Meeting between LIVES and agricultural research institute directors in Addis Ababa (photo credit:ILRI/Aklilu Bogale).
The Livestock and Irrigation Value Chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project and Ethiopian agricultural research partners have finalized plans for 50 new collaborative action research projects in the country.
The plans and proposals were agreed at the third joint meeting of the LIVES team, the directors general (DGs) of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) and Regional Agricultural Research Institutes (RARIs) from Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR and Tigray in Addis Ababa on 17 Sept 2015.
At the meeting, held at the campus of the International Livestock Research Insitute (ILRI) in Ethiopia’s capital, participants agreed on final plans for the action research projects, which include plans for irrigated crops and livestock initiatives presented by Solomon Gizaw, LIVES’ livestock expert and Amare Hailessilassie, a LIVES irrigation expert, respectively.
LIVES and Ethiopian agricultural research partners have finalized plans for 50 new collaborative action research projects. Some of the research project topics are:
- Evaluating the effects of integrated agronomic practices on smallholders Banana productivity and economic performances
- Biological and economical evaluation of alternative dairy rations formulated from locally available feed ingredients
- Participatory evaluation and demonstration of alternative mastitis prevention and control strategies in urban/pre-urban dairy systems
- Evaluating the effects of capacity development and different organizational models on improving motor pumps supply and maintenance services in Ethiopia
In his opening remarks, Azage Tegegne, the LIVES project manager, said the research projects will generate useful information to enhance value chain development for livestock and irrigated crops. He added that the initiative would also aim to mainstream research findings by graduate students’ researches to benefit both the national research system and the collaborative action research projects.
Berhanu Gebremedhin, the LIVES research coordinator, said plans for the new projects started with a first meeting of the group in April 2015, where more than 25 research topics were identified and later narrowed down during a proposal writing workshop in June 2015. The proposals were then shared with LIVES senior technical staff for final review and prioritization. Berhanu expressed his optimism about the collaboration.
At the meeting, Muluhiwot Getachew, the LIVES project coordinator, presented the draft contract and agreements that will be used to develop financial and reporting guidelines. Official agreements with the respective research partners will be concluded later this month.
The LIVES project has allocated ETB 5 million (USD 2.4 million) to the national research partners for the implementation of the action research projects in Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR and Tigray.
