Consultative workshop onSustainable Agricultural Practices held

In late March, a workshop on Sustainable Agricultural Practices (SAPs) was jointly organized by Resilience and SWR Ethiopia for private seed producers associated with the Ethiopian Netherlands Seed Partnership (ENSP). The primary objectives of the workshop were to familiarize the seed producers with available technologies in the research system related to SAPs for field crop production, particularly in the areas of pest management and integrated soil fertility management. Another goal was to explore opportunities for verifying, demonstrating, and promoting these technologies to private seed producer companies. Additionally, the workshop aimed to establish a common understanding of the importance of introducing SAPs to the crop production system, given Ethiopia’s increasing vulnerability to the impacts of climate change.

The workshop brought together ten private seed producer companies supported by ENSP, along with a diverse group of researchers from national research centers. Dr. Mohammed Hassena from SWR Ethiopia delivered a welcoming address, followed by introductions and a presentation on the effects of climate change in Ethiopia and its specific impact on the seed sector by Marijke from Resilience. Subsequently, researchers presented on the specific technologies they are focusing on in their research, aiming to generate interest among the seed producers and explore the potential applicability of these technologies to their operations. Topics covered in these presentations included the demonstration of recently released chickpea varieties through the TRICOT approach, integrated soil fertility management for teff production, zero budget natural farming for common bean, and integrated wilt/root rot disease management methods in chickpea.

Following the presentations, participants engaged in a matchmaking session where they were divided into groups to interact with researchers and explore how specific technologies could be implemented within their own operations. These discussions focused on how the technologies could be practically tested in the fields of the seed producers and how they could support the companies in building climate resilience. As a result of these interactions, several companies reached agreements with researchers to collaborate on implementing these technologies, with ongoing support from Resilience to facilitate the adoption of these new practices in their daily operations.

The workshop served as a platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration between private seed producers and researchers, with the ultimate aim of enhancing sustainable agricultural practices and building resilience in the face of climate change.