To counter unavoidable impacts of climate change, promoting irrigation is the best alternative.
The agriculture sector, being the mainstay of the nation, is going through mixed trajectories over the last couple of years. While productivity maintains an upward growth, some areas on the contrary have been languishing due to rainfall shortages mainly ascribable to climate changes.
To address the discrepancy, huge interventions are needed with the major grounds and prerequisites being laid. For long the sector has long been a focal point of the government with best policies and commitment in place.
Usually, polices and strategies are designed in the way that bring positive impact on the sector. But the implementations are met with various loopholes ranging from technology utilization to market linkages.
Equally true, two main concerns have been surrounding the sector: mostly poor utilization of technology, dependency on rain not to ignore climate change problems. Again more and practical effort to promote mechanized agriculture and irrigation to substitute the rain-fed agriculture.
All rounded intervention and coordination play an important role in agricultural development including investing in mechanized farming to scaling up smallholder framers. Diversifying crop production, and expanding livelihood strategies within the agricultural sector, may also reduce vulnerability to climate change.
There is considerable room for more investments in various areas considering that significant percent of Ethiopia's crop production is rain fed, said, Yenenesh Yogu. Agriculture Expert at the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resource.
Agricultural intervention planning is perhaps the most important challenge to unlock current technology adoption challenges and identify feasible pathways to actively engage farmers in the co-design of profitable and resilient farming systems.
To ensure the continues growth of productivity and production, it is imperative to minimize the heavy reliance on rain. There are areas with full irrigation potential. What it takes to exploit this opportunity is acquainting farmers with new technologies and improved farming package, she added.
She also emphasized the need for developing the country's irrigation systems and water-harvesting techniques. In terms of technology utilization, "what we need to prioritize is to embolden and create demand from the agrarian population to look for technologies. "We should give the technologies what the farmers need not what we need to give to". Before introducing technologies we need to assess what is best for the farmers and best fit to the geographic and weather condition of localities. Nowadays, farmers are desirous to adopt new technologies with the help of development agents.
"We have witnessed production boost but could come under challenge unless the supply of improved seeds and fertilizer is improved. Besides ensuring utmost utilization of every drops of rain, expansion of irrigation needs to be scaled up"
To bring the goal of agricultural transformation in to reality , it calls for a renewed look into the understanding of agricultural technology adoption and application. In addition to deepening technological progress, providing the farmers with improved seeds , fertilizers and farming packages also requires timely step.
Modernizing the sector is a work in progress and requires a fixed eye and continues commitment. To do so, introducing new technologies, creating robust experts, raising the awareness of the farmers are prerequisite, said Dr.Legese Welde, Researcher at Holeta Agricultural Research Center
To counter unavoidable impacts of climate change, promoting irrigation is the best alternative. once technologies are introduced what should done is to encourage the farmers to adopt them, he further notes.
At a times improving the functioning of markets for agricultural inputs such as fertilizer, seed and outputs could also be a means to increase production.
The demand for technology should come from the farmers' side. There is a clear understanding that those farmers with the required technology and package gains surplus production. vice versa. That is why the performance of the sector differs among states. there should be equal commitment and uniform practices to address the discrepancy.
What determines productivity is strict application of fertilizer and improved seeds and packages. Of course the sector is transforming. productivity is in steady growth, but bringing structural change is far from over. need to get out of subsistence farming to commercial one,
Making agricultural inputs affordable and available can also help farmers get increased production. There should also be feasible market linkage for smallholder farmers, this is what I think we hardly do, said Dr. Legese
Strengthen and diversifying cooperatives to provide better marketing services and serve as bridges between small farmers and the private sector is crucial.
For long mechanized farm has been on the table , but it seems to take slow motion. Mechanized farm is both time and cost effective.
Tamiru Habte Mecanization Director at The Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resource Agricultural said mechanized farming has been there for long but is at early stage. That is why the ministry designs mechanization strategy focuses on smallholder farmers.
"Mechanizing the sector is capital intensive. It demands huge sum of money to get combiners, tractors and other machinery. The smallholder farmers cannot afford to but the machinery, hence private investments is expected to play critical role in availing them to users in reasonable price. Interestingly, famers are demanding more for technologies," states Tamiru
The ministry works with small and micro scale enterprises and other businessmen to provide the machinery in the form of rent.
According to him manufacturers should turn their face to producing agricultural equipment to substitute imported machinery and make them available to farmers. At the same time, the famers must learn how to operate the equipments. To do so, agricultural vocational colleges should be capacitated to train and guide the famers.
Above all, one of the best yet simple way to create productive farmers is to scale up best practices and model farmers. There is no doubt that if farmers are supplied with the required technology and farming package, they would be able to feed themselves and the whole nation.
