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A systems and partnership approach to agricultural research for development: Lessons from Ethiopia

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/4586/
http://dx.doi.org/10.5367/oa.2011.0048
 
Title A systems and partnership approach to agricultural research for development: Lessons from Ethiopia
 
Creator Abate, T
Shiferaw, B
Gebeyehu, S
Amsalu, B
Negash, K
Assefa, K
Eshete, M
Aliye, S
Hagmann, J
 
Subject Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics
 
Description In spite of the availability of several improved agricultural technologies
generated by the research system in Ethiopia over the last four decades, adoption of
these innovations by smallholder farmers has been very low. This has led to
stagnation of agricultural productivity and low crop yields, exposing the country to
recurrent food shortfalls and national food insecurity. The old approach to
agricultural research emphasized developing new technologies mainly through onstation
research that were then supposed to reach farmers through the public-sector
extension system. The Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) has in
recent years introduced a shift in agricultural research for development, which is
based on the innovation systems approach that involved cultivating partnerships
with several actors along the value chain, especially farmers, farmers’ cooperatives
and input suppliers. This paper presents the methodology used to facilitate
agricultural innovations and the diffusion of new technologies and illustrates the
outcomes of this initiative with regard to technology adoption, productivity growth
and the market orientation of production. The authors use examples from
experiences in scaling up three grain legumes. Compared to the three-year baseline
average (2003–05), crop output increased nationally by 89%, 85% and 97% in
2008 for common bean, chickpea and lentil respectively. Nationally, 53–59% of the
output growth is attributable to yield growth due to technological change, while the
balance is due to area expansion. These results affirm that the new approach has led
to accelerated adoption of new and high-yielding or low-risk varieties.
 
Publisher IP Publishing
 
Date 2011
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Rights —
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/4586/1/OutlookonAgriculture_20111011.pdf
Abate, T and Shiferaw, B and Gebeyehu, S and Amsalu, B and Negash, K and Assefa, K and Eshete, M and Aliye, S and Hagmann, J (2011) A systems and partnership approach to agricultural research for development: Lessons from Ethiopia. Outlook on Agriculture, 40 (3). pp. 213-220. ISSN 0030-7270