RESEARCHING BARLEY: Dr. Salvatore Ceccarelli of ICARDA and Dr. Fetien Abay (in the middle), surrounded by two female farmers participating in the project. Åsmund Bjørnstad (left) and Yemane Tsehaye (right). PHOTO: MEKELLE UNIVERSITY
“This project is a blessing from God. Never before in my life have I experienced that university people had any interest in how a poor man like me lives, nor in improving my life,” says Gebregiorgis, a 68-year old farmer from the Habes village in the Tigray-region of Northern-Ethiopia.
His crop, and that of other farmers, has increased after a research project was initiated with the aim to improve the barley in northern Ethiopia.
On the farmers’ terms
In her thesis from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) in 2007, Dr. Fetien Abay addressed why Tigray farmers never grow the recommended improved varieties of barley – the third most important crop in this very poor region.
The key was to test the barley on the actual farms and not in testing facilities where conditions were much better. About 250 farmers in the region participated in the project. Results showed that for varieties to be adopted, they must be selected under real farm conditions.
Dr. Fetien Abay also showed that the highest yielding variety was a type called Himblil, selected by 87 year old mountain farmer Kahsay Negash. His variety spread quickly once it became known by participating farmers.
PHOTO: MEKELLE UNIVERSITY
Finding own solutions
The work has been continued in a joint project with UMB and Mekelle University (MU), where Abay is employed today. The project is called «Seed Safety through Diversity», and is founded by The Norwegian Programme for Development, Research and Higher Education (NUFU).
IN THE FIELD: Dr. Fetien Abay (no. three from the left) and Professor at UMB Åsmund Bjørnstad (far left). PHOTO: MEKELLE UNIVERSITY
In October the two universities, with funding from NUFU, organised a workshop in Mekelle, the capital of Tigray. The workshop involved researchers, NGOs and farmers and was covered by Ethiopian national television.
"I have experienced foreign projects imposing solutions from outside, but this project enables us to find our own solutions from inside," said Mulugeta, the young chairman of the village Hames.
MU, UMB and NUFU staff, six Tigray farmers and the leading barley researchers from other parts of Ethiopia were included amongst the some 30 participants. The special guest was the former head of barley breeding at International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), Dr. Salvatore Ceccarelli. He is known for his pioneering work involving farmers in barley breeding in Syria, Jordan and other countries.
Can be used in other regions
One major outcome of the meeting was that barley researchers from other parts of Ethiopia recognized the results in Tigray and were prepared to complement their work by similar methods.
Second, the NUFU project demonstrated new and promising types of barley developed through crosses between Himblil and the variety called Saesa, which is common in Tigray. The adaptive traits in this cross will be studied further by molecular mapping techniques.
Third, Dr. Ceccarelli said ICARDA can make a wider array of crosses intended for field testing in Ethiopia, as well as share statistical designs that improve experimentation in farmers’ fields. This collaboration may start already in 2010, due to a recent grant from Italy dedicated to participatory research in Ethiopia. This comes in addition to a Dutch grant promoting local seed businesses and an EU-project through ICARDA.