PROGRESS REPORT

68 PROGRESS REPORT PROGRAM LEVEL PROGRESS REPORT 69
Value Chains
Wheat & Barley
Why is transformation needed in this program area?
Wheat is a strategic crop for Ethiopia. In 2007 E.C.
(2014/15), approximately 4.6 million smallholder
farmers produced 4.2 million MT of wheat on 1.7
million hectares. Despite a remarkable 67% growth
in wheat production in less than a decade, the total
volume still does not satisfy the ever-growing domestic
demand, with imports necessary to fill deficits. 22
On average, Ethiopia has imported about 1.6M MT of
wheat annually since 2010/11(~600,000 MT of which
was commercial), making it the 5th largest wheat
importer in Africa, next to Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco and
Tunisia, and 2nd in Sub-Saharan Africa. 23
The productivity of wheat also remains low at
2.45 t/ha, which is 28%, 25% and 17% lower than that
of the world, Asian and African averages, respectively. 21
Given its huge potential to increase production and
productivity of wheat, Ethiopia aims to transform its
wheat sector in order to become self-sufficient.
Objectives of the GTP I Transformation Agenda Deliverables
Over the GTP I period, key systemic bottlenecks
that constrain the wheat and barley sub-sectors
have been identified through a detailed strategy
development process for both commodities. The
bottlenecks identified highlight three broad objectives:
1) Increasing production and productivity of wheat and
malt barley through an integrated set of interventions,
Overall Performance Summary
Of the six deliverables in the Wheat & Barley Value
Chain Program, four (67%) are “On Track” while the
remaining two (33%) are “Slightly Delayed.”
On Track
Slightly Delayed
Significantly Delayed
33%
67%
Similarly, barley is among the most important cereals
in Ethiopia, engaging more than 4 million smallholders
in 2007 E.C. (2014/15) who produced 2 million MT on
1 million hectares. It also accounts for about 6% of per
capita calorie consumption. 24
Driven by increased urbanization, population growth
and rising incomes, the increase in beer production in
Ethiopia also provides major opportunities for barley
producing smallholder farmers. Despite the country’s
huge potential to meet malt barley demand of local
breweries domestically, on average, Ethiopia has
imported more than 45,000 MT of malt barley annually
over the past three years. 25
Transforming the barley sector is therefore imperative
for Ethiopia to meet its own domestic demand and also
become a regional exporter of malt barley, nearly all of
which is currently produced by smallholders.
including improved inputs use and best agronomic
practices; 2) Improving market access to smallholder
farmers through the engagement of market actors;
and 3) Putting in place the appropriate structures and
market based incentives to achieve national selfsufficiency
in wheat and malt barley, in order to end
imports.
Deliverables in this program are concentrated in two
thematic areas – Policies/Strategies/Regulations and
Direct Engagement with Smallholders – with “On
Track” and “Slightly Delayed” deliverables found in
each.
Through its various deliverables, the Wheat & Barley
Program contributed a notable share of Transformation
Agenda achievements in two key areas: piloting
7 innovative concepts (and scaling-up 2); and
reaching more than 700,000 smallholders using the
technologies introduced by these deliverables on nearly
500,000 hectares.
Key Success Areas
Four of the six deliverables (67%) in the Wheat &
Barley Program have been classified as “On Track.”
In Deliverable 52 (Wheat Value Chain Strategy), a
national strategy was developed through extensive
consultation with stakeholders and has been submitted
to the MoA for release. The Strategy provides a useful
guide to understanding the dynamics of the Ethiopian
wheat value chain and for planning and coordinating
interventions. Although not formally released yet, the
Strategy serves as a working document with many
interventions underway.
Deliverable 54 (Integrated Wheat Interventions)
launched an integrated set of production, aggregation
and marketing interventions in 64 high producing
wheat woredas. Practical skills trainings were delivered
to thousands of regional, zonal, and woreda level
experts which were then cascaded down to DAs and
farmers. Row planting of wheat and the use of blended
fertilizers have shown considerable increase over the
Areas with Challenges
Two of the six deliverables (33%) in this program area
are considered “Slightly Delayed.”
Although Deliverable 53 (Barley Value Chain
Strategy) is slightly delayed, an advanced draft
document was prepared with extensive stakeholder
engagement. The draft is currently under consideration
by the MoA and is expected to be launched along with
the finalization of GTP II.
years. Special educational programs have also been
disseminated to hundreds of thousands of wheat
farmers through the IVR/SMS system.
In Deliverable 55 (Expand Domestic Sourcing of
Durum & Bread Wheat), effective integration of public
and private institutions involved in wheat marketing has
been achieved through multi-stakeholder platforms,
which led to domestic aggregation of more than
75,000 MT of wheat by EGTE in the 2014/15 season (a
seven-fold increase compared to the previous year).
In Deliverable 57 (Expand Domestic Sourcing of
Malt Barley), effective linkages between farmers,
malters and breweries through strong multistakeholder
platforms, brought significant improvement
in malt barley production and supply. In particular,
Diageo and Heineken have engaged more than 9,600
farmers through contract farming on 4,800 hectares,
with more than 10,000 MT of high quality malt barley
expected in the 2015/16 season.
In Deliverable 56 (Rust Management System), a
draft early warning and disease management system
has been developed through extensive stakeholder
engagement, including the MoA, EIAR and CIMMYT.
However, the strategy has yet to be launched and
implemented at scale.
Deliverable status and key achievements in primary thematic areas
Thematic
Deliverable Status Key Achievements
Area
Policies/
Strategies/
Regulations
Direct
Engagement
with SHFs
D52: Develop and release
National Wheat Value Chain
Strategy
D53: Develop and release
Barley Value Chain Strategy
D54: Initiate implementation
of integrated set of wheat
interventions in key
geographies
D55: Integration of partners
to expand domestic sourcing
of durum and bread wheat
D56: Design and implement
comprehensive longer term
rust management system in
wheat target woredas
D57: Improve domestic
malt barley production and
integration of partners to
expand domestic sourcing of
malt barley
Progress to Date:
• National Wheat Value Chain Strategy developed and validated by
all key stakeholders; awaiting release
Progress to Date:
• Draft Barley Strategy developed and under review by stakeholders
Completed Results:
718,419 SHFs trained in new technologies
717,769 SHFs using new technologies
482,314 ha of land covered by new technologies
• Integrated package introduced in 64 target woredas addressing
smallholder climate-smart productivity and improved market
linkages
Completed Results:
134,400 SHFs using new technologies
• Engagement with smallholder farmers and 56 cooperatives
through market day promotions
Progress to Date:
• Early warning and management system design developed and
under review by stakeholders
Completed Results:
9,613 SHFs trained and using new technologies
4,807 ha of land covered by new technologies
• Farmers reached and trained on agronomy practices, prefinancing,
input provision and quality standards