SORGHUM PRODUCTION IN TRANSITION Through Striga Management Taye Tessema and Gebisa Ejeta የኢትዮጵያ የግብርና ምርምር ኢንስቲትዩት Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research Taye SORGHUM PRODUCTION IN TRANSITION Through Striga Management ©EIAR, 2019 ኢግምኢ፤ 2011 Website: http://www.eiar.gov.et Tel: +251-11-6462633 Fax: +251-11-6461294 P.O. Box: 2003 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Editor: Abebe Kirub ISBN: 9789994466634 Contents Preface 1 Foreword 3 Chapter 1 5 Introduction 5 Chapter 2 15 Seed System, Production and Distribution of Striga Resistant and Drought Tolerant Varieties 15 Chapter 3 31 Training on Sorghum Production and Integrated Sorghum Management 31 Chapter 4 49 Integrated Striga Management Demonstration 49 Chapter 5 61 Popularizing and Adopting Striga Resistant Varieties 61 Chapter 6 67 Strengthening Striga Research 67 Chapter 7 71 Combining Complementary Tactics and Research Results 71 Chapter 8 87 Project Administration, Monitoring and Evaluation 87 Chapter 9 95 Challenges, Lessons, and Looking Ahead 95 References 105 Index 109 Preface This book documents EIAR‟s and the respective bureaus of agriculture, seed agencies and regional research institutes of the four major regions in Ethiopia, i.e., Amhara, Oromia, SNNP and Tigray Regional States in scale up of integrated Striga management in sorghum in Ethiopia. The chapters are arranged in a logical progression. Chapter 1 introduces on sorghum and Striga species in Ethiopia. The second chapter pursues the discussion of seed system, seed production, and distribution of SRV. Chapter 3 deals with farmers‟ practices in sorghum production in Ethiopia and the trainings delivered on sorghum production and ISM technology along with the training impact and lessons. Chapter 4 discusses ISM technology package, comparison of SRV variety versus striga susceptible improved and local variety, farmer field days and experience sharing visits on ISM technology package demonstration. Popularization and adoption of SRVs are presented on Chapter 5. Chapter 6 discusses on strengthening capacity for striga research through support to post-graduate MSc training and establishment of striga bioassay laboratory. Chapter 7 describes combining complementary tactics and research results supported by the project. Project administration, monitoring, and evaluation are presented in chapter 8 while the challenges, lessons and way forward are presented in chapter 9. The ISC Project would not have been possible without the contribution of many people and organizations over a period of six years. It would be hard to acknowledge the contributions made by every individual and by every organization or institution. All can rest assured that we are deeply thankful for their inputs into the massive team effort to confront the menace of striga in sorghum in Ethiopia. The idea of putting together experiences and lessons achieved from implementing the scale up of integrated Striga management came in March 2017 from Dr. Diriba Geleti who was the acting Director General of EIAR by the time, now Deputy Director General for Research. I am very grateful for his continuous support and encouragement in compiling this book. I am highly indebted to Dr. Mandefro Nigussie, DG EIAR, for his generous support and energizing me in making this book a reality. The real driving force, however, behind almost every aspect of the ISC project - from its detailed planning to the application of sound technical approaches, and from raising awareness to boosting Striga management capacity – has to be Prof. Gebisa Ejeta, the Principal Investigator of the project. His expertise and passion has raised the profile of the devastating impacts and control of Striga species among communities, institutions, and regional governments in Ethiopia. Besides, he chaired the annual project 1 implementation evaluation and annual progress and planning meetings, and national training workshops. Of course, many other people contributed to the success of the project. The administrative staff of EIAR including Dr. Adugna Wakjira, the then deputy director general, devoted his time and energy to play a leadership role during the project implementation. I am grateful to him also for reviewing this book. The Project‟s subsequent success has been due largely to the commitment of a core of dedicated professionals and leaders of organizations and institutions. In particular, we are grateful to Dr. Yilma Kebede, who was the program officer for research and development at BMGF, for providing valuable insights and guidance starting from the preparation phase all through the implementation phase of the project. Dr. Yilma has long been firm in his support and has played a pivotal role in making this project a success. I also appreciate the support provided by Prof. Tesfaye Mengiste, plant biotechnologist at Purdue University, for his continuous support in delivering training for experts working in project implementing regions and for providing support on establishment of striga bioassay lab. I would like to thank staff of the department of agronomy, Dr. Patrick Rich, from Purdue University also for his support in training and establishing striga bioassay laboratory at the national agricultural biotechnology research center at Holetta. Staffs from the implementing organizations, i.e., bureaus of agriculture and natural resource in the respective regions of Amhara, Oromia, Tigray, and SNNP were instrumental in implementing the activities of the Project. The regional project coordinators in EIAR and the respective regions – Dr. Alemu Tirfessa, Habte Nida, Dr. Solomon Assefa, Tamirat Tesfaye, Ayana Mirkena, Diriba Megarsa, Girmay Shinun, Sisay Lemawork, and Getaneh Berhanu made a telling contribution. I am also grateful to Dr. Abera Deressa for his support and encouragement during planning phase of the Project. Financial management staff and administrative staff of the respective implementing regions also performed wonders in making sure that the budgets were all completed accurately and on time. No list of credits and acknowledgments would be complete without mentioning the considerable time and effort put in by Abebe Kirub in reviewing and editing this book. Abebe was also instrumental in giving me advice in compiling this book. He is author of many books in field of agriculture and an experienced editor of a number of scientific reports. Taye Tessema (PhD) 2 Foreword Striga species are major challenges for production of cereal crops including sorghum. Yield losses up to 100% are common in sorghum growing areas and arable lands are often abandoned because of the prohibitive parasite populations. The “Integrated Striga Control (ISC) in Sorghum in Ethiopia and Tanzania” Project was developed and implemented by Purdue University in collaboration with EIAR, Amhara, Oromia, SNNP, and Tigray Bureaus of Agriculture in Ethiopia from 2012 to 2017. The overarching goal of the project was to improve income, food security, and livelihood of small-scale sorghum farmers. The major components of the project included scaling up of integrated striga management technologies that comprises deployment of officially released striga resistant and drought tolerant varieties through large-scale demonstration and popularization on farmers‟ field, and multiplication and distribution of the seeds. The federal and regional research institutes, public and private seed enterprises, and community-based producers in Oromia, Amhara, Tigray, and SNNP Regional States conducted seed production and its distribution. Fifteen tons and 120 tons of foundation and certified seeds of Striga resistant and drought tolerant sorghum varieties were produced, respectively, from 2012-2017. ISC package demonstrations and popularization of Striga Resistant Varieties (SRV) were conducted on a total of 18,000 farmers‟ plots and on more than 500 Kebeles (lowest level of admin category). The project mobilized diverse stakeholders, integrated disciplines, and covered large production areas. A significant improvement in the production and distribution of high quality seeds of improved striga and drought tolerant varieties were achieved. Concerted efforts in the training and technology transfer activities has created high demands for striga resistant varieties that needs to be met to further boost production and improve food security in striga prone areas. 3 The biggest challenge during implementation of the project was the recurrent drought in different locations in all regions. In many cases, farmers plant twice or thrice when moisture is not sufficient for the crop seed to germinate. However, there is little chance for the farmer when the rain stops for long after crop reaches vegetative stage or flowering. However, farmers have their own innovative ways of coping mechanisms, like diversifying crops, saving from previous harvest and building social capital. Bird attack was also a challenge in Project implementing regions. Farmers cope up mechanisms with this challenge was by adjusting planting time of SRV so that their maturity period coincides with other sorghum varieties in the area. Secondly, farmers grow SRV at the same time over large areas so that birds distribute over wide area of crop fields and thus damage due to birds shared among fields. Several farmers do not implement full ISM packages for growing sorghum because of various reasons. Such problems could be overcome by awareness creation activities. Efforts should be made to institutionalize the changes achieved through the ISC project in regional, zonal and Kebele agricultural systems.