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Ethiopian government adopts quality protein maize scale-out plan

Written by on August 8, 2014. Posted in Features.

The Ethiopian government has embarked on a new initiative to improve nutritional security in the country through the widespread demonstration and use of quality protein maize (QPM), a type of maize that contains enhanced levels of protein. The new government initiative is a high-level endorsement of CIMMYT’s five-year Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia (NuME) project.

One of NuME’s goals is to promote the delivery and use of QPM seeds. Photo: NuME staff

The principal goal of NuME is to improve the food and nutritional security of Ethiopians through the widespread application and use of QPM and improved agronomic practices that increase productivity. NuME project leader Adefris Teklewold said, “The new government initiative will play a major role in making the QPM technology and inputs available to a larger number of maize farmers living beyond NuME target woredas (districts).”

The key aspects of NuME are in the government QPM scale-out plan, “Strengthening Quality Protein Maize Promotion and Seed Supply Systems in Ethiopia.” The plan sets a target to increase the area producing QPM in Ethiopia to 200,000 hectares in 2015-2017, roughly 10 percent of the total land currently devoted to maize production in the country.

After critical review and enrichment by key stakeholders, the initiative was approved by Ato Wondirad Mandfero, State Minister of Agriculture, as “an initiative that links agriculture and nutrition.” Mandfero issued directives for the initiative’s immediate implementation in high-potential maize growing areas in the country, as well as the inclusion of QPM technology dissemination in the regular government extension program starting this year. The Ethiopian government’s agricultural extension program focuses primarily on assisting small-scale farmers to improve their productivity by disseminating research-generated information and technologies.

Many Ethiopian families depend on maize as their staple food source, but ordinary maize lacks essential amino acids and a maize-based diet can leave children at risk for protein deficiency. Photo: NuME staff

An alliance of key government institutions engaged in the agriculture sector, including the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency, the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), other key development partners and CIMMYT support the scale-out plan and will work together to help execute a variety of initiatives to fulfill the food and nutritional security of Ethiopians.

The government initiative will create synergies with NuME and expand QPM through more field demonstrations and field days. NuME is achieving success with these methods, but the government expansion will make the QPM technology and inputs available to a larger number of maize farmers living beyond NuME project woredas. The government initiative will also create opportunities for more collaborators to participate in the effort and thus for more experience-sharing and impact on the ground. According to Teklewold, “The ultimate winner will be small-scale Ethiopian farmers who will have access to the technology through a wide variety of outlets and extension services.”

A sizable number of Ethiopian families depend on maize as their staple food source. However, a maize-based diet is generally deficient in the essential amino acids lysine and tryptophan. This can leave families — and particularly children — at risk for protein deficiency, especially in circumstances where intake of alternative protein sources is limited.

NuME promotes QPM, maize varieties developed by CIMMYT scientists through conventional breeding that contains enhanced levels of protein compared to common maize varieties. Two CIMMYT scientists (Dr. Evangelina Villegas and Dr. Surinder Vasal) who worked to develop QPM in the 1980s and 1990s were awarded the World Food Prize in 2000 for their work. QPM helps to fill the lysine intake gap in circumstances where maize is the dominant source of calories and protein and intake of alternative protein sources is limited. This analysis is strongly supported by various studies conducted in West Africa, Latin America and Asia, which concluded that children in vulnerable environments could benefit nutritionally from QPM consumption¹.

Key objectives outlined in the scale-out proposal include:

Identifying options to enhance seed businesses and impact pathways by identifying constraints and opportunities in the seed value chain.
Enhancing the capacity of regulatory agencies and developing systems to track improved seed use and impact.
Demonstrating and creating awareness of seed companies and farmers regarding the performance and nutritional superiority of QPM varieties.
Providing sufficient quantities of quality of QPM varieties to farmers in a sustainable manner.
Supporting seed companies and community-based organizations to improve their capacity in seed production skills, post-harvest seed handling and seed business management to enable them to absorb available QPM varieties and increase quality seed.

The government initiative notes that five QPM varieties have already been officially released by Ambo, Bako and Melkassa Research Centers. Basic and adaptive research activities are being conducted concurrently by different centers of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) in collaboration with CIMMYT, to develop new improved QPM varieties adapted to different maize production environments and evolving stresses in the country.

As part of the initiative, a strategy will be developed to start QPM adoption by ensuring a sufficient QPM seed supply by: improving access to credit and coordinated production of all seed categories (breeder, pre-basic, basic and certified) along the value chain; testing and demonstrating a stockist distribution plan for more efficient seed distribution; and providing seed business management and production training to emerging seed producers.

Target areas selected under the initiative include Agricultural Growth Program (AGP) woredas, most of which are in high-potential maize growing areas. An estimated 2.4 million people, comprising some 400,000 households in AGP woredas in Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR and Tigray regions, are expected to benefit from this initiative.

The NuME project is implemented by CIMMYT and funded by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD). Among CIMMYT’s partners helping to implement NuME are EIAR, the Sasakawa Africa Association/ Sasakawa Global 2000; MoA; the Ethiopian Ministry of Health; the Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute; Farm Radio International; Harvard School of Public Health; universities; agricultural, technical, vocational and educational training centers; and numerous seed companies.

Course gives managers better understanding of seed business

Written by on June 23, 2014. Posted in News.

By Diriba Hika/CIMMYT

A training session on seed business management gave Ethiopian agriculture managers a deeper knowledge that they said would enable them to help fill the gap in the supply of quality protein maize to the nation’s farmers.

The training was organized by CIMMYT’s Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia (NuME) project funded by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development and conducted by CIMMYT senior scientists working in Africa as well as experts from the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, Integrated Seed System Development-Ethiopia and the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa-Ethiopia. The trainees were managers drawn from national agricultural research systems, the Ministry of Agriculture, farmers’ cooperative unions and private and public seed companies. Of the 16 trainees, three were women.

Dr. Asnake Fikre, crop research director of the Ethiopian Institute of Agriculture, told participants that “regardless of the significant public sector investments made to provide farmers with better seeds, the national seed system could not do what was expected of it.” He encouraged the seed company mangers to apply the training to improve efficiency in their businesses.

Asnake discussed the government’s recent efforts to address issues relating to seed quality, efficiency, diversification and sustainability, including a revised seed law that recognizes the importance of a pluralistic seed sector and encourages cooperation with the global seed industry. Also, the Ministry of Agriculture approved direct marketing of maize hybrid seed in the country this year.

As part of the training, the managers were given two helpful reference materials: a manual prepared by CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program and the book Seed Business Management in Africa, written by John MacRobert, a former CIMMYT seed systems specialist. “The training is of international standard,” one participant said. “It helped us to see where we are, what we lack and what we can do better in the future. As a manager, I found the training very helpful in decision-making in the business.”

Sixteen Ethiopian agriculture managers attended the training course on seed business management, Photo: Diriba Hika

The NuME project is working to provide quality protein maize seed to the rural poor who rely on maize as their staple food by building the capacity of seed companies and regulatory bodies. This training is a part of the human capacity development targeted by the project to successfully build the seed value chain by producing and marketing high-quality seed to maize growers.

Seed Business Management Syllabus

Topics covered at the training included:

The seed business cycle and value chain
Identifying and choosing the right maize varieties
Basics of maize breeding, variety testing and product release
Hybrid seed production characteristics
Distinguishing characteristics of inbred lines, hybrids and open pollinated varieties (OPVs)
Managing growers and contracts
Maintenance of inbred line parents and OPVs
Certification standards and inspection procedures
Seed physiology, storage and quality
Warehouse management
Developing marketing, sales and promotion strategies
Product distribution and presentation, merchandising
Dealing with customers
Overview of seed policy in Africa…

Capacity to analyze quality protein maize enhanced in Ethiopia

Written by on April 19, 2014. Posted in News.

By Adefris Teklewold/CIMMYT

The Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia (NuME) project recently donated key laboratory equipment to the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) to help analyze new quality protein maize varieties. Institutional capacity building is a cross-cutting feature of NuME, which aims to disseminate quality protein maize (QPM) varieties in Ethiopia to improve nutrition.

In addition to promoting QPM varieties already released, NuME has set targets to develop more productive QPM germplasm that are resilient to biotic and abiotic stresses and adapted to the project area and beyond. Identifying QPM varieties easily adopted by farmers is a demanding task for breeders. The long-term QPM breeding program run by CIMMYT and EIAR fosters the cheap, fast and reliable screening technique of germplasm for quality protein traits. To help with these efforts, NuME donated a near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) sample transport reflectance only (TR-3752-C) 6500 system, accessories and supporting equipment, valued at US$ 103,000 to EIAR, CIMMYT’s major partner in executing the project. The machine can be used to determine the quality of different agricultural products, including ground and coarse samples, with a wavelength range of 400 to 2,500 nanometers.

The NIRS machine is installed and ready to operate at EIAR’s laboratory in Addis Ababa. (Photo: EIAR staff)

Specifically, the machine will enable EIAR to undertake timely analysis of tryptophan, lysine and protein content for breeders, seed companies and the food and feed industry. The EIAR laboratory will serve as a national focal point to ensure that QPM seed and grain meets established definitions and standards for QPM. EIAR provides NIRS analysis on a cost recovery basis to ensure the sustainability of services for non-EIAR service users involved in QPM production, certification and trade. About 2,000 to 3,000 maize samples will be analyzed each year when the machine becomes fully operational. Experts installed the machine and led a hands-on training on 6-7 March given to 10 trainees drawn from public and private institutions and CGIAR centers. The training focused on installation and operation of NIRs and developing calibration equation.

Two researchers who are assigned by EIAR to work on the machine will be sent to Mexico for a two-week training on how to operate and develop calibration equations of tryptophan, lysine, protein and other QPM quality traits. During the presentation of the machine, Solomon Abate, EIAR director for quality control, said that CIMMYT has taken significant steps to enhance the capacity of the Ethiopian national agricultural research system to undertake QPM analysis within the country, which has largely been executed at CIMMYT headquarters in Mexico. In a letter to CIMMYT-Ethiopia, Fentahun Mengistu, director general of EIAR, wrote the NIRS machine is essential not only for use with QPM but for determining the quality of other crops and will enhance EIAR’s technology endeavors, which enable smallholder farmers to produce competitive products that can fetch better market prices. He underscored EIAR’s commitment to strengthening its partnership with CIMMYT for enhanced maize research and development in the country.

Government official says CIMMYT project could improve nutrition in Ethiopia

Written by on April 9, 2014. Posted in News.

By Seifu Mahifere/CIMMYT

A senior official with the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), which plays a leading role in influencing agricultural technology development in the country, said CIMMYT’S Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia (NuME) project could have a profound impact in reducing under-nutrition in Ethiopia.

The commendation came during NuME’s annual project performance and review (APPR) meeting on 24 March in Addis Ababa. Endale Gebre, deputy crops research director of EIAR, noted that maize production in Ethiopia has been steadily increasing in the last two decades with a four-fold increase in total production and a 2.5-fold increase in area.

Attendees at the NuME annual project performance and review meeting discussed the project’s future. Photos: Seifu Mahifere

As the importance of maize in the diets of the poor grows, more people will be put at risk of protein deficiency because maize is deficient in essential amino acids, he said. NuME is implemented by CIMMYT in Ethiopia and funded by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development. It is designed to help improve the food and nutritional security of Ethiopia’s rural population, especially women and children, through the adoption of quality protein maize (QPM) varieties and crop management practices that increase farm productivity. Lysine and tryptophan deficiency are of concern, especially in areas like the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR), where maize constitutes more than 60 percent of dietary protein and people have low access to other protein sources.

NuME is bringing QPM to rural maize producers in the Ethiopian maize belt and beyond. “As a multifaceted project with components that include the widespread promotion and adoption of QPM technologies and QPM seed production, it is strategically important that NuME address this nutritional gap,” Endale said, adding NuME could have a “profound impact” in improving nutritional status in the project area and beyond. Endale also noted that NuME performance is improving from year to year and its partners should work even harder to enable the project to influence the whole maize value chain in the country.

The APPR is a routine exercise that compares outputs and results registered by the project against annual work plan targets developed at the outset. It includes an analysis of major activities against targets proposed, major challenges faced, lessons learned and recommendations for future improvement. The forum serves as a platform to bring partner institutions together to develop work plans for the coming year in a participatory approach to be approved by the project steering committee.

NuME partner institution representatives and NuME staff reported on key project outputs like QPM field food demonstrations and field days undertaken by partners like Sasakawa Global 2000 and regional agricultural research centers. The meeting also included deliberations on breeding and agronomy research, QPM seed production, QPM media material development and radio broadcasting activities and the status of the NuME gender action plan. Thematic working groups examined QPM dissemination, utilization and nutritional impact, as well as breeding and seed production and distribution and agronomy. Detailed action plans were consolidated into thse 2014/15 NuME annual work plan, which was evaluated by the NuME project implementation committee and forwarded to the project steering committee for final approval.

Farmer evaluation of QPM varieties critical to NuME project success

Written by on March 26, 2014. Posted in News.

By Seifu Mahifere/CIMMYT

The Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia project (NuME) is working to promote quality protein maize (QPM) by making sure new varieties fit farmers’ specifications. The project conducted a training event on farmers’ and consumer participatory evaluation (FCPE) methodologies to ensure that QPM varieties developed and disseminated by NuME reflect the tastes and preferences of targeted farmers.

About 25 staff from national and regional research centers, regional bureaus of agriculture, Ethiopian seed enterprises and Sasakawa Global 2000 participated in the event during 6-8 March at the Melkassa Agricultural Research Center, southeast of Addis Ababa. The event addressed the basic principles of FCPE, methods of organization of FCPEs, as well as data entry, analysis and reporting of results.

Participants made a field trip to a NuME seed multiplication site run by the Melkassa center and observed the agronomic features of QPM varieties being grown on 4 hectares. They also tasted, smelled and observed food products made from QPM and conventional variety maize and gave their preferences. The trainees will follow this procedure when they conduct FCPEs with farmers and consumers in their localities. They need to understand farming systems of their localities, identify the criteria farmers use to evaluate varieties and understand ways of conducting on-station evaluations and evaluation during surveys.

Trainees evaluate maize varieties during a field exercise. Photo: Seifu Mahifere

The training was facilitated in part by Hugo de Groote, a CIMMYT economist based in Kenya, while Nilupa Gunaratna of the Harvard University School of Public Health covered the FCPE data analysis and reporting methodologies. Sasakawa Global 2000 and NuME staff members also made presentations on sensory evaluation for QPM food preparations as well as gender considerations in undertaking FCPEs.

Formally opening the training, Getachew Ayana, director of the Melkassa Research Center, noted that the center is “very pleased to host this important training, which helps to upgrade the skills of the participants on farmers’ evaluation methodologies of QPM varieties.” He noted that farmers’ evaluation of QPM varieties is critical to the success of NuME, which is currently developing and disseminating new QPM varieties in the major maize areas of the country.

Experience gained both from the Quality Protein Maize Development (QPMD) project (the predecessor to NuME) and other social science research indicates that failure to ensure the incorporation of farmers’ tastes and preferences for the varieties beforehand leads to farmers not adopting varieties they do not like. “It is thus absolutely critical that farmers and consumers are aware of the products we promote and that they like them from many points of view – taste, productivity and even color,” de Groote said, adding, “It is not enough that farmers and consumers like a particular variety, but we also need to make sure that they are also willing to pay for it.”

Adefris Teklewold, NuME project leader, noted the training took place at a good time for the project when major seed breeders in the country are in favor of promoting QPM. He said the training helped “to convince ourselves and farmers that QPM really helps improve the nutritional status of children and farmers in general.” Teklewold also underscored the need for the participants to disseminate the knowledge gained from the training to others through the ‘train the trainers’ methodology.

Radio broadcasts spread maize technology in Ethiopia

Written by on March 17, 2014. Posted in News.

By Seifu Mahifere/CIMMYT

The Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia project (NuME) has launched a series of participatory radio campaigns in the country’s regional states as an innovative approach to spread messages about protein and nutrition, with a special focus on quality protein maize (QPM), to Ethiopian small-scale farmers.

A farmer shows the radio in her home (Photo: courtesy of Farm Radio International presentation).

The campaign is a major part of the NuME communications strategy, which is designed to help the project improve household income as well as food and nutritional security, especially among women and children. NuME’s focus is the adoption of QPM and crop management practices that increase farm productivity.

The programs were launched in March 2013 and are broadcast in Amharic, Oromiffa and Tigrigna – three of the major languages spoken in Ethiopia. The first series focused on giving mothers information to improve their children’s health through balanced, nutritious diets, as a lead-up to the introduction of QPM varieties. Follow-up campaigns will target male and female growers of hybrid maize and cover QPM, intercropping and other agronomic practices that will benefit small-scale farmers.

Transmitted in collaboration with three regional broadcasting stations, the 30-minute programs are aired weekly at 8:00 p.m., when families are often home and eating dinner. The success of the radio campaign is bolstered by training given to a select group of journalists on various aspects of QPM. Program content is also generated by a content advisory panel that includes NuME partner representatives and agriculture researchers focused on protein, CIMMYT staff (including a gender specialist), staff members from the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research and Ministry of Agriculture, nutrition specialists from the Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute and universities, communications experts and seed enterprise representatives.

A farmer speaks about her experiences (Photo: SG 2000 staff).

Gender considerations also shape program content, and Farm Radio International (FRI), an international NGO and NuME partner, has secured female broadcasters for the NuME shows, according to Frehiwot Nadew, FRI country director in Ethiopia. Radio remains the most trusted and most utilized communication medium in rural Ethiopia, and access to radio by small-scale farmers is very high. FRI’s participatory radio campaigns help small-scale farmers learn about, evaluate and benefit from low-cost, sustainable and productive farming practices.

The methodology has already been successful in trials with 25 radio stations in 5 countries in Africa. Data from those trials demonstrate that, on average, a participatory radio campaign will result in 21 percent of all farmers trying a new technology, such as QPM maize, in the first year within the broadcast area of the radio station producing the campaign. NuME is funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development of the Government of Canada (DFATD).

Seed systems team strategizes and plans for Africa

Written by on March 10, 2014. Posted in News.

By Florence Sipalla/CIMMYT

The CIMMYT-Africa seed systems team met in Nairobi, Kenya, on 7 February to take stock of progress in 2013, identify challenges and brainstorm on turning those challenges into opportunities. Global Maize Program (GMP) Director B.M. Prasanna and members of the breeding, communications and socioeconomics teams also attended.

Farmers tell donors they want quality protein maize

Written by on January 28, 2014. Posted in News.

By Adefris Teklewold/CIMMYT

Farmers spoke of their success with new quality protein maize (QPM) varieties to senior officials from the Canadian embassy in Ethiopia during recent visits to CIMMYT-Ethiopia sites. The visits focused on the status of the Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia project (NuME), which is funded by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFTAD). NuME aims to reduce malnutrition and promote food security in Ethiopia through the adoption of QPM, whose grain contains almost twice the lysine and tryptophan as non-QPM maize grain.

Abebech Assefa leads a discussion after the field day and collects feedback from farmers, project partner representatives and government officials. (Photo by Adefris Teklewold/CIMMYT)

Jennifer Bloom, DFATD’s NuME project team leader and the second secretary (development) at the Embassy of Canada, and Abebech Assefa, the embassy’s team leader for Food Security and Agricultural Growth, visited farmers and learned about their feelings toward the adoption and promotion of QPM. The farmers also discussed their perspectives on the opportunities and constraints of project implementation with the Canadian representatives. Assefa, accompanied by three other embassy staff members, participated in a field day in the Meskan District of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region of Ethiopia.

During the field day, the visiting delegation observed the performance of two QPM hybrid varieties, BHQY-545 and AMH-760Q, adapted to the area. Farmers carrying out the field demonstrations shared their reactions to the newly-introduced QPM varieties. Farmer Genet Assefa noted that her plots have showed impressive results with the QPM varieties she planted compared to other plots in the area. “All the proper agronomic activities were employed on my plot based on advice from experts,” she said, adding that “QPM should be promoted and made accessible to all farmers so that we can all ensure food and nutritional security and increase our incomes.”

Jennifer Bloom compares food prepared from QPM varieties with food prepared from conventional varieties.

Abebech Assefa led a discussion after the field day and showed appreciation for the farmers who participated in the field demonstrations. She said she was grateful for their willingness to test new QPM varieties on their farm plots and to experience the benefits of QPM in improving food and nutritional security in Ethiopia. Bloom visited several demonstration sites and tested QPM food products during a field day organized in Bure District, Amhara Regional State. She requested the farmers’ opinions about QPM technology. The majority responded that they were satisfied and specifically asked for the seed of BHQY-545 to be made available to everyone in need. Farmers said they favor BHQY-545 because it provides up to four or five cobs and matures early, and they value the BHQ-760 variety for its long cobs.

The farmers said their “most critical concern” regarding the adoption of QPM varieties was that abundant quantities of the quality seed be available at the right time. Local administration and bureau of agriculture officials, who accompanied the DFTAD delegation, expressed their commitment to providing the seed. Bloom ended her visit by thanking the officials for attending the field demonstrations and the farmers for their participation and courage in discussing the advantages of QPM varieties and their concerns about them.

Pocket sensors for precision agriculture to reach Ethiopian farmers

Written by on December 11, 2013. Posted in News.

By Hae Koo Kim/CIMMYT

A new pocket-sized sensor could bring precision agriculture within reach of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. Precision agriculture uses data from high-tech observations to assess and address crop variability and help farmers to employ their resources more effectively.

Haekoo-Kim

Crop performance readings from satellite or sensor-based technologies are used to “do the right thing, at the right place, at the right time.” Marketed by Trimble since August 2012, the GreenSeeker handheld crop sensor reads near-infrared and red light reflected from plants to measure photosynthesis rates and crop vigor. When used with the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the readings can help farmers decide exactly how much nitrogen fertilizer to apply to get the best yields.

This is especially important in Ethiopia whose soils – like those in many parts of Africa – typically lack nitrogen, a highly mobile element whose availability is affected by rainfall and soil characteristics. At a cost of about US $500, the sensor could make precision agriculture affordable for farmers in Ethiopia. It does not have the accuracy of bigger sensors, but is less expensive and better adapted to smallholder circumstances.

Because most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa import fertilizer, this input is relatively expensive. On average, farmers in the region apply only 9 kg/ha of nitrogen fertilizer, compared to an average 100 kg/ha in South Asia or more than 70 kg/ha in Latin America. This greatly limits their crop yields. When farmers do apply fertilizer, most follow broadly-targeted application rates recommended by extension agents, rather than site- or season-specific rates that would make the best use of this costly input to raise crop yields. CIMMYT agronomists with the Nutritious Maize for Africa (NuME) project, funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD, formerly CIDA) of Canada, have introduced handheld sensors in Ethiopia and are testing them with agronomists Tesfa Bogale and Feyera Merga, from the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), and Ph.D. student Tolera Abera.

Seed technologists benefit from production training

Written by on December 5, 2013. Posted in News.

By Adefris Teklewold and Dagne Wegary

Developing Ethiopia’s seed sector can help bring quality protein maize (QPM) to people at risk of protein deficiencies, participants in a seed production training course learned last month. To enhance the skills of public and private seed company agronomists and seed quality inspectors, the Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia (NuME) project hosted a QPM seed production training course from 30 October to 1 November. With funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), NuME aims to bring QPM to farmers in the major maize-growing areas of Ethiopia. Seed sector capacity building is a key component of the project, along with advancing and sharing QPM technology.

Fikre Markos, plant health and regulatory director of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, said the seed system in Ethiopia remains underdeveloped. “The country’s seed companies are inefficient due to capacity limitations and can benefit from training for seed technologists,” he said. Nearly 40 participants – including five women – attended the training. Seed agronomists represented seven private seed companies, four public seed enterprises, and one farmer cooperative union, while seed quality inspectors were drawn from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, three regional bureaus of agriculture and three zonal seed quality laboratories. Four agricultural research institutes producing breeder, pre-basic and basic QPM seed varieties were also represented.

Jennifer Bloom, second secretary for food security and agricultural growth for DFATD, addresses the trainees.

Jennifer Bloom, second secretary for food security and agricultural growth for DFATD, opened the workshop and commended CIMMYT for bringing relevant partners to help implement NuME.

NuME Project Leader Adefris Teklewold said the project is aligned with the government of Ethiopia’s growth and transformation plan and millennium development goals. The NuME project focuses on gender parity in achieving these goals. Women are targeted in the project’s education and communication efforts to identify ways they can benefit from QPM. “The project addresses the issues of food and nutritional security and also focuses on promoting and ensuring gender balance and opportunities for women,” Teklewold said. “Through disseminating QPM technology, the project aims to support stakeholders’ efforts to challenge intra-household power imbalances.”

Presentation topics included clarifying the difference between QPM and non-QPM germplasm; QPM variety development and promotion; identification and maintenance of true-to-type varieties and parental lines; effective planning of QPM seed production; field management of seed production; post-harvest handling and marketing and principles of seed quality control and inspection. QPM contains higher levels of essential amino acids than normal maize. The QPM trait is recessive, meaning seed production requires careful quality control so the trait is not lost.

The trainers–experts drawn from CIMMYT, the Agricultural Transformation Agency of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Sasakawa Global 2000 and Ethiopian seed Enterprise – brought a wealth of information and knowledge to improve the skills of seed technologist and quality inspectors.

Participants said the training would benefit their personal careers as well as help them meet NuME’s high-quality seed production objectives. The training not only enhanced their knowledge of QPM seed technology but gave them insight into its role in food and nutrition security, they said.

Markos presented certificates to the participants and closed the training by saying the private sector is crucial for varietal development, seed production and dissemination and asked participants to use the training to improve QPM seed production and quality control in Ethiopia.

Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia and gender

Written by on May 16, 2013. Posted in News.

The Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia (NuME) aims to develop and promote quality protein maize (QPM) in the major maize growing areas of Ethiopia, including the highlands and the dry lands, to improve nutritional status of children. The project has a strong gender component, ensuring women’s full participation in all activities and equal share of benefits, which was discussed during a Gender Analysis and Strategy workshop at the ILRI campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 16 April 2013. The purpose of the event was to present gender analysis and gender strategy developed by Kidist Gebreselasie, NuME gender consultant, to implementation partners, receive partners’ input, agree on strategy, and discuss future developments. The workshop was attended by representatives from the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), ministries of health and agriculture, the Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute (EHNRI), SG2000, FRI, the Ethiopian Seed Enterprise, other seed companies, Hawassa University, Harvard Institute of Public Health, and CIDA (the project’s funder). CIMMYT was represented by Dagne Wegary (interim project coordinator), Dennis Friesen (project advisor/consultant), Vongai Kandiwa (gender specialist), and Hugo De Groote (agricultural economist).

In the opening session of the workshop, Gebreselasie presented her synthesis developed in collaboration with CIMMYT scientists and based on literature review, analysis of a baseline survey (both men and women were interviewed), and an indepth study of two target areas (including focus group discussions and key informant interviews). Gebreselasie found that while men are responsible for plowing and purchase of inputs, including seed, women are responsible for household chores such as cooking and child care. However, both men and women contribute to harvesting and weeding. Planting is either a shared activity, or one done by men. Children are also involved in agricultural activities as they play an important role in herding animals and providing feed and water. Dairy and poultry production management is largely a women’s responsibility; although women receive a substantial part of the income resulting from these activities, their access to resources, as compared to men’s, is largely limited, particularly when it comes to extension services. The agricultural extension system focuses on men and female-headed households; wives are expected to learn from their husbands. Women are also rarely invited to agricultural trainings, especially when they take place outside of their own farm. It is much easier for women to access health extension than agricultural extension workers.

Gebreselasie then outlined a gender strategy to address the above listed constraints and to improve women’s participation in project activities. This involves increasing women’s attendance at QPM demonstrations by inviting them directly and by organizing separate sessions for women during field days, ensuring that the time and place is convenient for them. Gebreselasie suggested involvement of health extension workers in QPM promotion and higher level of women’s involvement in farm radio activities (targeting women). Furthermore, partners should be given incentives to involve women more, and they should also be provided gender training at all levels.

After the presentation, the workshop participants reviewed their organizations’ experiences in gender activities and their responses to the analysis, and discussed ways to incorporate the strategy in their activities.

The NuME gender strategy was later presented and discussed during a meeting of the Project Steering Committee on 23 May at ILRI. CIDA representative Stefna Pacquette emphasized that the strategy needs to involve women in a meaningful way beyond simple participation in project activities. “While focusing on nutrition, NuME can provide a vehicle for strengthening women’s role in the household,” Pacquette noted. “It can also get men to feel more comfortable with women’s presence and participation in traditional male roles.” The next necessary step for NuME is the recruitment of a gender specialist to aid implementation of the strategy.