After China, Ethiopia has one of the largest public-supported agricultural extension services in the world. This reflects the enormous emphasis the Ethiopian government is putting on agriculture as a driver for economic growth, development and food security. However, putting all the pieces of the jigsaw together – technology development; market and road infrastructure; micro-finance; enterprise development; extension; marketing mechanisms; input supply and business services – in a way that enables real innovation remains a significant challenge for Ethiopia, as it does for many other countries.
The Government of Ethiopia has flagged market-linked agricultural development as a key element of its new Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). An important part of this is an emphasis on increasing entrepreneurial skills of producers and of women and youth who do not have access to land but who could be engaged in micro-agribusiness. This development of the agriculture sector will be backed up by coordinated donor investments through the Agricultural Growth Programme (AGP).
At the request of the Netherlands Embassy, Wageningen UR Centre for Development Innovation (CDI) in partnership with the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) and two local consultants are providing advice on how Dutch engagement can further support capacity development, knowledge management and innovation. The consultant team: Jim Woodhill (CDI), Willem Heemskerk (KIT), Eyasu Elias and Bezabih Emana spent the last week of October in Ethiopia, meeting with a wide range of stakeholders involved in the agricultural research, education and extension system.
Jim Woodhill reflects that "there are very many inspiring examples of agricultural innovation in Ethiopia. These efforts are often being successful in linking farmers into new market opportunities. Yet the scale of change needed to help drive economic development, tackle poverty and improve food security remains vast. It is widely accepted by key players in the sector that much more focused capacity is needed to learn from and scale up existing innovations. There is also much to be gained by improving linkages between education, research, extension and the private sector. In many cases where there is success it is because an individual or an organization has taken on the role of an ‘innovation broker’ and created these connections".
The interest of the Embassy in this topic reflects the wide range of activities in the Ethiopian agriculture sector currently being supported by Dutch institutions including Wageningen UR. The report will be available towards the end of the year.