A Farmer-based fruit seedling supply system in Dale Pilot Learning Woreda (PLW): experiences from IPMS

Dale Woreda is well known for its avocado (Persia americana) and to a lesser extent mango (Mangifera indica) production. These fruit trees are planted along with coffee (Coffee arabica), enset (Enset ventricosum) and other crops. They are important sources of income and food, playing a considerable role in the livelihood of thousands of smallholder farmers of Dale. However, the varieties found in the area have large canopies that reduce land availability for other crops. They are also tall (10-15 m) thus harvesting becomes a challenge, particularly for women. Market prices for these varieties are low and during collection, there is considerable fruit loss when they fall, causing cracks and bruises and hence their rejection. The trees also take 7- 10 years to bear fruit and farmers mention that the land can be used more productively and therefore want to replace fruit trees with other more profitable crops. The diagnostic survey carried out by Improving Productivity and Marketing Success (IPMS) of Ethiopian farmers’ project identified some of the above production constraints as the major area of intervention. Further study was conducted by the International Centre for Research on Agro Forestry (ICRAF) which confirmed the above problems and suggested introduction of improved variety through grafting as one of the best solution to improve the quality of seed, reduce size and height as well as improve productivity and marketability of these varieties. Taking the experience of Dale for coffee seedling production where farmer’s nurseries have taken over 95% of seedling production, the Dale partners decided to use farmers’ nurseries as the base to start production of grafted seedlings. Using participatory extension methods with the help of various partners, the number of private nursery operators increased from the initial six (3 females) to 20 (7 female) in 2009. The number of seedlings produced has now reached 12,000 annually and this can be easily expanded since scions can now be obtained from mother trees established earlier in each of the nursery sites. Currently, seedlings are sold at around Birr 15/seedling to neighboring farmers, some on credit provided by the nursery operators. Linkages with the Productive Safety Net program are made to facilitate the scaling out of the sale of seedlings to emerging commercial farmers. Nursery operators earned between Birr 4,000–7,000 per year from these operations. Further skills development can still be made to improve survival rates of grafted seedlings. Attention will also need to be paid to the marketing of these improved varieties as well as the development of a responsive support system providing fresh knowledge, building capacity and new technologies

Innovative haricot beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) seed system for smallholder farmers in Dale District, Southern Ethiopia: Experiences from IPMS

The demand for haricot bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), both in domestic and export markets, has been increasing in the past decade. This development can be exploited by smallholders to increase their income through increased market participation. To assist in this development, the Improving Productivity and Market Success (IPMS) of Ethiopian Farmers Project introduced a participatory market oriented value chain development approach with the key actors: farmers groups, the Woreda OoARD, farmers’ cooperative, Melkassa and Hawassa Agricultural Research Centres (ARC), and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Farmers traditionally used red colored varieties (Red Wolayita), mainly for home consumption. Shortage of high quality seed in the required quantities has inhibited many farmers from growing haricot beans. The problem is furthermore aggravated by the fact that farmers in the southern region do not keep or preserve seed stock until the next season due to the vulnerability of haricot bean seed to storage pests. The project partners introduced/tested various interventions including variety testing, seed multiplication and market linkages using different approaches and tools. Among the five varieties tested, Nasir, Dimtu and Ibado (logomame) were identified as suitable for a more commercial oriented haricot bean production system. However, DRK and Cranscope were found to be less suitable. In 2008, 51 farmers in 7 PAs, organized in clusters, started producing seeds of improved varieties and produced about 83 qt of seeds. In 2009 the number of farmers and PAs had grown respectively to 103 and 11. However, due to poor rainfall no seeds were harvested in the same year. In 2008, the Weynenata cooperative was selected to purchase seeds from seed producers with credit provided from the IPMS innovative credit fund. About 4.3 tones of semi-certified seed were processed/stored and packed in 6,010 labeled packets. Farmers appreciated the labeling, but preferred larger sized packs. An obvious challenge is the variability of rainfall, which affected the viability of the commercialization of haricot bean grain and seed production. Attention also needs to be paid to strengthening linkages between partners; and cooperatives in its marketing role. Linkages between the cooperative and private sales outlets should be considered for the sale of packed seeds