Poster by Azage Tegegne, Dirk Hoekstra, Berhanu Gebremedhin, Kahsay Berhe, Gebremedhin Woldewahid and Tilahun Gebey for Tropentag 2011, Bonn, Germany, 5–7 October 2011

1. Intensification of crop‐livestock farming systems
through market‐orientation in Ethiopia
Azage Tegegne, Dirk Hoekstra, Berhanu Gebremedhin, Kahsay Berhe, Gebremedhin Woldewahid and Tilahun Gebey
Improving Productivity and Market Success (IPMS) Project, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), P.O. Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Bonn, 2011
Email: a.tegegne@cgiar.org; www.ipms‐ethiopia.org
Introduction Changes in frequency of harvest: Shifted from one to three harvests/year (Sept, Jan, June) in Atsbi
• A watershed consists of a steep land as runoff generating and valley bottoms as run‐on zones in a continuum fashion.
• With increasing population pressure, over use of the natural resources results in low watershed productivity often un‐
able to feed the growing population.
• In this regard, watershed based market oriented commodities development has been launched in Tigray Region to im‐
prove productivity and income of smallholder farmers.
• Fogera district has a plain topography and vast productive grazing land that is usually flooded during the rainy season by
overflows from the local rivers of Gumara and Rib, and Lake Tana.
• The natural pasture was used to support large number of livestock during the dry season. Changes in forage utilization: Sheep fattening and apiculture innovation uptake in Atsbi
• Free and uncontrolled grazing resulted in severe degradation of the grazing land and disappearance of palatable forage 12000
50000
species and emergence of unpalatable noxious weeds like Hygrophilla auriculata (Amikela).
Number of colony or sheep
10000
Beneficiary households
• Interventions were undertaken for intensification of crop‐livestock farming systems through market‐orientation of crop 40000
2004
(no/commodity)
and livestock commodities. 2004 8000
2010
30000 2010
• The methods, achievements and the lessons learned from these interventions are presented. 6000
20000
4000
10000 2000
Materials and Methods 0
0
• Various feed development and improved forage species Fattened sheep Honeybee colony Fattened sheep Honeybee colony
introduced in the conserved watershed continuum.
• Cut and carry system of livestock feeding introduced
• Interventions implemented along the commodity value
chain
• Potentials, limitations and interventions of market ori‐
ented commodity identified along the value chain
framework (VCF)
A typical watershed in Atsbi, Tigray
Key achievements
Changes in forage biomass quantity and quality in Atsbi
Steep lands forage development:
Before (left) and after intervention
(right)
Development of shallow wells and irrigated horticulture in the bottomlands in Atsbi
15000
12500
Area (ha) or number of beneficiaries
2004
2011
10000
7500
5000
2500
0
Irrigated area (ha) Beneficiary households
Reclamation of communal grazing area in Fogera
Bottomlands development: Be‐
fore (left) and after intervention
(right)
Amekila weed clearance in Fogera
Irrigated sites: After intervention and changes in biomass produc‐
21 tion and biodiversity
18 Before intervention
After intervention
Biomass (ton dm/ha)
15
12
9
Biomass production in different PAs in Fogera Scaling up successful fodder development activities
6
in Fogera
3
PAs Exclusion areas Forage productivities Forage dry biomass Name of PAs se‐ Number of people participated Area in Ha.
0 (t/ha) (t/PA per year) lected
Steeplands Bottomlands Irrigated sites Men Women
Watershed continuum 2008 2009 2008 2009 2008 2009
Shina 1742 95 23.75
Shina 7.0 7.7 8.5 7.8 59.5 60.0
Wagetera 436 98 67.00
Kuhar 6.0 11.4 10.7 10.5 64.2 119.47
Aboakokit 996 683 38.75
Abakiros 38.5 7.0 269.1
Improved forage uptake following demonstration in Atsbi Guramba 20.0 137.4 Kidist Hanna 923 143 42.75
Menog‐ 14.0 102.9 Nabega 392 240 21.00
zer Shaga 1200 350 75.00
Watershed continuum Demonstration area Uptake Beneficiary households Total 91.6 123.7 688.87 Total 5689 1609 268.50
(ha) (ha) (number/district)
Lessons Learned
Steep grazing lands and 26 2,981 6,798 • Linking improved forage production with market oriented commodities helps smallholder farmers to shift in livestock composition and
generate better income following the market signals.
stabilized gullies • Innovation uptake has been enhanced through demonstration and participation of actors.
• Participatory market oriented commodity development along the value chain unlocks the use of conserved resources effectively and effi‐
Bottomlands 69 5,739 13,088 ciently through intensification. The approach also helps to thinking beyond rain fed crop production.
Irrigated sites 0.12 850 3,575 • The integration of market‐oriented commodity development along the watershed continuum also helps to transform less productive wa‐
tershed into intensified and diversified household income sources.
• Improving the income of smallholder farmers triggers the community to invest more on resources conservation.
• Actors involvement along the watershed based development continuum and the commodity value chains ensured and the approaches
have been institutionalized.