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EIAR-ICRISAT meetings agree on new approaches for agri R&D in Ethiopia
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Saturday, 25 April, 2015, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Hyderabad¦Addis Ababa
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fiogf49gjkf0d New approaches and priority international investments have been agreed for agricultural research and development in the drylands of Ethiopia. This comes from a series of strategy meetings between the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
Four areas with greatest opportunities have been identified: intensification of legumes for better human and environmental health; ; expanding cereal production by promoting the industrial potential of sorghum and other millets, including tef; scaling up of watershed management for more intensive agriculture; and new approaches to help farmers manage climate variability.
“These identified opportunities can only be tackled through partnership at all levels on the value chain and making sure each step on this vertical chain has what it needs to act,” said Dr Fentahun Mengistu, director-general, EIAR.
“We need to bring in new innovations and skills to capitalise on these opportunities. For long-term sustainability of these efforts, agribusiness incubators are important for building entrepreneurial skills and capacity in Ethiopia. ICRISAT has experience in setting up agribusiness incubators throughout India and now in other parts of Africa. South-south collaborations between India and Africa can accelerate these initiatives. It will also be important to involve women and youth as entrepreneurs and seeing agriculture as a viable and exciting business opportunity with the adoption of new technologies and leveraging ICT tools to support market integration,” emphasised Dr David Bergvinson, ICRISAT director-general.
These new investments were launched in Ethiopia during the ICRISAT Governing Board meeting held at Addis Ababa on April 24, 2015. The ICRISAT Governing Board Chair, Dr Chandra Madramootoo, noted, “Ethiopia is a priority country for ICRISAT due to the government’s focus on food and nutrition security and recognition of the important role agriculture can play in the country’s development. The government’s approach to partnership to capitalise on the opportunities will be key to success.”
These four areas call for demand-driven agriculture, and taking the demands of farmers and the market into account. This is important in order to prioritise research investments and capitalise on markets in Ethiopia and for export.
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