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Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sustainable Intensification

Tag: mechanization

Learning How to Mechanize Agriculture in Northwestern Ethiopia

DSC_0004How many simple technologies have been introduced to rural farming communities, only to fail miserably shortly after the nongovernmental organization (NGO) closes the project? Too many. The technologies were too complicated. Nobody was trained to use them. Materials could not be sourced locally and importation was prohibitively expensive. The list is long.

Speaking to Robert Burdick of Tillers International on the edge of a two-day workshop organized by the Appropriate Scale Mechanization Consortium at Bahir Dar University in Ethiopia on June 8-9, 2016, he outlined some of the factors which contribute to the success of mechanization interventions and why he is confident of the consortium’s success in the northwestern Amhara region. Burdick points out how past Tiller interventions have succeeded in reducing drudgery, increasing the incomes of small farmers and helping establish local service providers. Continue reading “Learning How to Mechanize Agriculture in Northwestern Ethiopia”

Opportunities Abound for Mechanized Agriculture in Northwestern Ethiopia

DSC_0020The sustainable intensification of agriculture offers smallholder farmers huge opportunities in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, according to the participants of a workshop on appropriate scale mechanization at Bahir Dar University on the June 8-9, 2016. The introduction of locally-adapted technologies has the potential to raise incomes and nutritional security, reduce drudgery and empower women and youth, offering the people of the region sustainable alternatives to migration to larger urban areas of the country, principally Addis Ababa.

The event was organized by the Appropriate Scale Mechanization Consortium, a $4.7 million four-year project, which is part of the Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab (SIIL), an initiative of Feed the Future led by the United States Agency for International Development. The consortium component of SIIL, which began in September 2015, seeks to leverage the use of mechanization to improve farm productivity, income and nutrition of smallholder farmers, particularly women, in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cambodia and Ethiopia.

Opening the event, Baylie Damtie, the president of Bahir Dar University, underlined the importance of agriculture in the sustainable development of Ethiopia, the key to the industrialization of the country. He also emphasized, however, that this process needed to be introduced at a pace suitable to the needs of the country. Job creation is key, he said.

Continue reading “Opportunities Abound for Mechanized Agriculture in Northwestern Ethiopia”

The Appropriate Scale Mechanization Consortium Launches in Burkina Faso

Local Farmer from Koumbia, Burkina Faso shares his experiences with the ASMC Team.
Local Farmer from Koumbia, Burkina Faso shares his experiences with the ASMC team

The Appropriate Scale Mechanization Consortium (ASMC) traveled to Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso to launch the Appropriate Scale Mechanization Innovation Hub at the Polytechnic University of Bobo-Dioulasso.

Farmers, manufacturers, researchers, students and government officials joined the ASMC for a two-day workshop on mechanization on May 30-31, 2016. The workshop and field visits to local farms allowed the ASMC team to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities of mechanization in Burkina Faso and helped to identify specific interventions to improve the livelihoods of Burkinabe farmers. Continue reading “The Appropriate Scale Mechanization Consortium Launches in Burkina Faso”