Gender Mainstreaming in Ethiopian Agricultural Research System: Approaches, Progresses and Prospects

This paper presents efforts, approaches and progresses of gender mainstreaming in Ethiopian Agricultural Research System from 2005 to 2015. The study used information sources, such as institutional assessment, annual performance and research progress reports, and field-level case studies. Efforts of gender mainstreaming in Ethiopian agricultural research system have been underway since mid-1990s to encourage gender-disaggregated data collection and analysis. However, formal gender mainstreaming efforts were commenced in 1999 while institutionalizing gender issues in the research system. Since 1999, various gender mainstreaming approaches, such as, establishment of a gender mainstreaming unit at the headquarters and gender focal units at research centers, sorting out of gender mainstreaming priorities, organizational assessment, development and implementation of a national gender mainstreaming strategy and action plan, implementation of capacity building for gender analysis, establishment of international research links, and enforcement of women affirmative actions at workplace, had been applied. Due to the efforts made and approaches used so far, researchers’ awareness and understanding towards the relevance of gender issue in the research system had improved. Hence, the developments of technologies that address different gender categories had been increasingly availability to the rural women. The generation of these technologies consecutively contributed for the improvement of the benefit of women from research outputs from 5% in 2005 to 31% in 2015. Despite the progresses, the integration of gender in the research stages is limited in addressing differentiated needs of gender categories due to inadequate availability of gender disaggregated data by the research commodity. Hence, as part of the gender mainstreaming efforts, gender disaggregated information should be generated and take while research planning and implementation is undertaken. Keywords: Gender mainstreaming approaches, agricultural researc

Analysis of Wheat Yield Gap and Variability in Ethiopia

Wheat is among important cereal crops to ensuring food and nutrition security in developing countries like Ethiopia. The demand for wheat is projected as significantly increases mainly due to a rapidly population growth in the countries. Globally, wheat yield must grow at least by 1.6%. Whereas, in Ethiopia, the yield must grow from the current level 4.6 million tons to 10 million tons. This paper hence, presents the analysis of wheat yield and the underlying causes of its variability among farmers across major wheat growing areas of the country. Data was used from the farm-household survey conducted in 2014/15 by EIAR in collaboration with CIMMYT. Supplementary secondary data on wheat area, production and consumption, and available wheat varieties were used from CSA and MoARD. Data were analyzed using various techniques (including descriptive, inferential statistics and regression analysis).  One way ANOVA was used to analyze the yield variability; whereas Weighted Least Square method was applied to identify the underlying causes for the variability of wheat yield among farmers. The result indicates that the average wheat production level per hectare (2.7 tons/ha) has been on the increase with inter annual variability, but the yield level is very low as compared to that of the research station (6-7 tons/ha) and the estimated average potential (5 tons/ha) in highland areas of the country. The yield gap analysis shows that 61%, 55% and 46% of wheat yield gap existed when the national average yield was compared with that of the actual yield at research station, farmers’ plot and potential yield at highland part of the country, respectively. The empirical analysis found there is statistically significant level of yield variability among wheat growers. The findings of the study revealed that use of improved technologies and production inputs, household assets, support services, and agro-ecologies were the primary factors that cause wheat yield variation in Ethiopia. It is recommended that site-specific wheat production management, technology requirement map, proper institutional support services and sustainable natural resource management following inter and intra-farm/plot variability. Keywords: Wheat, yield gap, yield variability, wheat growing areas, Ethiopia DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/10-9-05 Publication date:May 31st 2020

Familiarization and application of ICTs in agricultural advisory services to farmers: the case of two rural districts of Ethiopia

This study presents extension workers’ familiarization and application of reachable Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to provide agricultural advisory services. For the purpose of the study, 40 Agricultural Extension workers at district and rural villages were purposively selected from two districts and data collected using paper based questionnaire. The data was then analyzed using descriptive statistical tools and chi-square statistic. The study identified that the majority of (87.5%) of the respondents interviewed had moderate and low familiarization levels of available modern ICTs. The study also found that 70% of the extension workers had not using available ICTs while giving advisory services to the farmers. This might be on account of many factors such as limited access to ICT tools (computers, internet service, agricultural information CDs, and other facilities,) poor quality of internet services, limited awareness on some information and reference materials, inadequate skill to apply ICTs, weak linkage with research centers and other information sources, etc. Hence, the study concluded with the need to improve the linkage by creating available information sources and resources at the district agricultural office so that it is possible to advance ICTs access, availability, and application. Moreover, on job short-term capacity building trainings on selected ICTs tools should repeatedly be arranged to agricultural extension workers in order to enhance the application of available ICTs in agricultural advisory services