Siboniso Moyo, program leader, ILRI Animal Science for Sustainable Productivity program and Gebremedhin Woldewahid, LIVES Tigray region coordinator, at the agriculture extension week opening (photo credit: ILRI\Beamlak Tesfaye).
The Livestock and Irrigation Value Chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) project is showcasing its value chain development interventions and project outcomes at this week’s (12-16 October 2015) 2nd Africa-wide Agriculture Extension Week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Themed ‘Reinvigorating extension services for market-led agriculture within the context of the Malabo declaration’, the event is organized by the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS) in partnership with the Ethiopia Ministry of Agriculture, the African Union Commission’s Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture, the Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension Education, Ethiopian Society of Rural Development and Agriculture extension and the Swiss Development Cooperation in Ethiopia.
HE Tefera Derbew, minister of agriculture and HE Wondirad Mandefro, state minister, Ministry of Agriculture opened the exhibition and related side events.
The LIVES project and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) projects on FeedSeed, Africa RISING and N2Africa are exhibiting at the event, which is also attended by CGIAR Centres including the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and the International Water management Institute (IWMI).
Dirk Hoekstra, LIVES senior project advisor, speaking at the AFAAS workshop (photo credit:ILRI\Beamlak Tesfaye)
Dirk Hoekstra, senior advisor for the LIVES project, spoke about the importance of facilitating access to market information and market linkages, and promoting collective marketing for agricultural transformation in Ethiopia in a presentation on market oriented extension services in Ethiopia. The work was co-written with Azage Tegegne, LIVES project manager and Berhanu Gebremedhin, LIVES research coordinator.
The event, which brings together more than 300 extension practitioners, policymakers, research and development partners, farmers and commodity associations is exploring ways of reinvigorating agricultural extension and facilitating information and knowledge exchange in agricultural extension across Africa and beyond.
AFAAS is a platform for mutual learning and innovation among agricultural extension and advisory service providers in Africa.
