CABI has engaged in high-level talks with partners from Ethiopia to help the Member Country tackle its food security and invasive species management challenges stemming from crop pests and diseases as well as weeds such as parthenium.
Dr Monica Kansiime, Deputy Director, Development and Outreach, Africa, and Dr Negussie Efa Gurmessa, Senior Scientist and Country Lead for Ethiopia, focussed on strengthening partnerships and identifying opportunities to expand CABI’s presence and partnerships in the country.
Key discussions were held with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), World Vegetable Centre, and Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA), with an emphasis on Ethiopia’s emerging and priority issues.
These include sustainable mitigation of the impacts of mango white scale, avocado pests, quelea birds and other migratory pests, and invasive weeds such as Prosopis juliflora, Lantana camara, Striga weed and parthenium (Parthenium hysterophorus).
Invasive species remain a major concern with 15 to 20 new species reported over the past years in Ethiopia with prosopis, for example, expanding at a rate of 31,127 ha/year. Invasive species impact crop yields, livelihoods and fragile ecosystems.
Strengthen Ethiopia’s agricultural systems
Dr Kansiime said, “CABI has been actively engaged in Ethiopia, working closely with government institutions, research organizations, and development partners to enhance plant health, support commodities value chain, combat invasive species, promote sustainable pest management, and support policy development.
“These latest discussions provided us with valuable insights into Ethiopia’s food security challenges, emerging pests and diseases, and regulatory gaps, particularly in pesticide risk reduction and invasive species management.
She said areas of continued collaboration will see work to further support Ethiopia in shaping policy and regulatory frameworks, including agri-extension, biopesticide regulations, plant protection roadmap, quarantine regulation, pest risk analysis, pesticide risk reduction strategies, and invasive species management policies.
Realise better yields and livelihoods
The CABI-led Plantwise and PlantwisePlus programmes have supported the training of plant doctors and the establishment of plant clinics to improve extension services for smallholder farmers so they can realise better yields and livelihoods.
Furthermore, CABI has been supporting strategies to control invasive species, such as prosopis and parthenium, through biological control and integrated management approaches.
Dr Negussie Efa Gurmessa, who is also part of the National Technical Working Group on Plant Health, where CABI contributes technical expertise to national policy formulations and regulatory processes, said, “A major area of ongoing work is the development of biopesticide regulations and registration procedures to facilitate pesticide risk reduction efforts. CABI has provided technical input into these initiatives, to support Ethiopia’s transition towards safer and more sustainable pest control measures.
“The Ministry has developed a Crop Protection Strategy and Roadmap, with CABI’s technical assistance and inputs. However, these frameworks have not yet been fully implemented.
“As a member country of CABI, the officials have asked for CABI’s continued support in implementing these strategies.”
Enhance the effectiveness of the 240 plant clinics across the country
Mr Belayneh Nigussie, Plant Protection Lead Executive at the MoA and Ethiopia-CABI Liaison Officer, with Dr Monica Kansiime and Dr Negussie Efa Gurmessa.
He added that the Ministry of Agriculture has expressed the need for further support, for instance, to strengthen technical backstopping efforts to enhance the effectiveness of the 240 plant clinics across the country of which only around 120 are currently operational.
Mr Belayneh Nigussie, Plant Protection Lead Executive at the MoA and Ethiopia-CABI Liaison Officer, said, “The Ministry of Agriculture has successfully embedded the plant doctor training and implementation of plant clinics approach into its national plans and has allocated an annual budget to sustain plant clinic services. However, coverage remains limited compared to the size of the country and the number of farmers needing these services.
“The non-functionality of some of the plant clinics is partly due to political unrest in certain regions and change of plant doctors.”
Several critical issues were highlighted during the discussions
Several critical issues were highlighted during the discussions with the Ministry of Agriculture including Ethiopia implementing the Food Systems Resilience Program with the support of the World Bank. This involves a specific focus on wheat, poultry, dairy, vegetables, fruits, and urban agriculture.
In addition, Ethiopia is undergoing structural economic reforms with the development of “A Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda: A Pathway to Prosperity.” This is part of the agenda aim to address market failures and address sectoral regulatory and investments constraints to promote investment in sectors including in agriculture.
However, the sector remains exposed to diverse risk factors including rainfall variability, droughts, floods, pests and disease outbreaks, necessitating investment in these areas.
Moreover, EIAR has formulated a 10-year strategic plan focused on advancing homegrown innovations in crops and livestock. Priorities are structured around agroecological zones, national demand, and government priorities, including food security, export-oriented agricultural development, and raw materials for industry.
Future areas of collaboration with CABI
Potential future areas of collaboration with CABI include plant health and extension training, leveraging digital tools to provide smallholder farmers with advisory services, access to inputs/outputs markets, and climate/weather information.
There is also a desire to strengthen Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) efforts – particularly around aflatoxin contamination in agricultural products – as well as initiatives to minimize risks associated with pesticide use through improved training, awareness and regulatory support.
The discussions were undertaken as part of a CABI Development Bursary secondment to Dr Kansiime, with the aim of engaging with key stakeholders in Ethiopia to enhance CABI’s policy and programmatic impact.
Additional information
Main image: The talks included the use of Zygogramma bicolorata from South Africa for parthenium control (Credit: CABI).
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