Agricultural diversification plays central roles in improving food security generating non-farm employment and promoting economic transformation and structural changes, researches indicate.
For Ethiopia, the topic has special implications. Almost all major policy documents including economic growth and poverty reduction strategies of Ethiopia place emphasized on broad underpinnings of agricultural diversification. For instance, the Agricultural Development Led Industrialization (ADLI) embodies all aspects of diversification and so does the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP).
Nonetheless, despite the emphasis on the policy documents, agricultural diversification related issues are broadly defined and lacks specificity. In the literature, it is defined to be a practice of growing more than one crop or enterprise in any year to increase financial and biological stability.
However, for any agro-ecologically diverse country, such as Ethiopia, both drivers and outcomes of diversification ought to vary across space and over time. A couple of examples can better illustrate the point. First, what is optimal mix of crop in one agro-ecology, as well socio-economic and market conditions may be totally sub-optional in other settings particularly in the context of Ethiopia.
The other example relates to the dynamic nature of diversification. A diversification strategy that is optimal at time at a different point in time. Such shifts are natural in an environment where agricultural technology goes through rapid technological changes and structural shifts. Indeed, historical evidence suggests farmers tend specialize when agriculture becomes very small share of total economy.
In Ethiopia, smallholder farmers rarely depend on only one type of enterprise for their livelihood. Farmers in general engage in a variety of enterprises and often combine crops and livestock as a way of diversification. In subsistence farming communities, agricultural diversification refers to a system of farming where in farmers cultivate varieties of crops on a given piece of land in order to reduce vulnerability, marketing risks, income stability, and food security.
Nowadays Ethiopian government is encouraging small fruit producing farmers to provide their products to local market. In addition to encouragement the government is investing on improved seedlings of regional, zonal and woerda levels.
Upper Awash Agro Industry and Agricultural Research Centers provide support to the effort. Ministry of Agriculture conducted a field visit of integrated aquaculture, poultry and irrigated horticulture in East Shewa Zone, Oromia state just after a discussion forum held with private and public media officials.
As explained on the visit session, 75,000 hectares of land was cultivated in irrigation development and 74,501 farmers become beneficiaries in 10 weredas of East Shewa Zone. 1,312 hectares of land is cultivated for fruit production and 15 hectares of land for avocado cluster. In addition, 17,153 farmers become beneficiaries from irrigation development via support of Ada’a Wereda Agricultural Development Program in Eastern Shewa Zone since 2011. In 22 Kebeles of the Wereda, training was provided in Farmers Training Centers (FTC) focusing on market centers, introducing new technologies and support is underway in agricultural supply and irrigation development.
According to Tegegn Irena, fruit production director at Agriculture and Natural Resource Office of Oromia State, fruit cluster means not only avocado but it also includes papaya and banana. Previously, East Shewa Zone was characterized by onion and tomato.
A single farmer planted 12 hectares of papaya as a result of effort exerted encouraging farmers to produce fruits instead of being confined to solitary product, he said.
Fruit boosting activity in regions was begun since 2017. Researched hybrid seedlings such as papaya and avocado have been distributed. Encouraging outcomes are achieved as a result of effort exerted and farmers started exporting their products, he added.
Regarding vegetable development, as of Tegegn, there is a project that makes about 1.2 million farmers beneficiary at regional level and the project benefited nearly 116,000 farmers in onion, 189,000 in potato and 99,000 in tomato.
Professional support is needed in irrigation development and cluster formation; support provision package is arranged considering convenient situation to the farmers and the training package is being provided to development workers and professionals in the wereda, said Tegegn.
Site selection is carried out in advance and ecological amenity is also surveyed. Farmers are given additional products they plant at the midst of avocado trees as it takes about two years for avocado to bear fruit, he noted.
Adding, he said that Farmers in Eastern Shewa Zone are encouraged to use fertilizer because of the acidity of the soil. Of course, it is a must to farmers to use fertilizer for better production.
Tesfaye Bedada who is a farmer in Lome wereda Eastern Shewa Zone said that he has planted avocado seedlings on his land and the plants are bearing fruit. He harvested three quintals of avocado fruit from one tree at the beginning as a result of convenient climate and as the production ascends, it can reach up to five quintals.
He has planted 1.2 hectares of avocado trees for the moment and if the market situation is convenient he hopes to earn up to one million Birr, he added.
Alemayehu Kebede, administrator of Ada’a wereda on his part said that basically the wereda is characterized by Teff productions in which farmers use rain water and irrigation for their products. Currently, 22 kebeles become beneficiaries of agricultural development project.
According to Ketema Negash, office head of the wereda’s agriculture, farmers started using irrigation since the designing of the project in 2011 and 209 hectares of land was cultivated at that time. Adding, he said that at the moment 1,000 farmers of the wereda are being benefitted by irrigating 511 hectares of land.
The Ethiopian Herald April 30/2019
BY BACHA ZEWDIE
