. They provided the project with productive inputs useful
to further promote the project objectives. See for further details
on the workshop the next article in the newsletter addressing
this activity specifically. The results of the workshop were
combined with the results of the innovation site assessments in
order to identify appropriate strategies to be put in place in the
four innovation sites and more in general in service provision in
the region.
Supporting the establishment of
cooperatives
In three innovation sites, seed producers were not yet organized
in the form of cooperatives. The LSB innovators therefore
supported the farmers’ organizations in establishing seed
producer cooperatives. Each cooperative has selected its
executive committee including a chair person, cashier and
secretary. The newly established cooperatives have developed
their own bylaws, which include items such as member
registration fees, contributions and fines, and the roles of
members in processes like quality control.
LSB seed money
The newly established organizations have developed a proposal
for solving their prioritized problems in seed production. The
LSB innovation team supported the cooperatives in this process.
The proposal identifies the main problem, rationale for
intervention and budget breakdown. It also includes the
contribution of the cooperative in terms of financial resources
and labour. Based on the proposal, MU within this context of the
LSB project signed a contract agreement with the cooperatives
on how to utilize the financial resources. The objective for this
type of small project is that it should accelerate the development
of the cooperative into an LSB. In most of the cases, the seed
money was transferred to accounts of the cooperatives, which
will execute the activities for enforcing the LSB conform the
contract.
Developing action plans for 2010
The innovation team has initiated the process to develop action
plans for each of the LSB sites. The team is ensuring a
participatory approach in developing the plan. The farmers have
discussed with the team thoroughly and prioritized their critical
problems. Consequently, the plan incorporates the required
interventions to be undertaken by partners, the seed producer
cooperative and the project. However, the main activity foreseen
for 2010 is that the LSB team will coach the seed producer
cooperatives with partners in a process to develop a local seed
business plan, that includes not only technical aspects, but also
marketing and financial management, and effective resource
use. The development of the plan responds upon various points
as identified in the base line study in a structured approach; the
plan will guide future activities by the cooperatives, stakeholders
and LSB project.
Nugus Kassa, Beyene Tedla Gessesse and Gebrezgiabher
Muruts are respective agribusiness, farmer’s organization and
seed innovators within the Tigray LSB team based at Mekelle
University.
Reflection upon the Tigray regional multi-stakeholder workshop
By Beyene Tedla Gessesse, Gebrezgiabher Muruts and Nugus Kassa
Workshop process
The regional multi-stakeholder workshop for the LSB project in
Tigray region was held at Mekelle University main campus. 50
persons participated; they represented farmers’ cooperatives
Local Seed Business Newsletter 4 (March 2010)
and extension workers of the four selected sites, complemented
by representatives of BoARD, NGOs and higher officials of
Mekelle University. Dr. Ebrahim Fitwi, Assistant Coordinator for
the LSB Project Tigray region officially opened the workshop and
10
took responsibility for its facilitation. The innovator team
provided an outline of the project and further shared in the form
of a presentation the results of the baseline study in the four
innovation sites.
Key outcomes of the baseline presented
The key topics were identified by the innovator team together
with the LSB advisor in a meeting in advance to the workshop.
The outcomes of the baseline study were further refined and
structured. The key topics presented to the participants were
the following: local basis, marketing, flexibility, product line,
major decision making, role of stakeholders, access to
agricultural technology and vision of farmers in seed production.
Participants responded in an active manner to the presentation;
they further shared their experience and asked several questions
on unclear points. All participants agreed on the reliability and
relevance of the data collected and expressed their appreciation
for the presented report.
Prioritization of topics
In the afternoon session participants were divided into five
groups. Participants from each site that consisted of
representatives of the cooperatives and/or farmer organizations,
extension workers, local staff of NGOs and MSc-students
constituted four working groups associated to the innovation
sites. Another group included representatives of BoARD and
cooperative office, NGOs and MU. Each group linked to the
innovation site (i) prioritized three topics among the topics
presented, (ii) identified the contributions of the cooperatives to
become stronger in the local seed business related to that topic,
and (iii) proposed contributions to be made by the LSB project in
further strengthening the cooperative. The regional stakeholder
working group had a similar discussion; it however ranked all
topics, but indicated contributions by specific stakeholders and
potential tasks for the LSB project in addressing those topics.
Each group thoroughly discussed the topics and prepared a
concise report. They presented the results of the prioritization,
which are summarized in the table above. Much emphasis was
given on the topics entrepreneurship, product line and local
base. The local base was emphasized by the fact that the
farmers produce seed of particularly local varieties. Another
argument for the local base is that members are considered
hardworking and creative and thereby contribute to the strength
of the organization. However, they lack entrepreneurial and
managerial abilities, which are accompanied with technical
problems in seed production. The smooth flow of local seed
business development in all the four sites is further hindered by
limited access to agricultural technology and limited external
technical assistance (role of stakeholders). Consequently, we
conclude that outcomes of the baseline study were confirmed by
the results of the workshop.
Key additional comments made by farmers
• Most farmers are dependent on BoARD and TARI for
•
•
•
Outcomes of the LSB site working groups
Prioritization of topics by local stakeholders associated to the
innovation sites
Innovation site
Hastebo
Felege-Weyni
Habes
Mekan
•
Prioritized topics
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
Local base
Entrepreneurship
Access to agricultural technology
Product line
Entrepreneurship
Role of stakeholders
Local base
Product line
Role of stakeholders
Flexibility
Decision making
Entrepreneurship
Local Seed Business Newsletter 4 (March 2010)
•
technical advice and various other aspects related to seed
production;
While barley has multiple uses and is highly demanded in
Atsbi Woreda, no improved varieties are available for this
crop;
Because of the contractual arrangement between BoARD
and farmers for seed production, farmers are not able to sell
their seeds at a time when the price of seeds is high.
According to them the seed price is high during the sowing
season (April and May), but BoARD determines a lower seed
price before (at harvesting time). Participants from BoARD
shared their perspective on this prize issue that they are
responsible for the transport, processing and marketing;
therefore they need to fix the price at harvesting to cover all
other costs;
Farmers confirmed that they are producing seeds of many
different local varieties that are demanded by the local
areas;
Representatives of the farmer organizations expressed they
are constrained by limited market assessment, and
management of the organization and seed production
process;
Finally, they have expressed the advances as made in
formalizing into seed producer cooperatives; executive and
quality control committees have been installed and bylaws
have been formulated. Thereby, at organizational level a first
step towards professionalization and higher autonomy is set.
Follow-up within innovation sites
The outputs of the regional workshop are very important in
shaping the follow-up activities of the LSB project. In March the
innovator team visited the four innovation sites and organized
11
local workshops. With the cooperative and local partners
associated to the site, they discussed the LSB base line study
and compared it with the outcomes of the workshop.
Subsequently, the team, the cooperative and other close
partners, jointly developed an action plan for the innovation site
to further promote its development towards a local seed
business.
•
•
Outcomes of the LSB site working groups
The working group with stakeholders from the region prioritized
(i) local base, (ii) product line and (iii) decision making as key
topics for follow-up in the LSB project in Tigray. Herewith, they
endorsed key topics as also identified by the representatives of
the four sites. Key contributions foreseen to be provided by the
LSB project are summarized as follows:
• Capacity building on both seed production and marketing;
• Facilitation of market access and support through
conducting market studies;
• Facilitation of the access to basic seed of several improved
varieties;
• Rendering services or facilitating the development of
mechanisms that will increase the access to agricultural
•
machineries such as combiners and tractors;
Facilitation of the development of mechanisms that will
support the cooperatives with construction of a warehouse
(storing seed till prizes are high) and construction and
establishment of offices for cooperatives (fostering further
professionalization);
Facilitating the development of mechanisms by which credit
with fair interest rate will become accessible for seed
producer cooperatives; and
Technical assistance in the process of seed production.
Follow-up with regional priorities
The results of the workshop discussions of the regional and
federal stakeholders are taken to the national LSB workshop at
the end of March. The outputs of Tigray will be discussed and
compared with the outputs of Amhara, Oromia East, Oromia
South and West, and SNNPR regions. Based on this, a national
plan for service provision by the LSB teams will be developed;
services will be rendered on specific topics beyond the existing
sites and in close cooperation with partners. Moreover,
additional LSB partner sites will be identified, to be included in
the next phase of the project.
Tigray Innovator Team
Beyene Tedla Gessesse graduated BA in management in 2003
from Mekelle University. Upon graduation, was employed as a
graduate assistant and lecturer at Mekelle University Department
of Cooperative Studies, teaching different courses such as
cooperative management, rural development, agribusiness,
entrepreneurship,
small
business
management
and
communication. His research addressed topics like women and
cooperatives, cooperative marketing, leadership in cooperatives,
and socio-economic studies and livelihood. He also worked as a
scheduling officer in the College of Dryland Agriculture and
Natural Resources. In 2007, he earned MSc in International
Development Studies, majoring in Economics of Rural
Development from Wageningen University in the Netherlands,
with a thesis addressing microfinance and women empowerment
in Tigray. Beyene has been employed by the LSB project as a
farmer’s organization expert and has been highly involved in
helping farmers getting organized and form seed cooperatives in
the Tigray innovation sites.
Nugus Kassa has a BA in economics from the Faculty of
Business and Economics, Department of Economics, Mekelle
University. Upon graduation, Nugus was a teacher for five years
at St. Mary’s College of Commerce and Agriculture, teaching
practical courses on marketing salesmanship, business
management, entrepreneurship, small and medium business
Local Seed Business Newsletter 4 (March 2010)
management, basic management, economics and statistics. He
also worked as a Head for the Department of Commerce and
was a member of the marketing team of St. Mary’s furniture and
agriculture products. His next job was as part-time lecturer at
Sheba College, Wukro Branch and Wukro TVET College.
Subsequently, Nugus worked for the Adigrate Diocesan Catholic
Secretariat (ADCS) as monitoring and evaluation officer and
planning officer. He was responsible for project design and
engaged in monitoring and evaluation of multi-million projects
that the organization runs in its intervention areas in Tigray and
Afar. Before joining LSB, Nugus worked as Branch Manager of
the Techno style P.L.C, Mekelle branch. Nugus has been
employed by the LSB project as agri-business expert and has
been responsible for marketing and business aspects of the
assessment. Nugus also supported the farmers in the process
of legalization of their cooperatives.
Gebrezgiabher Muruts has a BA in Dry Land Agronomy of
Mekelle University. Upon graduation, Gebrezgiabher worked as
extension worker for 13 years in various positions and locations.
He then joined for several years the NGOs CORDEP and Farm
Africa as farmers’ participatory research field officer and
community development officer. He was an NGO field worker
assisting beneficiary farmers throughout several rural
development projects. Subsequently Gebrezgiabher worked for
12
nine years for Wukro ATVET. He was acting academic vice dean
of the college and responsible for the planning and coordination
of all academic activities. Before joining the LSB project, he
obtained his MSc degree with Mekelle University. Gebrezgiabher
conducted his research with Dr Fetien Abay thereby receiving
broad exposure on participatory research and development
methodologies. Consequently, Gebrezgiabher complements the
two other members of the LSB team with his long career of field
work and exposure working with farmers in a development
setting. He is the seed expert in the team and was responsible
for addressing more technical and seed production aspects
during the base line study.
Tigray region innovator team: Beyene Tedla Gessesse, Nugus
Kassa and Gebrezgiabher Muruts.
Opportunities and constraints in seed marketing in three
innovation sites in Tigray
Student: Getachew Mergia
Seed: a potential motor for local economic
development
The Ethiopian Agricultural Development Led Industrialization
Strategy clearly states that the existence of an efficient
domestic agricultural commodity marketing system could
stimulate and sustain growth and development in the food and
agriculture sector. Such a marketing system could provide
market incentives for poor smallholder farmers and support their
effective and consistent participation as commercially oriented
farmers in the domestic food and agricultural markets. This
demand at the policy level requires effective and efficient farmer
based seed marketing structures, which motivates farmer
groups and cooperatives to produce and market seed at local
levels. Seed thereby becomes a business at the local level with
the objective of improving the farmers’ access to quality seed
and to promote local level economic development.
Emphasis on seed marketing
To promote the farmers’ seed system and local seed businesses
a proper assessment of the seed marketing structures is
required. Such a study analyzes the opportunities and challenges
in the local seed markets. The study undertaken by Getachew,
assesses the seed system functioning with the following
questions:
• What motivates farmers to participate in seed production
and supply?
• What are the challenges and opportunities in seed marketing
within the context of local seed business development in the
study area?
Within the context of the LSB project, the study aims to
contribute to the development of marketing mechanisms. It
Local Seed Business Newsletter 4 (March 2010)
further supports development institutions and other stakeholders
to understand the structures of seed marketing and design
appropriate interventions promoting local seed business
development.
Objective of the study
The objectives of the research are the following:
• To understand the seed marketing system;
• To identify the stakeholders engaged in seed marketing and
analyze their role;
• To examine the challenges of seed marketing and
opportunities for LSB development;
• To study factors influencing the seed marketing and LSB
development; and
• To develop strategies to improve the efficiency of the seed
marketing.
Study sites and methodology
The study was conducted by collecting data from primary and
secondary sources in the study area by taking three sample
kebelles in Atsibiwemberta and Endamekhoni woreda. Two
woredas were purposely selected, because of the presence in
the LSB project. Using random sampling data have been
collected from a total of 147 farmer respondents. This sample is
in accordance with probability proportionate to the size of the
population. In accordance with their size, 76 households were
interviewed in Atsibiwembersta and 81 in Endamekhoni woreda.
Both primary and secondary data were collected using a
questionnaire; additional information data were gathered through
focus group discussions (FGD). Getachew used different
qualitative and quantitative statistical procedures and methods
to analyze the data.
13
Preliminary findings on seed potato
production and marketing in Felegewoyni
During initial focus group discussion, the researcher was able to
collect primary information. 34 farmers in Felegewoyni village
produce and market seed potatoes for the market. They are now
for three years organized under the Irrigation Cooperative which
was legally registered by the Cooperative Agency. The seed
potatoes are sold to farmers within their own woreda and other
woredas. The BoARD is responsible for marketing and sets the
prize. NGOs operating in close cooperation with the BoARD like
world Vision and Tigray Development Association (TDA) purchase
seed potatoes from the cooperative and further distribute the
seed potatoes among farmers within the woreda and beyond.
The principal source of basic seed is Tigray Agricultural
Research institution (TARI); however, farmers also rely on their
own seed reserve. During discussions, stakeholders indicated
the limited capacity in marketing and inadequate storage
facilities as major challenges for the seed producer cooperative.
It further needs to strengthen its business management capacity
to become more entrepreneurial in the seed potato business.
BoARD was identified as the main supplier of quality seed in the
entire woreda; some local seed suppliers operate in a less
organized practice.
Preliminary findings on seed production
and marketing in Mekhan
Mekhan site in Endamekhoni woreda includes a newly
established seed producer cooperative with 64 member
farmers. Members in the cooperative are experienced in
producing improved wheat seed; they individually produced for
the last five years seed for ESE through the Cooperative Union
and BoARD under a farmer based seed production scheme. In
addition, the farmers individually sell seed at local markets of
locally selected varieties to other farmers mostly in exchange for
other food grains and in cash. As a new Seed Producer
Cooperative, the members identified that they need to
strengthen their capacity in marketing and enhance their seed
storage facilities. They are aware of the fact that they need to
improve their business management skills; this type of
entrepreneurial exposure is the main challenges for the
cooperative becoming an autonomous and successful local seed
business.
Relevance of the study for the LSB project
The study of Getachew addresses a topic that is prioritized in
most of the sites of the LSB project, being the marketing of
seeds. Getachew’s study is highly relevant as for three of the
LSB sites in Tigray, he studies the local seed market. The
information he gathers will be used by the LSB team when
developing the local seed business plan in those sites. The
methodology for data collection is relevant, as it may be used in
other sites in the country as part of the process to develop a
marketing strategy. Getachew Mergia is an MSc student within
the Post Graduate Programme of Cooperative Marketing of
Mekelle University.
Barley participatory varietal selection in Tigray: opportunities
for LSB development
MSc student: Kiros Haleform
The importance of barley in Tigray
Participatory barley
Tigray represents part of the major barley growing areas of the
Ethiopian Northern highlands. Farmers are relying on their local
varieties and the farmers’ seed system to produce annual
harvests. Formally recommended varieties have not been
adopted in the region. Several local varieties have been
cultivated for many years under low input management; they are
assumed to have accumulated desirable agronomic characters
and a better level of tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress
factors. In the highlands of the Tigray barley is called as “AbiyiEkhli” which means the “king of grains”. It is utilized in more
diverse ways than any other cereals. Most production takes
place on relatively small farms in the hills, at slopes and
terraces, but barley is also cultivated in plains and the drier parts
of the region.
Participatory plant breeding has been pioneered by Mekelle
University; it is applied in the identification of preferred
genotypes by the farmers. Upon participatory varietal selection
(PVS), farmers have been observed to disseminate materials that
they identified in the trials. Based on this observation, it was
decided to study the impact of PVS as instrument to disseminate
preferred genotypes and to assess the linkage between PVS and
LSB development. Documentation of the disseminated varieties
as addressed in the study will be fundamental to the
development, release and popularization of the barley varieties.
The combined action of trained breeders and experienced
farmers has the potential of selecting well-adapted varieties
which will be available without delay, through the LSBs and the
informal seed system. Thereby varieties will find their way to
other farmers beyond those participating in PVS as beneficiaries.
Local Seed Business Newsletter 4 (March 2010)
14
Objective of the study
In his research Kiros aims to study the impact of adoption of
farmer preferred varieties. He has assessed changes in attitudes
of the farmers’ towards PVS. By evaluating the dissemination of
preferred varieties and investigating the seed distribution
network, he aims to identify nodal farmers and contribute to the
development of a methodology to promote seed distribution of
varieties identified through PVS. Thereby he will assist the seed
producer groups such as LSB to effectively plan their seed
production and business.
Study locations
The study locations were purposely identified; barley PVS has
been operating in Habes, Bolenta and Mugulat since 2004. Other
villages (if any) that have received seed from these primary
villages will also be included in the study. All farmers (50)
involved in PVS were visited and participated in household
interviews. Kiros also included farmers who did not participate in
the PVS (non-experimenter farmers) in order to come to some
level of comparison within each village.
Preliminary results: dissemination
The data collection has been concluded, but analysis has not yet
been finished. During focus group discussions with
experimenters and non-experimenters, variations between and
within villages were observed over their preference for varieties.
Highly preferred genotypes selected through PVS, have been
disseminated in the farming communities over 100 km radius in
two years and in the four years that they were first displayed in
the local market. The dissemination of those varieties in Bolenta
village is not visible; this clearly observed difference is
interesting and Kiros is currently further investigating it.
Preliminary results: farmers’ attitudes
towards PVS
The PVS project has been very effective in spreading new ideas
for joint experimentation. It has further been instrumental in
recognizing farmers’ innovation. The majority of the
experimenter farmers acknowledged during focus group
discussions the benefits of using new varieties that they
identified during PVS. The main reason for not using these
varieties before PVS was the non-availability and poor
accessibility of its seed. In Habes, the introduced varieties have
become part of the farmer seed stock. The importance of the
multiplication and exchange (informal system) is well recognised
by the farmers after this experience. The groups organized for
varietal selection can be a basis for starting and promoting local
seed entrepreneurship.
Relevance of the study for the LSB project
The study of Kiros explores whether PVS can be a good basis
for LSB development. PVS has two components that are relevant
to LSBs. First, PVS evaluates varieties in a participatory and
decentralized approach. New varieties can be incorporated in
the product line of a LSB. It builds on the premise that LSB
should have a continuous flow of new varieties, especially in the
case of selfing crops like barley, in order to catch a local market
share when competing with the informal seed system. Further,
PVS has a strong component of local dissemination; when new
promising varieties are identified, seed could be produced
through LSBs and the varieties could be spread using a
commercial approach within woredas or beyond. Thereby LSB
could be instrumental in the dissemination of new adapted
varieties. Such dissemination is crucial in semi-arid Tigray, in
which breeders need to avail a broad range of varieties that are
adapted to specific locations. Tigray is the right place to
conduct the current study, since Mekelle University has more
than 6 years of experience with PVS. It is further a region where
modern barley varieties are not adopted, because of its
requirement for specific adapted genotypes. Thereby, a new
model of variety evaluation and dissemination could be
developed, which has a strong association to LSBs. Likewise
innovation sites are found in Amhara where farmers were
organized in Farmer Research and Extension Groups, before
forming a group targeting on commercial seed production. Kiros
Haleform is an MSc student within the Dryland Agriculture Post
Graduate Programme of Mekelle University. Dr Fetien Abay is his
supervisor.
Wageningen UR, CDI training programmes
2010 Training on plant genetic resources
and seeds
From 1 – 19 November 2010, Wageningen UR Centre for
Development Innovation (CDI) and the Centre for Genetic
Resources, The Netherlands (CGN) in collaboration with the MS
Swaminathan Research Foundation in India will organize a
training on Plant genetic resources and seeds: policies
conservation and use. The training will be implemented in
Local Seed Business Newsletter 4 (March 2010)
Chennai and Jeypore, India. The training aims to assist
participants in designing efficient and effective genetic resource
management, crop improvement and seed supply programmes,
while actively involving farmers and other stakeholders, linking
the farmers’ and the formal system. New for this training is that
this year Ethiopian professionals are eligible for a fellowship
through the Netherlands Fellowship Programme (NFP). The LSB
project intends to reserve places in this training for applicants
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• Transition to sustainable crop and livestock systems,
who are partners in the LSB project. LSB Partners can indicate
their interest with the regional project coordinators and apply online at: http://www.cdi.wur.nl/UK/services/Courses/. Please
note that the deadline for fellowship application is 1 June 2010.
Philippines, 15 – 26 November 2010
Find the complete course overview of the 2010 programme and
NFP application deadlines at the CDI website mentioned above.
Other courses organized by CDI
Who can participate
Each year CDI offers a series of international and regional
courses. They cover the latest developments in policy, practice
and research, combining the developments in a specific field or
sector with the opportunity to exchange knowledge and
experiences with professionals from all over the world. Examples
of other courses in agriculture are:
• Market access for sustainable development, Netherlands,
1 – 19 November 2010
In general, the courses are designed for mid-career
professionals, such as project co-ordinators, senior staff,
managers, trainers, programme leaders and other professionals.
Participants are mostly employed by research institutes,
public/private seed companies, universities and NGOs.
Applicants should have at least a BSc or the equivalent in
training and experience, at least three years of professional
experience in a relevant field, and be proficient in English.
Overview of upcoming LSB activities in 2010
Dates
Activity
Area
Description
29 – 30 March
National LSB workshop
Adama
31 March
National LSB seminar
Adama
01 April
LSB partnership meeting
Adama
12 – 30 April
International training on plant genetic
resources
Wageningen, The
Netherlands
National workshop with LSB staff, students
and key partners
Seminar sharing outputs and facilitating new
partnerships
Meeting exploring partnership with other
seed programmes
International training on participatory
approaches in PGR management
3 – 7 May
National training workshop
Bahir Dar
Training for LSB innovators and students
September/
October
Regional partnership workshops
1- 19 November
International training on plant genetic
resources and seeds
Adama, Hawassa,
Bahar Dar and Mekelle
Chennai and Jeypore,
India
Series of 2-day workshops on new
partnerships in the four regions
International training on PGR management
and seed sector development
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
Oromia East regional coordinator
[email protected]
Mekelle University
Dr Fetien Abay
Tigray regional coordinator
[email protected]
Oromia Seed Enterprise
Oromia Agricultural Research
Institute
Centre for Development Innovation
Ato Kedir Nefo
Oromia South and West coordinator
[email protected]
Dr Amsalu Ayana
Oromia South and West coordinator
[email protected]
Dr Marja Thijssen
LSB – Wageningen UR coordinator
[email protected]
Centre for Development Innovation
Dr Walter de Boef
LSB – Advisor
[email protected]
Centre for Development Innovation
Dr Mohammed Hassena
LSB – Partnerships coordinator
[email protected]
Royal Netherlands Embassy
Mr Joep van den Broek
ISSD coordinator
[email protected]
Local Seed Business Newsletter 4 (March 2010)
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