1. Organic Agriculture for Restoring Degraded Landscapes and Livelihoods: The Tigray Experience

2. Learning from the Tigray Project
ETHIOPIA Mountainous 1.12 mill sq km >14 mill small-holder farmers >Cultivated area average 0.94 ha per family
Tigray
Addis
In Africa – 5th in area and 2nd in population
Ethiopia is the ‘water tower’ of eastern Africa providing over 80% of the waters of the Nile plus water to N Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti.

3. Learning from the Tigray Project
Land degradation, particularly soil erosion is Ethiopia’s most serious problem
Any and all agricultural improvements need to be based on ecological intensification

4. Ethiopia’s agrobiodiversity wealth
Learning from the Tigray Project
Ethiopia’s agrobiodiversity wealth
Over 5,000 years of farmers’ knowledge and skills
Agro-biodiversity wealth
Vavilov Centre with over 190 crop species still cultivated
Great varietal diversity within crops
Very low use of external inputs, e.g. chemical fertilizer
Farmers’ dislike / distrust of debt
Governance in the hands of local communities, including farmers’ rights to save, use and sell their own seed
Agriculture at the base of the economy,

5. A glimpse of Ethiopia’s agrobiodiversity wealth
Learning from the Tigray Project
A glimpse of Ethiopia’s agrobiodiversity wealth
Enset (false banana) above and teff below
A few of the huge range of sorghum varieties
250 sq m of enset can supply all the carbohydrate needs of a family of 5-6 persons. Tef has 3 types of starch and minimal gluten. Sorghum includes varieties with special nutritional properties (high in lysine)

6. Local Agroiodiversity for Food & Nutrition Security and Income Generation
Enset: 250 sq m supplies all carbohydrate needed for a family of 5 for a year
Harvested product can be stored for 15 years
Highly drought resistant
Teff: highest value cereal on market (85 USD/t), compared to maize, (25 USD/t)
High nutritional value,
Harvested grain can be stored for 10 years without loosing viability
Sorghum: very drought resistant
Many different food and beverages uses

7. Origin of the Tigray Project
Learning from the Tigray Project
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Origin of the Tigray Project
In mid-1990s, ISD asked by the Ethiopian Government for an alternative to the Sasakawa Global approach promoting increased use of chemical fertilizer, but suitable for only about 10% of the country--classified as high production potential areas
ISD established in 1996 to implement the Project “Sustainable Development and Ecological Land Management with Farming Communities in Tigray” = The Tigray Project

8. Livelihood and landscape components
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Livelihood and landscape components
Bylaws - communities restore local control Biological and physical water & soil conservation, through using multipurpose local trees, i.e. Sesbania and local grasses Managing grazing, stopping access to vulnerable land (watersheds), so grass, herbs and trees can grow Restoring soil fertility through compost, and helping farmers avoid debt paid for chemical fertilizer
Making compost
Sesbania in flower
Mature compost

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Landscape rehabilitation started in 1996, pictured in 2003 (similar examples now seen in many place) throughout
Pond
Rehabilitated gullies
Sesbania trees and long grasses
Composted fields growing tef, wheat and barley
Faba bean
Rehabilitated biodiverse hillside for bee keeping

10. The 4 Principles of Organic Agriculture Applied
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The 4 Principles of Organic Agriculture Applied
Ecology – restores and maintains ecosystem services (good soil, water availability, pollinators)
Health – healthy soil produces disease and pest resilient crops
Fairness – Involves all social groups in the local communities, women, men, disadvantaged groups such as elderly couples, landless youth, families challenged by HIV/AIDS, etc.
Care – the communities take responsibility for caring for their environment through bylaws

11. Wheat infested with stripe rust and sprayed – gave yield of 1.6 t/ha
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Impact of compost on crop health & disease resistance, example from 2010
Wheat infested with stripe rust and sprayed – gave yield of 1.6 t/ha
Wheat grown on composted soil resisting the rust – gave yield over 6.5 t/ha

12. Landscape Benefits of Compost
Carbon brought back to the soil as humus
Nitrogen in the protein of organic wastes, including urine, returned to the soil
Other nutrients in compost recycled for healthy growth of crops, animals and people
Water retention for improved local hydrology, with raised water tables, longer water flows in streams enabling 2 crops per year
Increased resilience to extreme weather events

13. Livelihood benefits of compost
Yields of cereals and pulses doubled
Soil and crops with increased resistance to wind and water erosion
Water availability improved
Springs reappear, persist and streams run for longer through the year
Water tables raised (farmers dig shallow hand dug wells)
Crops survive dry gaps and stay green for 2 weeks longer than others at the end of rains

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The tall stover from maize is needed both for animal feed and for ‘construction’, i.e. fencing.

15. Yield of Faba Bean with compost 2,500 kg/ha
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Yield of Faba Bean with compost 2,500 kg/ha
Yield of Faba Bean without compost 250kg/ha

16. Learning from the Tigray Project
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Grain yield of 5 staple crops from farmers (2000 to 2006) Based on samples from 900 plots
The farmers use their own varieties (landraces)

17. Additional Livelihood Benefits of Compost
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Additional Livelihood Benefits of Compost
Farmers avoid debt from getting chemical fertilizer on credit – now costing USD 130 per 100 kg
Farmers making bioslurry compost can sell one sack (approx. 100 kg for ETB 100 or USD 5.8
Competent farmers make 35 to 100 sacks a year
Farmers, particularly women, diversify their production base
Women say the food tastes better and their families’ hunger is satisfied more easily

18. Economic benefits of compost
Inputs (all of which are locally available):
weeds from crop fields
Left over crop residues used as animal feed and bedding
Animal manure (plentiful)
Vegetable crop residues
Household organic wastes
Labour
Water
Microbial rich soil as an innoculator

19. Cost benefit analysis for the farmer using chemical fertilizer
Cost for chemical fertilizer in 2012 was USD 130 per 100 kg
Average yield of durum wheat grown with chemical fertilizer 1700 kg/ha,
Sold at USD 50 per 100 kg , farmers income would be USD 850
Net profit after repaying credit, USD 720

20. Cost benefit analysis for the farmer from using compost
Average rate of compost application, 6.5 t/ha
Opportunity cost for making compost estimated at USD 60 for 6.5 t/ha
Average yield of durum wheat grown with compost 2500 kg/ha,
Sold at USD 50 per 100 kg , farmers income would be USD 1,250
As there is no financial outlay, ALL of this profit stays with the farmer

21. Mixed perennial and annual crops
Hillside protected from grazing
Fields of mature teff
Water pond for irrigation
Fruit tree garden in rehabilitated gully
Farmer Woldu
Harvested teff field

22. Planting with Space to maximize use of seed and compost
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Planting with Space to maximize use of seed and compost
An adaptation of SRI, by growing in rows either from transplanting seedlings or direct sowing, gives
Increased yields with easier and timely management of weeds, pests and easier harvesting
e.g. Finger millet and tef, seed rate reduced by 90% compared to broadcasting, hence more efficient use of seed resources, and
Grain and straw yields doubled, i.e. for finger millet from 1.4 t/ha to 3 t/ha grain, and for tef from 1.2 t/ha to 2.5 t/ha or more of grain
Because, root growth greatly increased giving many more productive tillers (greater root mass = greater shoot mass)

23. Participatory Planting with Space
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24. Productive Tiller Potential of Teff planted with space and compost
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Productive Tiller Potential of Teff planted with space and compost
Tiller production increased
At harvest impact of ecological intensification on biomass

25. Productive Ear/Grain Potential of Durum wheat planted with space and compost
Ear with 39 grains without space or compost
Ear with 56 grains with space and compost

26. The Ecological way ahead is: knowledge & people intensive
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Improve and expand extension services (ICT)
Introduce capacity building (ICT)
Agriculture is very localized

27. Learning from the Tigray Project
THANK YOU
Sesbania around crop fields near Axum in August 2011
Sue Edwards, with Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egzibher Dereje Gebremichael, Hailu Araya, and Arefayne Asmelash
Institute for Sustainable Development, Ethiopia /