The Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resource and Food Security Office launched a CA mainstreaming workshop within the extension system

The Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resource and Food Security organized a Conservation Agriculture (CA) mainstreaming workshop on December 29, 2018 in Adama City, Ethiopia. Over 50 participants from different offices of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) such as (Extension, Crop Development, Food Security, Soil Fertility Improvement, Mechanization and Gender units); Regional MoA offices from Oromia, SNNPR, Amhara and Benishangul Gumuz Regional Agricultural Heads and zonal experts, researchers from CYMMIT, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (Melkassa and Bako Research Centres); Cooperative society representatives, civil society representatives such as Mennonite Central Committee Canada (MCC), Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB), Terpeza Development Association (TDA and other CA implementing organizations in the country participated in the workshop.

The objective of the workshop was to incorporate CA as an alternative extension package in the identified high adoption potential areas of Ethiopia to ensure food security while conserving the environment. Dr Kaba Urgecha, the State Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resource and Food Security, made an opening remarks and highlighted on the need to feed the growing population while conserving the degraded land and ecosystem. Following his remarks, Dr Kindie Tesfaye from CIMMYT presented on policy synthesis on existing evidence around CA and potential recommendation domains for increased adoption of the technology in the country. The zonal experts from each region presented grass root level experiences on CA in their respective regions. The three regions; SNNPR, Amhara and Benishangul were supported by the existing CFGB project. The experience from each region was very profound and demonstrated that CA works and is context specific. The three regions (SNNPR, Amhara and Benishangul) have shown how the three principles of CA are implemented with other good agronomic practices for different crops. They also showed that the practice is being taken up by their regular program and farmers are also spontaneously adopting the technology by observing their neighbours. Oromia region, which is not currently part of the CFGB CA support, has taken the initiative on CA and created an enabling environment for increased adoption using its regular programs. The Oromia region’s initiatives include translating the CA manual into Affan Oromo language through the support of CIMMYT and , GIZ, creating CA specialist structure from region to district level, prepared documentary on CA and shared it with 1190 NRM experts represented from 290 KAs, field day on small scale CA mechanization in Arsi, west and east Wollega, and TV broadcast of the soil health problem in west Oromia to create awareness to farmers.

Following the presentations, Dr Kaba and Ato Germame (General Director of Directors of extension unit) led discussions and reflection session on the presentation and the need to mainstream CA within the extension system. Some of the key areas of discussion were applicability of CA across different agro-ecologies, subsistence and commercial farming and CA, input availability for CA, livestock feed improvement, alternative energy source, capacity building and stakeholders engagement. The event was very interactive with CA knowledge sharing and learning among researchers, policy makers, practitioners and associations. Participants understood the benefits of practising CA both at farm level (enhancing productivity) and at community level (restoring landscapes, improving food security and conserving the natural resource base). The participants, some of them CA escapists, were convinced, and agreed to incorporate CA within the extension package. Finally, the extension officially endorsed CA to be one of the technology packages within the extension system to be implemented in suitable areas of the country and advised the regions to start implementation starting the coming planning period (2019). It was also agreed that the MoA will start collecting report from CA implementing actors to track the adoption coverage and will also include CA indicators in their regular monitoring and reporting formats. The need for building the capacity of the extension system through customized hands-on trainings and demonstration efforts was highlighted, and the research and development institutions and other actors who have experience on CA are requested to work together with the Ministry in capacity building and scaling CA across the country.

The State Minister recognized and acknowledged the Soil Fertility Improvement Department of the Ministry, CFGB partners, CIMMYT, ACT, FAO, EIAR, and Regional Bureaus of Agriculture, ATA, Migibare Senay Children and Family Support Organization (MSCFSO) supported by Mennonite Central Committee Canada; in SNNPR, Wolaita area is Terpeza Development Association (TDA)/supported by World Relief; and in Benishangul Gumuz Region, Assosa area is Food for the Hungry Ethiopia/supported by Mennonite Central Committee Canada and other institutions for their efforts to bring the CA agenda to this level.