Page 7 - final REDFS Annual Newsletter
P. 7
N ewslett er
Newsletter
Plots (EMTP), which grew to slightly more (Haramaya, Hawassa, Arba Minch, Jimma,
than 3000 by 1995 and resulted in maize Wollo, Bahir Dar, Mekelle, Samara, and Jig-
yield increases of 1.5 to 4 tons per hectare jiga) through its Sasakawa Africa Fund for
on average in the early interventions. This Extension Education (SAFE) mid-career
sparked the Government’s interest, leading program to upgrade agricultural extension
to the launching of the National Agricultur- staff to a BSc degree level. SAA has been
al Extension Intervention Program (NAEIP) and continues to be funded by the Nippon
in 1995 by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) Foundation. Other donors include BMGF,
in collaboration with the SAA. By 2001, this JICA, WFP, GAC through CIMMYT, ATA, DG,
aggressive national initiative had reached and AGRA, for which SAA is very grateful.
3.6 million households, accounting for a
1. SAA’s key approaches and major ac-
1. SAA ’ s k ey appr o ac hes and major ac -
sizable portion of Ethiopia’s small-scale
complishments
comp lishments
farmers. The program to increase crop pro-
ductivity was so successful that the mar- SAA takes an agricultural value chain/
ket was flooded with maize grains in 1998, agri-food system approach, employing
driving down agricultural prices. well-defined steps and a variety of ex-
tension models and tools to address the
Cognizant of this situation, SAA gradual-
various nodes of the agricultural value
ly expanded its intervention beyond crop
chains. Furthermore, it follows a com-
production enhancement to include post-
munity- and geographic area-focused
harvest handling, agro-processing, market-
approach in what are known as value
ing, etc. chain centers (VCCs), where the various
SAA has been operating in Ethiopia under a models and activities are integrated and
five-year renewable Memorandum of Un- applied along the value chain. Its inter-
derstanding (MoU) with the MoA, and it has vention begins with participatory site
been recently registered with the Agency selection, followed by a need assess-
ment and validation of findings in an-
for Civil Society Organizations. Currently,
nual stakeholders’ review and planning
SAA works in close partnership with agri-
workshop, technology sourcing from
cultural extension services at all levels in
knowledge institutions, and the design
Oromia, Amhara, SNNP, and Tigray regions
and implementation of interventions.
in 25 woredas and 170 kebeles, reaching
The various activities and achievements
thousands of smallholder farmers and oth-
in each thematic area are summarized
er beneficiaries each year. Furthermore,
below.
SAA collaborates with nine universities
T oget her w e can mak e a diff er ence!
T oget her w e can mak e a diff er ence!
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