Major Lessons

The first strategic document directed ASE to focus on strategic issues. As a result, ASE was able to win the trust and respect of the community, of the Government as well as of its donors. Besides, it was enabled to be on the right track, flexible to the constantly-changing environment and to give maximum attention to sustainable development and to thereby significantly contribute to the development of the rural sector.

Programmes Implementation Strategies

• The farmer-to-farmer extension through such farmers’ promoters as village-level development promoters (VLDPs), community animal health workers (CAHWs) and village-level health promoters (VLHPs) at the grassroots level has proven efficient, effective and sustainable. The promoters, of course, do their promoting by going from house to house and through demonstrations.
• ASE has proven that the CBIs have won the trust and respect of the communities, that they are democratically established and non-partisan institutions—besides being truly instrumental in achieving the desired development. Hence, the structures ensure the long-term viability of the programmes.
• ASE considers participatory action research to be its major strategy. It has also learnt that farmers are creative and capable of doing much of their own investigation, analysis and planning. It has also proven the validity of indigenous knowledge.
• Following the first Strategic Plan, ASE aggressively forged regional, national and international networks, most of which its staff are serving either as chairpersons or secretaries. Besides, ASE has initiated the creation of different forums such as PROFIEET—which stands for promoting farmers’ (including pastoralists and forest users) innovation and experimentation in Ethiopia. ASE has come to realise that institutionalising, planning and budgeting its involvement in networks are crucially important.
• ASE knows full well that dishing out services to communities is not a sustainable way of helping them (the communities), unless the community members and stakeholders are actively involved in whatever is being done for them. Hence it has been implementing its intervention programmes by organising communities at the village level, providing them with the training they need to that end, mobilising local resources, helping the communities develop a sense of ownership and thereby ensuring the sustainability of the programmes.
• The effort exerted so far has adequately addressed the two pillars of food security—access and availability—whereas food utilisation and impact assessment have remained behind and, therefore, require aggressive work. 
• Although ASE has put in place an efficient participatory planning, monitoring and evaluation (PPME) system, as well as a mechanism for analysing the situation during the formulation and Documentation of its programmes, much remains to be done towards enhancing its Management Information System.
• ASE has gone beyond the strategic document, the criteria for area identification and targeting, and intervened in remote and challenging areas as well—areas that are known for their rough terrain and that are chronically food-insecure and conflict-prone. ASE’s staff have shown commitment to working with the rural poor. As a result, the interventions have made a significant difference in the lives of the poor. To its chagrin, ASE has, nonetheless, come to realise that the needs of the poorest of the poor have not been adequately addressed as per the strategic direction. Why? Because no workable strategy has as yet been designed for ensuring that and there is a paucity of resources.
• The implementation of ASE’s strategy for the sustainable management of natural resources is based on administrative boundaries/kebele administrations, and ASE has realised that the “piecemeal” approach to solving the problem of natural-resources depletion is ineffective and inefficient. So it has decided to capitalise on the Integrated Water Shade Approach.

Organisation and Management Strategies

Organisation and Human Resources

• The decentralisation process from the regional programme offices (RPO) to the woreda-level programme offices, redefining roles and responsibilities and merging related tasks, have resulted in an effective implementation of programmes, reduction of ASE’s overhead cost, commendable follow-up and supervision, better networking and close interaction and partnership with local administrations and communities.
• ASE believes that DAs should be experienced and must have acquired both theoretical and practical skills, must be committed, favour participatory development and respect the culture, knowledge and beliefs of the farmers. Accordingly,
• ASE has realised that human resources development results in an effective and efficient execution of policies and strategies, besides helping its staff assume higher positions.
• It has been proven that proper staffing invariably entails the optimum utilisation of human resources and a reduction in the overall cost of the organisation, as well as in the sustainability thereof.
• Frequent staff turnover impedes ASE’s effort to properly and timely accomplish its mission. It will have to, therefore, address the problem by readjusting its salary scale as per the labour market’s offer—besides coming up with additional ways and means of motivating its staff.
• Although the market fails to offer female candidates and remote and rough terrain discourages them to join ASE, it (ASE) gives due importance to improving the gender composition of its staff at all levels, from the grassroots level upwards, including the Board of Management.

Finance

• Long-standing and new donors: ASE’s partnership with its long-standing donors has been successfully maintained, and much effort has been made to forge partnerships with new donors such as the Dan Church Aid (DCA). During the strategic period, too, ASE will do everything it can to expand its donor base.
• Optimum utilisation of resources: ASE has optimally utilised the assets at its disposal. It is also deliberating ways and means of establishing reserve funds.
• Organising fundraising events: ASE has found organising domestic and international fundraising events and linking the duly registered CBIs to GOs and NGOs to be useful exercises. 
Cost-effectiveness: ASE has made laudable efforts towards reducing its costs by decentralising its operations, optimally utilising its human resources, strengthening its financial monitoring, controlling its budget and restructuring its cost items. It has also tried to reduce its costs by resorting to bulk purchase, reducing its requisition of stationery and controlling telephone calls, as well as through an optimum utilisation of in-house capacity—instead of outsourcing. ASE is, nevertheless, expected to do more cost-reduction in the coming strategic period, too