The Raya valley in Tigray, where Alamata Woreda is located, has suitable climate and rich water resources, among others, to grow various tropical fruits. Development of fruits only started a few years ago (1996) with the Raya Valley Development Project and the OoARD (Office of Agriculture and Rural Development), mostly focusing on papaya. A participatory rural appraisal (PRA) study conducted by the Woreda stakeholders identified tropical fruits as a potential marketable commodity in 2005.
Bure district has a diverse ago-ecology, different soil types, a relatively long rainy season and a number of rivers and streams for irrigation. Therefore, it has suitable tract of land to grow temperate, subtropical and tropical fruit crops. In 2007, fruits were identified as a potential marketable commodity by the stakeholders participating in the IPMS project. They diagnosed that farmers had limited orchard management knowledge and skill and were growing locally available less productive and low quality fruit varieties.
Ethiopia has a diverse agro-ecology and sufficient surface and ground water resources, suitable for growing various temperate and tropical fruits. Although various tropical and temperate fruits are grown in the lowland/midland and highland agro-ecologies, the area coverage is very limited. For example, banana export increased from less than 5,000 tons in 1961 to 60,000 tons in 1972, but in 2003 declined to about 1,300 tons worth less than USD 350,000.
With irrigated vegetables development, interventions on the uses of improved inputs such as water lifting devices; varieties; on-farm water, nutrient and pest management, and access to credit and market information were introduced in Atsbi-Womberta district, Ethiopia. Besides, skill and uptake capacity of vegetable growers, extension service providers and vegetable traders were improved accordingly.
Graduate programs in agriculture and allied disciplines in Ethiopia are expected to make concrete contribution to market-oriented development of smallholder agriculture. This, among others, calls for realignment and engagement of the programs with smallholder farmers and, value chain, R&D and policy actors. No panacea exists, however, as to how to ensure effective linkages, and thereby responsiveness. Lessons from initiatives on the ground in the country and beyond is thus crucial to inform the development of appropriate policy and innovative strategy.
L’édition annuelle de Défis Sud propose un regard sur les agricultures, avec des faits, des chiffres et des prévisions. Face à l’augmentation de la population, au réchauffement climatique et à la perte de ressources naturelles, les solutions proposées pour répondre au défi de la sécurité alimentaire mondiale devraient davantage miser sur l’agriculture familiale et l’agroécologie. En 2018 les agricultures familiales seront encore menacées.
Comment se porte le secteur laitier ? En Europe, il n’en est pas à sa première crise. Au Sud, il subit les conséquences de la surproduction et des exportations massives.
La publication de ce numéro double consacré à l’agriculture familiale marque un tournant de l’histoire de la revue Défis Sud. Depuis vingt ans, votre revue a resserré son projet éditorial sur les questions agricoles et de développement rural.
Au niveau familial, l’émigration constitue souvent une recherche de revenus, de sécurité, mais aussi une manière de faire face à des problèmes socio-politiques et des conflits. A l’encontre des clichés, l’émigration n’est pas forcément défavorable à l’agriculture familiale.
Face aux limites du système agro-industriel productiviste, des résistances et des alternatives positives proposent de nouvelles façons de penser et de pratiquer l’agriculture.