Ethiopia

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Launching digital agro-climate advisory platform in Ethiopia

November 18th, 2019 / AllAfrica

There was a time when traditional ecological knowledge was enough. When ancestral wisdom guided communities to sense the moods of the rains, the temperaments of the winds, the hidden messages of the clouds. Through these interpretations of nature, farming communities could foretell times of planting, times of abundance and times …

Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda utilize Kenya’s biotech research, while nation still bans GMOs

September 18th, 2019 / Business Daily Africa

Countries like Ethiopia, Nigeria and Rwanda are increasingly using Kenya’s biotechnology research findings to guide their food security plans as strict laws discourage GMO crops at home.

The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro) scientists said Kenya has become a testing ground for technologies that end up benefiting other nations.

They …

Ethiopia’s future is tied to water – a vital yet threatened resource in a changing climate

August 23rd, 2019 / The Conversation

In July Ethiopians planted 350 million trees in a single day. This was part of the country’s national green legacy initiative to counter environmental degradation and climate change. The initiative ultimately aims to grow 4 billion trees across the country.

Ethiopia has long struggled with land degradation problems in part caused by unsustainable agricultural practices – like vegetation …

Ethiopia needs to improve production of its “golden crop” Teff. Here’s how

March 11th, 2019 / The Conversation

Teff, an ancient grain from Ethiopia and Eritrea, has been growing in popularity across the world in recent years. Huge demand meant prices skyrocketed and the Ethiopian government eventually slapped a ban on exports which it kept in place for six years. The aim was to enable Ethiopians, who rely on it as a staple …

Food security project supports model farmers in Ethiopia

January 23rd, 2019 / Addis Standard, Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s agriculture is complex, involving substantial variation in crops grown across the country’s regions and ecologies. And although there has been significant growth in the cultivation of cereal crops over the last decade, by international standards, yields are low, and overall production is highly susceptible to weather shocks, such as …

How investment in irrigation is paying off for Ethiopia’s economy

January 18th, 2019 / MENAFN

After rapid economic growth averaging 10% every year between 2004 and 2014, Ethiopia has emerged as an engine of development in Africa. 

And there are no signs that ambitions for further growth are fading. This is clear from the government’s blueprint to achieve middle-income status – or gross national income of …

Large NMBU project on seed security

November 7th, 2018 / Norwegian University of Life Sciences

Farmers’ access to seeds is the focus of a new project ‘Access to seeds: From emergencies to seed system development’, led by Ola Westengen and funded by the Research Council of Norway (RCN).
Seeds are vital for food security and are a fundamental asset for the majority of rural communities in …

Ethiopian government banking on agri-biotech to help steer economic development

October 26th, 2018 / ISAAA, US

The Ethiopian government is counting on agricultural biotechnology to sustain national economic growth, the country’s State Minister of Science and Innovation, Dr. Shumete Gizaw, has revealed. Speaking during the opening of a technical communications workshop for biotechnology and biosafety scientists in Addis Ababa, the State Minister said the government has …

Great expectations from Ethiopia’s wheat initiative

October 18th, 2018 / AllAfrica.com

Ethiopia provides a clear example of agricultural underperformance, as the country’s wheat production has consistently lagged other African nations. In 2012, Ethiopia’s wheat yields were 29 percent below neighboring Kenya, 13 percent below the African average, and 32 percent below the global average.
To help address these shortcomings, Ethiopia’s Agricultural Transformation …

Detoxifying the grass pea – a plant with the poisonous past

October 12th, 2018 / John Innes Centra

Grass pea, the crop with the curse, is set for a major change in reputation thousands of years after it was first cultivated.
The transformation becomes a possibility after researchers at John Innes Centre, along with colleagues in Ethiopia and Kenya, were awarded £1.2m from BBSRC under the Global Challenges Research …

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