Agri service Ethiopia

His Excellency Dr Abera Deressa, State Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry, visited the various works done by Abdi Boru Self Help Community Based Institution (CBI) on Tuesday 20, May 2008. Despite his tight schedule, His Excellency planned to visit the CBI by the time he coincidentally came across with some works of the institution while he was in his other business. Dr. Abera Deressa took the initiation all by himself to communicate with the CBI to schedule for further visit so that he would have a better acquaintance with the development efforts going on by the community themselves in the former Bereh Aleltu woreda.

The program was begun at 10:00 A.M with photo exhibition organized by the CBI in the premises of Agri Service Ethiopia Berek Program Office where the CBI main office is located. The presented photos portrayed the various development engagements of the CBI in Berek and Aleltu woredas since it begun operating in 2006.

Following the exhibition, Ato Tadesse Bekle, chairman of the CBI Board and Ato Tsegu Degefu Board member of the CBI, offered presentation to His Excellency and the invited guests on the various projects the CBI is running and the various achievements the CBI made thus far.

Various questions were raised by the guests on the Community Based Institution and the different undergoing activities to which answers were given by the CBI and Agri Service Ethiopia.

Subsequently, visit was paid to physical projects run by Abdi Boru CBI are being implemented at the time. Community Seed Bank, alternative school, nurseries and off farm skill training center were visited at Tebbo and bekie Kebeles.

Having returned back to Agri Service Berek Program office reflection on the overall development activities of the CBI and what had been visited on site was made. During the reflection His Excellency Ato Abera Deressa appreciated the effort been exerted by both Agri Service Ethiopia and the CBI as he found it being in line with the national development policy as well as the effort modeled a development approach with strong faith in the community itself. He said that he was impressed by the development effort and achievement as it showed him the fact that the community itself took the wheel and was spearheading its destiny with full confidence and sense of belongingness. He concluded his reflection by congratulating both Agri Service Ethiopia and the CBI for the success made in the course of their development effort and assured that the government offices particularly the ministry he is responsible to would do any thing to assist the effort and bring positive change in the lives of the people.

Ato getachew Worku, Executive Director of Agri Service Ethiopia, in his part explained the underlining practical experience of the organization that brought about the evolvement of CBIs as phasing in and phasing out strategy and an important partner for local development.

Training on Innovation Held at Melkasa Research Center

Agri-Service Ethiopia shared its experience in identifying, developing and promoting local innovations on the training organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Capacity Building Project.

“Building the capacity of communities to cope with changing conditions by developing location specific, low cost and effective technologies that fit in local realities is believed by Agri Service Ethiopia as a crucial step to bring wide scale, efficient, diffusible and sustainable local development”, said W/ro Demekech Gera, Participatory Innovation Development Officer of Agri Service Ethiopia. She further told the participant that promoting and assisting local innovation enables development of technology that suit ecological, climatic, economic and socio-cultural reality of a locality and that has been the rationale for Agri Service Ethiopia's engagement in the activity.

Basing on the organization's experience, reflection was made by Wro Demekech on the basic concepts pertaining to innovation, and Participatory Innovation Development (PID) as an approach that would contribute to the betterment of livelihood condition of local people and a means to foster the sprite of experimentation and exploration by local people which eventually would evolve an increased self confidence and better competence.

Methodological framework of PID from identification of local innovations to dissemination of results, concepts and practices of Community Learning Forum (CoLF), Community Innovation and Development Fund (CIDF) as a block grant to support local innovations, organizing farmers' innovation fair, creating networks and partnerships with research and higher learning institutions and capacity building were parts of ASE strategies discussed in the training.

She further noted that ASE identified more than 450 IKs/local innovations from across five program areas, Amaro, Bereh Aleltu, Enebse Sar midir, Tehuledere and Lalomam Midir.

ASE's experience of developing and promoting local innovations was imparted in the training under three distinguished forms: Farmer innovation led, problem led and technology led. While the case of Enset in Amaro, Aba Mengist beehive in Enebse and the case of Anti-rabies traditional practices were presented to explain the farmer innovation led PID, effect of botanical extracts on tick ( Melophagus ovinus ) infestation of sheep in Enebse, the case of stock borer control in Tehuledere, and the case of trypanosomiasis in Amaro were presented as problem led PID.

Wro Demekech thrashed out the opportunities and challenges that ASE experienced. Decentralized extension approach that the government currently put in place; i.e., the farmers' Training Centers (FTCs) and the deployment of Development Agents (DAs) much emphasis on participatory approaches, existence of Farmers Research Groups (FRG) established in the different parts of the country under the research centers, existence of NGOs with experience on PID, e.g. ASE, PROLINNOVA-Ethiopia were mentioned as a greater opportunity to promote Participatory Innovation Development approach.

Among challenges mentioned were lack of commitment in the part of partners to perform activities as planned due to workload and staff turnover, inadequacy of methods, tools and operational guidelines of PID to accommodate the interests and perspectives of diverse actors with different professional background, the difficulty in narrowing the gap between the creative thoughts and findings of innovative farmers and the widely accepted scientific method, the long established negative attitude of some PID facilitators towards researchers.

The training was held at Melkasa Research Center from 17 to 22 of April 2008. About 50 experts from the Regional bureaus of Agriculture and Rural Development participated in the training.

Coffee quality Evaluation workshop held at Amaro

Amaro coffee quality improvement project second phase cupping and terminal workshop was conducted at kelle town. In the evaluation workshop of coffee quality improvement held at woreda council hall hosted more than 200 farmers and 30 invited guests from woreda, region and federal level officials and experts attended the event.

In the occasion, Ato Samuel Burasa, Ditcho Tulto CBI board chairman, addressed the audience after his welcoming words on the benefits a quality coffee can give to an individual farmer, the intermediary merchants and coffee processors in particular and the national economy in general.

Similarly, Ato Bezabeh Bogale, Head of the Amaro special woreda council, offered his welcoming speech to the guests. He started his speech by giving a word of thanks to ASE & Trocaire/CAFOD for their unreserved, continuous and integrated development engagement in the woreda in general and for excellent job done to promote the woreda coffee quality in particular. He emphasized the need to work hand-in-hand with all concerned actors. Reminding that such an engagement is first in its kind in the woreda, he dwelled on the need to take up and scale up the effort further in the part of the government. He concluded his speech by elaborating the value intervening in the area will ultimately bring about as economic empowerment on the community and its individual members in one way or another to ensure food security in the woreda.

Ato Temesgen Kassa, Director of Amaro PO has presented the efforts pertaining to coffee quality improvement ASE has so far made for the last eight months. He explained about the objectives of the various activities and the quality competition performed both at the woreda and in Addis Ababa .

Following, a panel discussion was organized and papers on coffee production & processing and coffee marketing were presented. The panelists have portrayed the trend, socio-economic benefit, opportunities, the challenges and their possible way outs in the production, processing and marketing of coffee. In the panel discussion, farmers actively participated and reflected the various problems they encountered focusing much on the marketing aspect.

In the afternoon session, Ato Teklu W.Gabriel, Vice Manager of IPS, has disclosed the final result of the cupping. He explained the objective parameters used in the process of the screening physical assessment, cheery analysis and cupping. According to his report, eight samples out of 51 entries won 84 and above points. Such a grade could label the coffee a specialty one and can fetch excellent price in the world market. He, however, reminded that the amount of production is also equally important to quality parameters to establish a new taste brand of its own and penetrate in the global market.

Handing over of certificate and prize award was conducted by ASE, Trocaire/CAFOD and woreda Council. Along with the certificate, 3 woreda and 12 Kebeles top winners are awarded birr 2000.00 and 1250 each respectively. The other 69 farmers were awarded with certificates. Meanwhile, certificates were given for individuals and organizations who contributed for the realization of this program.

The program came to an end with closing speech by Ato Amanuel Assefa, the Director of Community learning and Capacity Development Department of Agri Service Ethiopia. Ato Amanuel underlined the need to invest in adding a value in the production system of quality coffee in the woreda along with creating a linkage to the market. He furthered his speech by expressing the commitment of the organization to work on more in the area as it is one way to enhance empowerment of the woreda poor community in particular as it at last help secure better livelihood.