USE OF IMPROVED SEEDS
The Food System Resilience Program (FSRP) has adopted an innovative, model-based strategy to address immediate community needs while providing scalable, cost-effective solutions. One such strategic shift aimed at enhancing household resilience, improving productivity, and diversifying income sources is the 30-40-30 fruit seedling model. This is a phased approach to promote agricultural diversification and long-term income. Households are trained to plant 30 fruit seedlings in the first phase, add 40 more in the second phase, and plant an additional 30 seedlings in the third phase—totaling at least 100 fruit trees per household by the end of three years.
Promises of better food security
Abeshge woreda, Gurage zone, Central Ethiopia region
Gebru is a hardworking farmer from Abuko Kebele. He lives with his wife and their four children. He cultivates maize, teff, soybean, and chickpea on his 10 hectares of land. He was provided by the Agricultural Office/AGP II with improved seeds of various vegetables and seedling of fruits. He transformed a neglected, rocky riverside plot into a thriving agroforestry system. Gebru invested considerable time, effort, and resources to rehabilitate this difficult plot. Today, the land flourishes with fruits and vegetables trees: papaya, banana, lemon, orange, avocado, green chili, hot pepper, sugarcane, coffee, and onion.
His story demonstrates how innovation, when paired with hard work and institutional support, can yield remarkable transformations.
He provides jobs on his farm for 11 permanent staff (3 women) and 17 seasonal workers.
What was once worthless land now feeds my family and employs my neighbors! Farmer Gebru
His children now attend private school in Welkite town. The family recently moved into their new house he built in town.
Dubela is also another farmer who tends a farm of improved papaya trees. Under the shade of these trees, he grows coffee plants. Around the compound, banana trees flourish. The family sell their papayas at the local market.
I was always a maize farmer. But these improved papaya varieties changed everything. They grow shorter—making harvest easier—and bear fruit in just nine months. Plus, they earn much more than maize ever did.
His wife, Amarch, works alongside him and proudly says how the improved yield enhanced their household economy. Within a short period of time, they get big juicy fruits.
Now we cover many expenses. Most importantly, we save on two big costs—generator fuel and coffee! We love our daily coffee, and it’s wonderful to harvest it fresh from our farm instead of buying expensive market beans.
IMPROVING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY
Declining soil fertility, especially due to soil acidity, severely affects agricultural productivity across the country and results in high unemployment rates, particularly among youth.
In response, innovative and community-led business ideas have been introduced to enhance soil restoration efforts. One such approach is vermicomposting which promotes the conversion of organic waste into nutrient rich compost at the household level. Model farmers are encouraged to adopt this practice and worms are made available from research centers. FSRP supports the farmers with training and inputs to ensure successful implementation.
Soil restoration transforming farming and empowering youth
Wondogenet kebele, Sidama regionFarmers access worms from research centers, FSRP supportes them with training and inputs, and additional soil management practices such as, liming acidic soils, using animal manure, and planting acid-tolerant crops are also practiced.
These practical demonstrations are widely adopted by farmers in different regions. Askale, a farmer from Wondogenet Kebele in the Sidama Region, is one of the farmers who’s life has changed through this initiative.
Wondogenet kebele, Sidama region
Vermicomposting is simple yet very impactful. We collect all household organic waste and feed it to the worms which produce valuable compost. It has improved my farm’s productivity and now I also sell the worms to local farmers and research centers at ETB 450 for a kilogram of worms. The compost itself boosts my farm’s productivity — crops grow better and produce higher-quality yields than with ordinary compost.
Another farmer, Abebe, confirmed Askale’s experience,
I use vermicompost for vegetables, coffee, cereals, and false bananas. The results are remarkable — both the productivity and quality are much better than with chemical fertilizers. Plus, vermiculture has become an additional incomesource, as there’s a high demand for worms.
IRRIGATION
The Food System Resilience Program (FSRP) promotes climate smart agriculture to help farmers shift from rain-fed dependence to reliable year-round production. Thus, the program develops, rehabilitates, expands, improves, and upgrades smallholder irrigation. It ensures irrigation systems that are technically feasible, economically viable, socially acceptable, and environmentally friendly.
Toga kebele, Arbegona woreda, Sidama region
In the highlands of Chanco hope is blooming for the villagers. An irrigation project has blossomed into a life-changing solution.
The Arbegona irrigation development is not just a typical irrigation system; it is an innovative micro-irrigation solution designed to significantly boost agricultural productivity.
The system draws water from a natural spring uphill, piped to a central collection storage tank, downstream. This reservoir (night storage) has a capacity of 25,000 liters and supplies water to all the farms and households in the surrounding area. The pipe extends up to 1.5 kilometers with 55 off-take points. This irrigates up to 15 hectares of land and benefits 40 farm households including 5 women-led households.
A convenient tap is also installed near the water reservoir which allows the villagers to access potable water. They no longer have to walk long distances to collect water.
A total of 110 households benefit from this multipurpose system by accessing irrigation and potable water. This solution boosts agricultural productivity while addressing household water needs.
Aster is one of the happy members of this community. The tap is right outside her door, so she collects drinking water and washes clothes on her doorsteps.
Now, women and girls no longer have to trek uphill to the spring to fetch water and carry the heavy load on their backs. The tap is right at our doorstep! The water comes to us – for our crops and our homes.
One drop at a time!
One of the key advantages of this innovative approach is its ability to minimize common irrigation challenges such as water loss, water scarcity, conflicts, and high maintenance costs. Each beneficiary’s plot is connected to an off-take point, while there are also additional points designed for providing drinking water.