Benefit SBN 2019 Annual Report
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Benefit SBN 2019 Annual Report 1 2 Contents 1.Sustainable agricultural production: Production cost price reduction 1 1.1. Sustainable agricultural production – Production cost price reduction 1 1.1.1. Yield and quality improvement 2 1.1.2. Harvest, transport and storage loss reduction 8 1.1.3. Improved farmers’ access to input credit 9 2. Product and market development 11 2.1. Post-harvest value creation 11 2.1.1 Store management 12 2.1.2.Cleaning and sorting 12 2.1.3. Exploring local oil extraction and quality standards 12 2.1.4. Product development for sesame and its rotational crops 13 2.2 Improved market linkages and sales 13 2.2.1. Cooperative spot market trade 13 2.2.2. Direct marketing unions and investors 14 2.2.3. Sourcing of processing companies 14 2.2.4. Marketing rotational crops 15 2.3. Improved access to marketing credit 15 2.3.1 Guarantee fund 15 3.Strengthened enabling environment for the Ethiopian sesame sector 17 3.1. Evidence-based information gathering and sharing 18 3.1.1. Stakeholder databases at woreda level (Excel and E-Prod) 18 3.1.2. Lessons learned, issue briefs and experience papers 18 3.1.3. Market information 19 3.1.4. Training and extension materials 19 3.2, Stakeholder capacity development 20 3.2.1. ARC staff training 20 3.2.2. Agronomic training 20 Table 2. No of farmers participated in GAP at woreda and kebele levels 21 Table 3 No of development agents trained at woreda and zone level 21 3.2.3. Field days and farmers exchange visits 23 Table 4. No of farmers participated in field days 23 Table 5. No of agricultural experts participated in field days 24 3.2.4. Economic and financial training 24 3.2.5. Cooperative capacity development 26 3.2.6. Labour sensitisation events 26 3.3. Enhanced stakeholder interaction and collaboration 27 3.3.1. Kebele and woreda PME and local stakeholder collaboration (‘kebele planning’) 27 Table 7. Summary of the data from both regions (20 Steps farmers) 28 Table 8. Number of farmers selected per woreda vs farmers who got credit 28 3 3.3.2. Regional platform and coordination 29 3.3.3.National sesame platform 29 3.4. Strategic sesame sector innovation 29 Strategic sesame sector innovation 29 4. Collaboration 31 4.1. Stakeholder-oriented PMEC system 31 4.2. Communication 31 4.3. Collaboration with BENEFIT programmes 31 4.4 .Thematic collaboration 33 Annexs Annex 1: Benefit-SBN capturing lessons learned 34 Annex 2: Summary of Indicator Tracking Table (ITT) 46 4 1.Sustainable agricultural production: Production cost price reduction 1.1. Sustainable agricultural production – Production cost price reduction For sustainable agricultural production, the SBN programme targets the following primary outcome: “Farmers applying innovations reduce farm-level production cost price with 25% per quintal”. The combined effect of three intermediary outcomes is expected to lead to this primary outcome:(1.1) Yield and quality improvement; (1.2) Harvest, transport and storage loss reduction and (1.3) Improved farmers’ access to input credit. Each of these intermediary outcomes have specific performance indicators which are evaluated in the second part of this chapter. As in preceding years, many activities have been supported in 2019, in close cooperation with implementing partners, including smallholder and investor farmers and their cooperatives and unions, 1 TARI/HuARC and ARARI/GARC, the regional bureaus of agriculture and their offices and staff at different levels (zones, woredas and kebeles). 1.1.1. Yield and quality improvement A range of activities are implemented that aim at improving the performance of farmers. These activities are focusing on: Creating favourable conditions for optimal production practices; Promoting good agricultural practices for sesame production and Promoting an integrated, sustainable and nutrition-sensitive farming system. Creating favourable conditions for optimal production practices Planning and practical preparation for agricultural season. Collaboration agreements signed with key stakeholders, field guides for rotation crops prepared, provided training of trainers and training of women and youth; established large plots with 5 different crops for investor farmers. Specific attention was given to the preparation and guidance of Farmer Production Clusters (FPC’s), in collaboration with BoA and ATA and to proactive action for pest and disease control during the growing season. Weather forecasting, climate adaptation and crop modelling. The weather forecast information delivery service started in August because of resistance of NMA to accept the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model. However, after extended discussion with NMA in collaboration with Weather Impact, Wageningen Environmental Research and Apposit the service was up and run using the NMA weather and research forecast (WRF) numerical prediction model and reached 5,500 farmers, including the farmers registered under the eProd information system. Information receiving farmers and professionals were able to mitigate risks, and significantly reduced yield losses. To sustain the service strategic collaboration is important for institutionalizing the weather forecast service, as well as exploring the possibility of combining NMA and ECMWF models and options for sustainable funding, such as farmers’ contributions, a levy system and others (Annex: 1). Climate adaptation: under this domain two activities were conducted. The first one was testing 10 sesame and 8 soybean varieties at FTCs for the purpose of participatory variety selection (PVS) and crowd sourcing (CS) in collaboration with ISSD. Farmers were invited to make selection based on their own selection criteria. Farmers' criteria for soya bean variety selection were: seed setting ability; plant height, branching habit; tolerance to water logging condition and good biomass. Based on these criteria 6 varieties (1st Gisham, 2nd Belesa 95, 3rd Afgat, 4th Ethio-Ugoslav; 5th Pawe 1 and 6th Pawe 2) were selected, while two were totally rejected. The 2nd activity was designed to select drought tolerant and short maturing sesame varieties in Misrak Belesa wereda. Sesame varieties Setit 1, Setit 2 and Setit 3 were evaluated in 7 FTCs. Setit 2 was found adaptable to the area and gave average yield of 418 kg/ha. Setit 1 and Setit 3 recorded average yield of 392 and 381 kg/ha, respectively. No activity was performed on crop modelling because of termination of the CommonSense project, lack of long year weather data and complete set of data under improved production system and expertise on the geo- spatial data analysis. On-going innovation of good agricultural practices SBN has financially supported GARC and HuARC to enhance sesame and rotation crops variety development; increase soil fertility management options, avail quality breeder and pre-basic seeds, and for pre-extension demonstration and scaling. Results are presented below. 2 Promoting good agricultural practices SBN has collaborated with BoA in promoting good agricultural practices of sesame, rotation field crops, fruits and vegetables to smallholder farmers. Through the cascaded training system (see under ‘Enabling environment). ToT was delivered on good agricultural practices to all zone and woreda experts and all DA’s, who in turn trained farmers, of whom more than 80% was reached. More than 134 investor farmers were trained and large plot (50ha) demonstrations were done with two investors. Variety development, production and use of quality seeds. To address the variety limitations of sesame and the rotation crops and improve delivery of quality seeds a number of activities have been conducted by GARC and HuARC. These included: 1. Sesame Regional Variety Trial, where 15 genotypes were evaluated for yield. Genotypes Aftit-159 and Aftit- 27749 were selected to be advanced to variety verification trial in 2020. 2. Sesame Pure Line Selection: The purpose of this activity was to select pure lines having characters of market requirement, tolerance to stress and with high yielding potential. In Tigray 24 genotypes were planted in 2 site (Humera and Banat). Fifteen genotypes that yielded above Setit 2 (765kg/ha) will be included in the national variety trial. 3. Screening of sesame pure lines for high potential areas of Amhara region: 200 sesame lines were evaluated at Metema research site. About 49 will be advanced to the preliminary variety trial. 4. Sorghum landrace (‘Deber’) regional variety trial in Western and NW Tigray. The objective was to characterize 'Deber' cultivar and to identify true Deber cultivar which is superior in Injera making quality and at the same time suitable for malting purpose. Fifteen selections were evaluated and Accession D2-Adebay_1 gave high yield (5,634 kg/ha) followed by D0013T-Sh-B_1(4,346 kg/ha). The selected materials will be planted at six environments and be evaluated by the national variety release committee for use as food and/or malting sorghum. 5. Cotton Regional Variety trial: In the trial 18 genotypes along with 3 standard varieties were evaluated at 4 locations. Three cotton genotypes have recorded >10qt/ha yield advantage over the check. Best performing two or three genotypes will be advanced to variety verification trial in 2020. 6. Evaluation of sunflower genotypes in Kafta Humera woreda: The purpose was to select a variety with high seed and oil yield. Thirteen sunflower genotypes and two released varieties (Oissa and Russian black) were evaluated at Humera and Banat. Highest grain yield (1,723 kg/ha) was harvested from genotypes 202495. Best materials will further be evaluated in six location and be evaluated by release committee for registration as a variety. 7. Seed multiplication: Availing improved seeds of sesame and its rotational crops is the major limiting factor in the northwest Ethiopia, mainly because of absence of engagement of companies or enterprises in these seeds production and business; failure of local seed business (LSBs) to sustainability deliver quality seeds and lack of coordination and capacity limitations of regulatory bodies.