1. INTRODUCTION the Government of Ethiopia (Goe) Has Developed a Five Year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) Which Sets A
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1. INTRODUCTION The Government of Ethiopia (GoE) has developed a five year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) which sets a long-term goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2025. To achieve the set GTP objectives, the country has followed a “developmental state” model with a strong role for the government in many aspects of the economy (MoA, 2015). The Second Agricultural Growth Program (AGP-II) would be aligned with GTP II, thereby contributing to the achievement of targets set for agriculture sector growth (MoFAD, 2015). Agriculture remained a dominant sector and an important source of economic growth in Ethiopia. The agriculture sector contributes about 40% of Gross Domestic product (GDP), more than 85% of the working force and 90% of the export (CSA, 2014). Though some official statistics stated that over the past 15 years the average agricultural growth rate has been close to 7% per annum, food insecurity, rural unemployment and food aid significantly increased (NBE, 2014). To boost the agricultural sector, AGP-II program is designed with the following objective “to increase agricultural productivity and commercialization of small holder farmers targeted by the program and also contributes to dietary diversity and consumption at household level.” AGP-II will also give due attention to the increased participation of women and youth. The program contributes to the higher-level goal of sustainable food security and agricultural transformation by developing untapped potential of well-endowed areas. AGP II will operate in 157 districts selected from 7 national regional states and one city administration of the country which have the highest growth potential, primarily based on agro-ecological conditions and access to markets. In North Gondar zone, eight districts are included in the AGP-II program. Agricultural research is one of the five components of AGP-II Program. agricultural research institutes have been playing key role for the development of agricultural sector by generating and/or developing, multiplying and disseminating agricultural technologies to the society. Gondar Agricultural Research Center (GARC) has been mandated to do research in north Gondar zone. To develop and/or generate agricultural technologies, knowledge on the farming system, potential as well as constraints of the agriculture sector is very crucial. Therefore, this diagnostic survey has been done with the objective of characterizing the farming systems of AGP-II program intervention districts and identifying major agricultural production constraints and opportunities with a view to establish a framework for future research and development interventions. 1 2. METHODOLOGY 2.1. Area Description The study was conducted in eight selected AGP-II program intervention districts of North Gondar Zone of Amhara Regional State. The districts were Wogera, Gondar Zuria, Dembia, Takusa, Alefa, Chilga, Metema and Quara. According to MoA 2015 AGP-II program implementation manual, the districts were selected by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) based on the following criteria. Access to markets (access to cities of 50,000 population or over in less than 5 hours); Natural resource endowment (including good rainfall distribution and annual average of 700 mm or over); Suitable rainfall and soil for crop and fodder production; Potential for development of small-scale irrigation; Institutional plurality of service providers, including good basis and growth of viable cooperatives and farmer groups and existing partnership engagements with private sector, and Willingness and commitment to participate (supportive environment; performance of programs/programs supported by other donors); In addition to the above selection criteria, AGP-II has been responsive to the region’s request to consider the districts covered by the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) that have demonstrated high potential for growth. AGP-II also considered districts clustering as a criterion for selection to develop synergies for growth as well as districts capacity to manage the multiple funding. In general the selected districts in North Gondar Zone are classified in three broad agro- agricultural zones i.e highland, mid and lowland. Wogera district is found in the highland part of the zone, Gondar zuria, Dembia, Takusa, Alefa and Chilga districts are in the mid altitude, and Metema and Quara are in the lowland part of the zone. Wogera District The district is located north of Gondar town. The administrative center of the district is Amba- Georges which is about 41km, 210 km and 770 km away from Gondar town, Bahir Dar and Addis Ababa, respectively. The district has 2 urban and 39 rural kebeles1 consisting of about 39,928 households of which 5724 of them were female headed. The altitude of the district ranges from1500m to 3040m above sea level. The minimum and maximum temperatures of the district are 180C and 240C, respectively. On average the district receives annual rainfall distribution ranging from 400mm-1000mm. About 50% of the landscape is flatland, 25% is mountain and the remaining 25% is undulated land. 1 Kebele is the lowest administrative unit of the government 2 Gondar Zuria district Gondar Zuria is bordered to the south by South Gondar Zone, to the southwest by Lake Tana, to the west by Dembia, to the north by Lay Armachiho, to the northeast by Wogera, and to the southeast by west Belessa. The administrative center of the district, Maksegnit is found between Gondar and Bahir Dar city. It is about 40 km, 140 km and 709 km away from Gondar, Bahir-dar and Addis Ababa, respectively. Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistics Authority of Ethiopia (CSA), the district had a total population of 191,394 of which 97,388 were men and 94,006 women; 18,377 or 9.60% were urban inhabitants. With an area of 1,108.53 square kilometers, Gondar Zuria had a population density of 172.66, which is greater than the zonal average of 63.76 persons per square kilometer. A total of 42,753 households were counted in this district resulting in an average of 4.48 persons per household, and 41,182 housing units. Dembia District Dembia is bordered to the south by Lake Tana, to the southwest by Takusa, to the west by Chilga, to the north by Lay Armachiho, and to the east by Gondar Zuria. The district has 46 kebeles of which 6 of them are urban kebeles while the rest of them are rural kebeles. According to the 2014/15fiscal year annual report of Dembia office of agriculture, the district has about 321,986 total population and 54,313 households of which 8012 or 14.75% were female headed. The administrative center koladiba is 35km, 215km and 775km away from Gondar, Bahir Dar and Addis Ababa, respectively. The altitude of the district ranges from 1800m.a.s.l. up to 2600m.a.s.l. The landscape of the district is characterized as flat land (75%), undulated land (20%) and mountainous (5%). The annual minimum and maximum rainfall ranges from 772mm up to 1160mm, respectively. The mean minimum temperature of the district is 180C while the mean maximum temperature rises up to 280C. Takusa District Takusa is one of the districts in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Semien Gondar Zone, Takusa is bordered to the south by Alefa, to the west by Quara, to the northwest by the Metema, to the north by Chilga, to the northeast by Dembia, and to the east by Lake Tana. The administrative center of the district is Delgi which is about 80km, 140km and 700km away from Gondar, Bahir Dar and Addis Ababa, respectively. Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistics Authority of Ethiopia (CSA), this district had a total population of 129,097, of which 65,782 are men and 63,315 women; 7,087 or 5.5% are urban inhabitants. Alefa District Alefa is bordered to the southwest by the Agew Awi Zone, to the west by Quara, to the north by Takusa, to the east by Lake Tana and to the southeast by the west Gojjam Zone. The administrative center Shawra is about 145km, 80km and 624km away from Gondar, Bahir Dar and Addis Ababa, respectively. The district has one rural kebele and 24 rural kebeles. The district consists of a total population of 215,000 and 32,550 households of which 29,060 is male headed and the rest 3,490 is female headed. The elevation in this district ranges between 3 750m to 2250m above sea level. The rainfall distribution of the district is almost even and ranges between 950mm to 1500mm. The mean annual temperature of the district varies between 180C and 380C. Chilga district Chilga is bordered to the south by Takusa, to the west by Metemma, to the north by Tach Armachiho, to the northeast by Lay Armachiho, and to the east by Dembia. The Ethio-Sudan main road crosses the district. The administrative center of the district is Ayikel which is 60km, 185km and 760km far from Gondar, Bahir Dar and Addis Ababa city, respectively. The district had 50 kebeles of which 6 of them were urban kebeles, the rest 44 kebeles were rural kebeles. According to 2014/15 fiscal year report of the district office of agriculture, the district had a total population of 237,581 of which 120,103 were men and 117,478 were women. A total of 32,586 households were counted in this district, of which 3091 of them were female headed. Elevations in this district range between 731 and 2,383 meters above sea level. The district receives about 900mm to 1250mm annual rainfall. The mean minimum and maximum temperature of the district is 190C and 270C, respectively. The landscape of the district is characterized as 30% flatland, 50% undulated and 20% mountainous land.