PROGRESS REPORT

86 PROGRESS REPORT PROGRAM LEVEL PROGRESS REPORT 87
A number of Transformation Agenda deliverables have
shown strong results in the Oromia Region, including the
capacitation of Farmers’ Cooperative Unions (FCUs) to
build storage facilities, the Direct Seed Marketing (DSM)
modality, and the extensive demonstrations of extension
packages to improve production and productivity of
prioritized crops. Beyond these interventions, the three
deliverables (Fertilizer Blending, TIRR package and HHI
Value Chain) and the ACC initiative, detailed below, have
made particular progress toward transforming agriculture
in the Oromia Region.
Oromia Region
Deliverable #11: Fertilizer Blending
Low productivity in Ethiopia’s agriculture sector
is caused in part by a range of factors related
to soil fertility. While a number of interventions
have been carried out in the past to reverse the
impacts of such constraints, acquiring updated
and accurate soil-related information remained
a challenge for some time. Recently however,
experts from Oromia have been working with
the MoA and ATA to undertake a regional and
national soil fertility mapping project to collect the
most accurate and latest soil information, with
the ultimate goal of building a comprehensive soil
database.
The findings of this initiative have challenged
the long standing, blanket recommendation to
use DAP and urea in equal amounts across all of
Ethiopia’s soils. In fact, the fertility status of these
soils has now been shown to vary hugely across
different agro-ecologies, necessitating the use of
tailored rather than uniform fertilizers. To increase
farmers’ uptake of this vital input, the capacity
of local sources is being enhanced through the
construction of domestic fertilizer blending plants.
Two of the five blending plants that have been
established at FCUs in Ethiopia have been in
Oromia: Becho Wolisso and Gibe Dedessa. Once
the two Oromia plants are running at full capacity,
they are expected to produce a combined total
of 100,000 MT of fertilizer. The fertilizer blending
initiative is being implemented through a cost
sharing system, whereby the FCUs finance
the slabs for the plants’ foundations, and the
machinery, equipment and facility set-up is
funded by the ATA and AGP.
Deliverable # 50: TIRR Package
One of the earliest successes registered by the
Transformation Agenda was achieved through
the TIRR productivity enhancing package for
tef, developed by the ATA, MoA and EIAR,
in collaboration with experts from Oromia.
An acronym for Tef, Improved seed, Reduced
rate, Row planting, the TIRR package has
revolutionized how tef is cultivated in Ethiopia.
Traditionally, tef is planted through broadcasting
(or scattering) but this has been found to cause
certain problems. At a rate of 30-50kg of seed per
hectare, broadcasting is very expensive. Instead,
tef can be planted with a reduced seed rate
of 3-5 kg/ha and planted in rows for maximum
productivity.
Row planting helps reduce plant density and
eases weeding, spraying and fertilizer application,
making for fewer but stronger plants, producing
more stems and grain. It can also help prevent
plants from falling over, a common problem with
tef. Another huge advantage for farmers is the
reduced cost of seed due to the smaller volume
required.
Since the launch of the initiative in 2011, 5.9
million farmers have been trained on the TIRR
package nationally and 1.6 million are currently
implementing the package on 732,000 hectares.
In Oromia alone, 2.4 million farmers have been
trained, with 748,000 of them implementing the
package over 185,000 hectares.
Deliverable #43: Household Irrigation
Value Chain
In 2013, the newly formed National Household
Irrigation Working Group piloted a groundbreaking
model to provide irrigation support services
across the value chain in 21 woredas of the four
largest agricultural producing regions of Ethiopia.
The approach, which includes end-to-end value
chain support, focuses on high-value crops,
including onions, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes,
head cabbage, garlic and green pepper.
In Oromia, this effort is led by the Oromia
Irrigation Development Authority, through
which 935 woreda experts were trained on an
assessment tool for high-value crops, using
localized cropping calendars, irrigation water
management, and irrigation agronomy. This
training was then cascaded to 27,469 farmers.
To support farmers using household irrigation
for high-value crops, training was also provided
to nine Farmer Training Centers in Oromia.
Additional support was provided through the
8028 agricultural hotline with 295,484 total calls
received from 74,469 Oromia callers on irrigationrelated
topics, as of July 2015. In addition, 35
experts from Oromia were trained in GENS
(Groundwater Navigation System). A groundwater
atlas is also being prepared for 24 woredas in
the region. Additionally, 14 private manual pump
manufacturers were trained in Oromia, with 1,170
manual pumps manufactured in the region to
date.
At present, 32,037 hectares of land are cultivated
under household irrigation in nine pilot woredas
in Oromia. Farmers have also been linked with
Coffee
Maize
Honey
Chicken
Livestock
Prioritized Commodities by ACC Cluster:
Primary Commodity
Secondary Commodities
reliable seed producers and other input suppliers
(such as ETFRUIT) for access to a total of 461
quintals of vegetable seeds. Sixty coops were
also linked with different buyers (ETFRUIT,
consumer associations, traders and institutional
buyers), an arrangement through which pilot
woredas from Oromia sourced 12,857 MT of
vegetables for various buyers in 2015.
Deliverable #84: Agricultural
Commercialization Clusters
Agricultural Commercialization Clusters
Malt Barley
Wheat
Haricot Bean
Dairy
Maize
Sesame
Soyabean
Chicken
In Oromia, eight geographic clusters were
identified for prioritization and inclusion in the
ACC initiative. These clusters prioritize eight
commodities (maize, coffee, tef, malt barley,
wheat, dairy, livestock and horticulture crops)
but also include an additional 10 commodities as
secondary targets.
In 2015, Oromia has prioritized five clusters for
piloting and learning, out of which maximum
focus is being given to two clusters (wheat
and malt barley) for market linkages and agroprocessing.
Dairy
Faba Bean
Tef
Chickpea
Dairy
Horticulture
Haricot bean
Durum Wheat
Spices