The document summarizes a tour of a conservation farming project in Debre Markos, Ethiopia run by MSCFSO and supported by CFGB and MCC. The tour highlighted the problems of land degradation in the area and showed how the project is implementing conservation practices like mulching, tree planting, check dams and composting to rehabilitate lands, improve soil health and increase food security for farmers. Farmers who adopted these practices reported benefits like increased yields and reduced erosion. Project staff also indicated signs that other communities are now adopting conservation practices on their own.

1. Part Two
The Project Tours
Tuesday, Feb 5th, 2019
Addis Ababa to Debre
MSCFSO (Migbare Senay
Children and Family Support
Organization) PROJECT
Allan and Lydia Sorflaten
lsorflaten@hotmail.com

2. Debre Markos:
MSCFSO (Migbare Senay Children and Family Support
Organization)

3. CFGB Tour Participants With MSCFSO Staff at the Migbarey Senay Office in Debre Markos

4. MSCFSO (Migbare Senay Children and Family Support Organization) was established
in 2003 to curb the spread of HIV AIDS targeting Orphan Care and Support and Food
Security. MSCFSO partners with MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) and CFGB
(Canada Foods Grain Bank). This is a local initiative, highly mobilized.
https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/degraded-land-fertile-land

6. Allan and Lydia
Sorflaten with
Miheratu Kerube,
the Founder and
Executive Director
of MSCFSO
(Migbare Senay
Children and
Family Support
Organization)

7. Most of the Population Here Works in Agriculture

8. Problems of the area were defined for us as:
• Deforestation
• Land used for Grazing
• Hilly
• Gully Erosion
• Continuous Cultivation
• Land Degradation
• Landlessness
• Firewood sold to cope
• Lack of Safe water
• Fetching Water is very time consuming

9. CFGB works in collaboration with one of
its partner agencies, the Mennonite
Central Committee and with MSCFSO to
implement the Migbarey Senay project.
Here Project Manager Yihenew presents
us with a description of the various
project activities.
In brief, the project provides hands-on
training to;
- teach farmers and households about
controlling land degradation.
- provide soil conservation training
- manage natural resources such as by
developing tree seedling nurseries for
reforestation
He pointed out that this particular
program has reached 4000 farmers.

10. Conservation Farming Principles
1. Minimal Soil Disturbance: The tradition here is to plow the land at least 2 to 3 times. They feel that this
is for weed control and to avoid soil pests. A farmer is seen as lazy if he does not plow.
2. Cover the Land With Mulch. Use Cover Crops, eg legumes.
3. Diversify Crops

11. Soil Without Mulch = Powder
Soil With Mulch = Spongy Soil that
will Purculate Water When It Rains

12. In their presentation to us, they
were able to show us before and
after pictures.
Upgraded Roads Planted Trees

13. RESULTS!

14. Dennis Reimer, one of our CFGB tour members surveys the
impact of ‘gully erosion’

15. Here we see a ‘Check Dam’, One Conservation Farming
Method to Prevent Gully Erosion

16. Can you find two ‘Check Dams’ to control water and gully erosion
during rainy season in this picture?

17. Three Check Dams In A Row.
Lydia walking along the
Conservation Farming Check
Dams. Notice her sun
protection (hat, light long
sleeved blouse, long skirt and
hiking boots for the rough
ground! One has to be
physically fit to keep up with
the demands of the tour and
that is only a small taste of
what farmers here do. They
sure are physically fit!

18. We see another form of ‘Check Dam’. What materials
are used to build this?

19. Composting the
Conservation
Farming Way

20. Field Staff Show Us Their In-Field Soil Composter

21. Andre Visscher from the CFGB
Alberta office takes notes as
we learn about the Eucalyptus
hedge rows.
Legumes eliminate need to
apply nitrogen
in eucalyptus forests.
Intercropping
leguminous plants
with eucalyptus eliminates the
need for nitrogen fertilization
They make great hedge rows
between the fields.

22. Antona and Allan show us the
Lupin plant which, being a
legume, helps to improve soil
fertility.

23. ‘ Lupins have been shown to offer a safe, cost effective and supply chain secure source of high
protein feed for livestock as an alternative to imported feed. ‘

24. Lupin Is Planted As A Leguminous Crop Which Improves Soil
Fertility By Adding Back Nitrogen. Lupin Seeds Can Be Eaten But Soak Them
First.

25. Miheratu
Kerube is
Founder and
Executive
Director of
MSCFSO. He
came with us
the entire day
touring their
Conservation
Farming sites.In the foreground see the Eucalyptus hedgerows
used to retard surface water runoff in rainy
season. Also see our three Toyota Land Cruisers
and the MSCFSO truck in background.

26. Reforestation
showing trees
at different
stages of
growth. Over 3
million trees
have been
planted in the
CFGB
partnership
Reforestation
program.

27. Here we are
walking across land
under the CFGB
Conservation
Farming
partnership
program. Notice
the mulch and
minimal tillage.

28. Of the whole tour
and all that we saw,
for me this was the
most breath taking
of all sites. Looking
across the gorge and
seeing the
beautifully managed
steep hillside
Farming God’s Way.

29. Imagine this after
the rains begin.
Green, lush,
productive with
good yields.

30. Despite the extreme
dryness, we came
across this check dam
where there was
actually water but this
water does not look
fit for man or beast to
drink!

31. Farmers involved
who have
adopted the
Conservation
Farming methods
share their
experience with
us through an
interpreter. Yes,
the two ladies are
farmers!

32. From left Mr. Meheretu MSCFSO Founder, Field Manager Mr. Antona
and 3 Field Staff Members All of Whom Have Also Been Crucial to
Success of the Migbarey Senay Project

33. Visiting the nursery
where seedling
trees are grown for
reforestation.

34. Seedling Beds At
Various Degrees of
Preparation

36. Thanking Field
Staff Members For
Their Hospitality

37. Gully erosion is a
big problem.
Planting trees helps
prevent erosion.

38. Planted Trees
Here Help
Prevent Erosion

39. Farmers join us to
proudly share how
they have adapted the
Principles of
Conservation Farming.

40. We Are Going To See
A Place Where
Charcoal Is Made.
Although charcoal is
looked down on
environmentally, it is
the major source of
fuel for cooking.

41. We are looking at:
1. The place where the wood
has been slowly burned to
become charcoal.
2. The newly cut area where
trees have been harvested
for charcoal.
3. Behind that, trees growing
for charcoal.
4. A more mature stand of
trees.

42. I love this picture of
Sam and one of the
farm leaders. It
represents so much
of the cooperation
and reflection that
has been happening
over the years in
CFGB’s work in
Ethiopia with Sam at
the helm.

43. Two farmers standing in the stubble, one leaning on his
‘staff’.
I later learned the importance of ‘thy rod and thy staff’.
One of the farmers gave me his ‘staff’ when I was
carefully picking my way up the steep hillside through
very rocky terrain.

44. Dry Season. Minimal
Soil Disturbance.

45. February 2019. The
Harvest Was
Nearing
Completion.
Can You Imagine
Carrying Grain To
The Threshing Area
This Way?

46. Threshing Is Done With The Cattles Hooves
By Going Round and Round On the Teff

47. Winnowing The
Grain. Allowing
the Wind To Carry
Away The Chaff.

48. After The Grain Is
Threshed, The
Straw Is Collected
In Large Round
Stacks For Storage.

49. Woman Carrying
A Traditional Clay Water Jug.

50. Teff: A Food
Staple For
Ethiopians. Teff
Is Used To
Make Injera.

51. Once The Crop Is Harvested, It Is Important
To Preserve It! These New Tanks Prevent
Rodents From Getting Into The Grain And
Keep The Grain Dry. This Is A New Initiative.

53. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1fkiARlRbc
Are Other Farmers Adapting The Conservation Farming Methods?
MSCFSO/CFGB Project Debre Marcos Ethiopia Feb 5 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1fkiARlRbc
Script from this movie clip:
Sam Vander Ende, Ethiopian Regional Rep for CFGB asks, “Scaling up the
project, at some point you have a threshold of adaptors, then it will be
spontaneously adopted by the community. What evidence do you see so
far of the 10-12 years that we have been engaged in watershed
rehabilitation that the communities where you have been that they are
now doing their own watershed rehabilitation”.
Yihenew, MSCFSO Program Director responds: ”Good question. Very
difficult to address all the areas which are affected by land derogation. If
you group the highland areas, most of the farmers are totally covering the
land with trees. You go to other areas and farmers are taking their soil to
the market. So our objective is to show. We can visit the first project we
started in 2008. We are the one who first started such works and we got
the Green Award from the President. So subsequently in the water shed
area. The community developed a sense of ownership. That is one of the
indications of what we have seen.”
Sam: How long did you support it?
Yihenew: “Until they were ready to spread their wings. One project, 3-4
years. All you can do is show the farmers how to improve their livelihood
starting from their soil. After that the government can replicate to other
areas.”

54. CFGB did 137 projects in 40 Countries.
We saw Three! And this is only ONE!