Ethiopia Prepares to Prevent Recurrence of Famine
In the early 1980s, sub-Saharan Africa suffered a severe drought which led to the starvation of millions of people, especially in Ethiopia where it was made worse by war. Since 1984, ICARDA has been working with Ethiopian researchers to improve the nutrition, income, and well-being of farm families and the rural poor in the country. This is being achieved through development of improved crop varieties and production technologies suitable for the agroclimatic conditions in the country, and through training, information exchange, and institutional capacity building. Ethiopia now stands better prepared to successfully manage famine, if it were to threaten again.
	Research and development cooperation can help ensure a safe, green, and prosperous future for the children of Ethiopia. Ethiopia's famine of the early 1980s was the worst drought-related disaster in recent times. Over 300,000 people died, while nearly 15 million were either displaced or diseased. The country is most vulnerable to harsh drought conditions that lead to famine in sub-Saharan Africa. There are several reasons for Ethiopia's vulnerability. The population growth is over 3 percent per year, the country has gone through times of civil conflict, erosion has denuded the country's highlands, and deforestation has reduced the country's forests to one percent of the land area. Ethiopia has undertaken great efforts to modernize its agriculture. Its efforts have been bolstered by the support of international agricultural research centers, including ICARDA. Young Ethiopian scientists have been trained to take the lead in carrying out research to help millions of resource-poor farmers. ICARDA's research support has been on some of the most important crops in Ethiopia including pulses and barley. Pulses—a Key Source of Protein In 1983, Ethiopia's production of pulses was 799,000 tons. In 1985, when the famine gripped the nation, it dropped to 539,000 tons. Faba bean, lentil, field pea, chickpea, and grasspea are key sources of protein for Ethiopia's 60 million people. Pulses are also an important part of the cropping system. Grown in rotation with cereals, pulses maintain soil health, nitrogen balance, and cropping system sustainability. ICARDA has so far provided the Ethiopian national agricultural research system with a large number of breeding lines of faba bean (2039), lentil (894), chickpea (183), and field pea (92). Faba Bean Faba bean is ranked first among highland cool-season food legumes in Ethiopia. Major constraints to increased faba bean production are chocolate spot (Botrytis fabae), ascochyta blight, rust, soilborne diseases, water-logging, cold, and drought. The collaborative research on faba bean improvement started after Ethiopia joined the ICARDA/IFAD Nile Valley Project in 1985. The early use of genetic resources resistant to chocolate spot, resulted in the release of two high-yielding varieties, 'Shallo', and 'BPL 18021-2' with improved levels of resistance to chocolate spot and rust. The project further delivered improved cultural practices and faba bean lines, such as 'CS 20 DK' for high altitudes and 'NC 58' for intermediate altitudes. Improved faba bean germplasm provided average yield advantages of 0.62 t/ha (86%) and 0.57 t/ha (74%) in high and intermediate altitudes, respectively, leading to an average income improvement of 63%. In large-scale demonstration fields in 1989 and 1990, an average yield advantage of 0.68 t/ha (64%) was recorded, corresponding to about 60% improvement in farmers' incomes. A survey conducted in Shewa region has shown that, from the faba bean package made available, 52% of the farmers adopted the improved cultivars, while 56% adopted management practices. Only 8% farmers adopted the fertilizer recommendations. Lentil Rust devastated lentil in Ethiopia in 1996/97, but the improved rust-resistant cultivar ‘Adaa’ (left) stayed green and healthy. Lentil is an important pulse in Ethiopia, used in many recipes, including wot, a popular soup. Lentil productivity in Ethiopia remains low mainly due to cultivation of low-yielding, disease susceptible landraces. The most important lentil diseases in Ethiopia are rust, caused by Uromyces fabae, and the wilt/root-rot complex. Water-logging, drought, poor agronomic management, and lack of improved technology also limit lentil production. The lentil improvement program of the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization (EARO) has benefited from fruitful collaboration with ICARDA since the early 1980s, and has released seven lentil varieties, five of which were derived from ICARDA-supplied material. The varieties are: 'Chalew' (ILL 358), 'Chekol' (ILL 2704), 'Adaa' (ILL 6027), 'Gudo' (ILL5748), and 'Alemaya' (ILL 6821). 'Adaa' and 'Alemaya' are highly resistant to the wilt root-rot complex. In addition, 'Alemaya' exhibits developmental and phenological plasticity, which has led to its adoption in diverse agroclimatic conditions. These varieties have a yield potential of up to 2.6 t/ha. Chickpea Screening chickpea lines for resistance to Fusarium wilt in a wilt-sick plot in Ethiopia. The susceptible control, middle, wilted and turned yellow, while the resistant lines planted left and right faired much better. Chickpea is an important cool-season food legume in Ethiopia, but its productivity is low due to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Varieties grown by farmers are susceptible to several diseases (ascochyta blight, rust, fusarium wilt) and insect pests. There is a lack of improved varieties and the diffusion of appropriate production technologies has been slow. ICARDA chickpea breeding material has been shared with the Ethiopian national program and jointly evaluated for stress resistance. The research work undertaken in various disciplines has focused on release of improved cultivars and the development of improved production packages. The achievements under the Nile Valley Regional Program include the release of lines received from the International Crops Research Institute for the Sem-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), based in India, or developed locally: ICCL-820104/85-DZ/16-2, ICCL-84218, ICCL-84239, and DZ-10-9-2. These lines are resistant to wilt, and are adapted for mid-altitude areas. In 2000, two more varieties of kabuli chickpea were released for midlands and highlands; 'Areti,' resistant to fusarium wilt and ascochyta blight, and 'Shasho,' resistant to fusarium wilt. A high-yielding and ascochyta blight-resistant desi chickpea variety (ICCV 922219) was also identified for the country's highlands. Consequently, chickpea area increased from 127,000 ha in 1989-91 to 168,000 ha in 1999, with an increase in productivity from 800 kg/ha to 828 kg/ha. Grasspea New low-neurotoxin grasspea lines, jointly developed by ICARDA and Ethiopian researchers, being evaluated at Debre Zeit Research Center. The performance of these lines has renewed the interest in grasspea improvement research in Ethiopia. Grasspea has been cultivated in Ethiopia for more than 2500 years. Today, the crop is grown on about 110,000 ha, producing 0.8-1.0 million tonnes annually. Although grasspea seed is a tasty source of high-quality protein (often exceeding 30%), over-consumption for a prolonged period can result in paralysis of the legs (lathyrism), caused by the neurotoxin B-n-Oxalyl-L-2,3 diaminopropionic acid (B-ODAP) found in its seed. Recognizing the importance of the crop, ICARDA and EARO scientists undertook a joint project financed by the Department for International Development (DFID), UK, to develop cultivars with low (less than 0.2%) B-ODAP, improve management strategies, agronomic performance and yield. Lines with low B-ODAP and high yield potential were developed and tested in Debre Zeit. The study revealed that B-ODAP concentration in the seeds increases with reduced soil moisture. Thus, a combination of low B-ODAP lines and early sowing to avoid moisture stress can keep the neurotoxin at levels safe for human consumption. Grasspea is known for its ability to withstand harsh growing conditions, particularly water stress. Under conditions of extreme drought, grass pea could be the only crop producing yield, whereas other crops would fail. Barley A Barley Traveling Workshop held in Ethiopia brought together researchers from Egypt and Ethiopia to review on-farm trials. Barley is one of the most important staple food crops in the highlands of Ethiopia. It is cultivated on more than 800,000 ha and total annual production is around 800,000 tonnes. The most important factors that reduce yield of barley in Ethiopia are poor soil fertility, water-logging, drought, frost, soil acidity, diseases, insects, weeds, and poor-yielding varieties. ICARDA is working with Ethiopian scientists to improve the productivity of barley. Two improved barley varieties, 'HB-42' and 'Shege' were released in 1986 and 1996, respectively, and promoted for use by farmers in western and northwest Shewa. 'Shege' yielded 2.89 t/ha compared with 1.78 t/ha produced by local varieties, showing a grain yield advantage of 63%. At Degem, 'Shege' yielded 3.87 t/ha, compared with 1.73 t/ha from local varieties, providing a 134% grain yield increase. At Alem Gena, 'HB-42' yielded 2.99 t/ha resulting in a yield advantage of 71%. The National Committee for Variety Release officially released two barley varieties in 2001, one for food (3369-19) and the other for malting (HB-52). Seed Production A grower, Ato Zerfu Woldegiorgis (third from right), explains to workshop participants the construction of a local seed storage facility during a field visit to Hitosa in the Arsi zone. During 1995, ICARDA initiated a project nicknamed the "Seed Safety Net" designed to reduce the risk of famine and to speed recovery if seed stocks were lost. The project was led by Ethiopia and included Eritrea, Sudan, and Yemen. It coordinated national seed programs, collected information on varieties used, and kept track of seed stocks. The project worked through the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) Seed Network, a network of national seed programs in the region, with its secretariat at ICARDA headquarters. Despite the availability of improved and well-adapted varieties of barley and tef, the adoption was lagging due to weak seed supply systems. Production of enough quality barley and tef seed is a challenge for the national seed program. Therefore, the Ethiopian Seed Enterprise (ESE) adopted an innovative approach of contracting smallholders to produce certified seeds. The pilot scheme generates income for peasants in the rural areas, creates a community of seed producers, and helps develop effective distribution mechanisms that could spread improved cultivars through farmer-to-farmer exchange. This helps to build a sustainable seed-supply system that strengthens the informal sector and links it well to the formal sector, while enhancing indigenous capability in quality seed production. A positive evaluation report by ICARDA has encouraged ESE to extend the scheme to food barley. Information Technology Information sharing is critical to the success of agricultural research and development, so ICARDA is playing an active role in developing the capacities of NARS in the use of information technologies. During 1998, scientists and technical staff from ICARDA carried out a detailed study at EARO's headquarters and its various research stations, and proposed an Information Technology Strategy for 1999-2003. ICARDA technical staff supported the implementation of the study recommendations at EARO. Human Resource Development ICARDA provides training through specialized short courses covering a wide range of disciplines. These are organized in the Nile Valley region, in Ethiopia, and at ICARDA headquarters in Syria. National scientists are also sent to other countries on traveling workshops to review on-station and on-farm researches, make joint line/variety selections, and compare research methods. So far (1977-2003), over 601 Ethiopian researchers have benefited from the training courses organized by ICARDA, in addition to graduate students who have worked at the Center for their MSc/PhD degrees. Regional Cooperation Since the establishment of the Nile Valley Project in 1979, informal networking has been taking place between the national agricultural research systems of the participating countries, initially Egypt and Sudan, and, since 1985, Ethiopia. Informal networks were created for sharing improved germplasm and conducting study visits, training courses, and traveling workshops. In September 1995, a Regional Networks Project was established to find solutions to the major biotic and abiotic stresses constraining production of the five cool-season cereal and food legume crops important in the region. The networks are still operational thanks to support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

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