How Africa RISING project in Ethiopia is scaling its validating innovations/technologies

Kindu Mekonnen visiting a sweet lupin seed multiplication site (credit: ILRI\Mohammed Ebrahim)

The first phase (2012-2016), the Africa RISING program focused more on innovations/technologies validation through action research approaches. In its second phase (Oct 2017–2021) the program is mainly focusing on backstopping research to facilitate development partnership and scaling initiatives. The Ethiopian highlands project has started implementing interlinked interventions in the first year of the second phase. Some of the ongoing activities include:

• Identification of validated innovations/technologies for scaling
• Packing information of validated innovations/technologies as evidence briefs/ fact sheets
  • Feeding trough and storage shed technologies
  • Oat-vetch mixture forage
  • Sweet lupine as a feed and food crop
  • Tree lucerne, providing agricultural products and ecosystem services
  • Identification of farmer preferences as a tool to intensify cereal and legume production in the Ethiopian highlands
  • Creating climate-smart multifunctional landscapes through integrated soil, land and water management at different scales
• Establishing contact with potential development scaling partners and share results and requirements of the innovations/technologies
• Assigned contact persons at woreda/ district level to facilitate communication, supervision, data collection and evaluation
• Provision of training for experts, development agents and farmers on the innovations/technologies
  • Photo report of the Training of Trainers on Scaling of Africa RISING Project validated technologies/innovations in the Ethiopian Highlands, Mekele, Tigray, 19-21 April 2017
  • Photo report of the Training of Trainers on Scaling of Africa RISING Project validated technologies/innovations in the Ethiopian Highlands, Bale Robe, Oromia, 2-4 May 2017
  • Photo report of the Training of Trainers on Scaling of Africa RISING Project validated technologies/innovations in the Ethiopian Highlands, Hossana, SNNPR, 4-6 April 2017
  • Photo report of the Training of Trainers on Scaling of Africa RISING Project Validated Technologies/Innovations in the Ethiopian Highlands, Debre Birhan, 16-18 May 2017
• Established R4D field activities on emerging issues in relation to feed and forage, and new crop varieties
• Demonstration of validated crop varieties and postharvest feed and forage management and utilization facilities
• Seed multiplication of crop varieties that are ready for scaling using farmers cluster approach, individual farmers and farmers training centers
• Preparation of field days, localized farmer to farmer visits, and expert and local authorities joint field evaluation programs

A farmer feeding oat-vetch mixtures to his sheep that he harvested from demonsration plots in Higum Birda kebele in Ofla woreda of southern Tigray (credit:ILRI\ Kindu Mekonnen).

The Ethiopian highlands project is planning to compile data/information from the research for development (R4D) work and scaling activities, sort out challenges and synthesize lessons, and develop plans for the second year of phase two to benefit more farmers at a wider scale.

Link to the field photo report : https://www.slideshare.net/africa-rising/photoreport-tigray-oct2017

Written by Kindu Mekonnen