Gamogoffa zone LIVES Project

Comments forwarded by Dr Azage

  1. Capacity building

Training has been given to one expert from zonal department of agriculture on fruit and vegetable production. We can say nothing has been done on capacity building because actors and other service providers are not trained. The main aim of the training is not to train actors and service providers but to bring qualitative and quantitative changes such as increments of production, productivity and income. This is what our report should contain.

In each location there are four commodities and we know that we are working on Value Chain. Training should be conducted for each commodity that takes in to consideration all actors and service providers.

Training needs preparation and recording [(what gaps do we indentify , what subject are we going to train, who is the resource person, what experiences and knowledge does s(he) have, when and where should we do the training, etc.) name of the trainee, location, outcome, coaching]. When we are training farmers for example on tomato we should clearly identify all topics that help to improve the production and productivity as well as the quality of tomato (seed technology, seed bed preparation and management, land preparation and transplanting of seedlings, nutrient/fertility management, cultural practices, pest control, harvesting, post harvest handling, marketing and others).the same is true for other vegetable crops. This has to be worked out for each commodity and for each process.

We should find resource persons for training. We have big university in the vicinity of the town and we have to identify who is training what. At the end of the day we can invite them to train zonal and district staff.

We should invite department head the dean of the university to visit our commodities (Dr Azage has promised to appear in such discussion).

We should think of cross visits/experience visit. We have to plan to take onion and tomato producers from project areas toZuway so that they can get good lesson how these crops are planted, handled and how pests are prevented before occurrence.

Knowledge centers

Different materials (LCD, computers, camera, screen, internets lines, DVD, etc.) will be distributed to knowledge centers very shortly and they have to be used by the staff. In order the computers to be properly and efficiently utilized, all users have to have computer knowledge. Therefore assessment has to be done to know the status of users and those who have no knowledge of computer application will be trained by the project.

Centers are also established to shelf text books, newsletters, journals, photographs and other reading materials so that the staff will get access to reading and referring. In addition, they are the right place to conduct seminars, and other presentations. Therefore they have to be used for the intended purposes.

Promotion

To organize ‘Gamogoffa zone Livestock fair”

  • To discuss this idea with the zonal and district administrators and concerned institutes
  • To choose appropriate time and prepare schedule (the time should be after the Ethiopian Easter has passed)
  • To choose appropriate place (it is good to conduct the show in A/minch Stadium )
  • To prepare and submit TOR to HQ
  • To establish technical committees at zonal and district levels (the committees will be chaired by the respective administrators and members of the committees will be influential people who are participating in the trade of livestock as well as active service providing institutes such as department/office of agriculture, marketing and cooperative offices, women and children affairs, etc.)
  • To mobilize the community and work with influential people such as the owner of Paradise hotel
  • To make announcement to all beef/small ruminant producers in all direction in the three districts to register for the award of best beef cattle.
  • To develop criteria for selection of best beef cattle
  • To select 5 best beef cattle from each district
  • To conduct the competition of 15 best animals of the three district at zonal level
  • To prepare clothes of different color of different quality for the first three winning animals
  • To prepare awards as per the rank of the animals
  • To invite sponsors of the program
  • To invite hotels and other service providers to sell food and other materials for the spectators.
  • To include other entertaining programs in the show
  • To invite students and other interested individuals to participate in the competition of poems
  • To prepare T-shirts and capes to be sold in the show
  • To conduct the award in the morning session and leave the afternoon for the invited guests to entertain and relax.
  • To sell under bid the animals which participated in the completion.

Value chain Development

1.1.Irrigated crops

We have to think in advance of how to get and introduce substitute crops in case banana and mango are out of production due to disease and other pest problem. We have also to think what crop varieties we can introduce for high land areas like Boke district. We have to work on existing and new varieties side by side. [Dr Azage has promised to send us new vegetable varieties such as eggplant, wine, water melon and others]

There is very high wastage of crop leftover in the districts. They can be easily conserved in such a way that they will be chopped or crashed to change them in to powder which can be stored in sucks and given to animals as a mix with concentrates or alone. So we have to think of small scale crashers.

Forage crops can be planted as fences, in the periphery of main land or in the marginal areas. This is the only way out in areas of big livestock number and shortage of feed.

It is an interesting story I heard about banana market in MirabAbay district. Traders were buying banana from producers without weight balance and now the project has insisted the zonal and district authorities to take measure to use calibrated weight balances in a specified location and this proposal is already implemented. This has to be implemented also in A/minchzuria. Construction of shade and installation of price board are not the solution. We have to get lesson from Alaba town where IPMS had constructed price boards and was announcing weekly prices of pepper. But few days later the boards were damaged by unknown people and the laud speakers had stopped functioning. We can use FM radio broadcasts and SMS to announce daily or weekly prices of banana to all beneficiaries. We should imagine how to get reliable information, who is responsible to collect reliable information and from where, who is going to analyze the information, who is responsible to write the dayly or weekly information on the board, who the guard to look after the shade.. Is the cooperative as such very poor to buy price board? Generally there are many questions which can’t be answered. Dr Azage has also promised to send us one sample andmobile tent to use as shade in banana harvesting area.

Farmers harvest mango fruits in such a way that they use long stick to beat and shatter matured and immature fruits altogether from trees in A/minchzuria district. Ripening is also great problem for both producers and traders. In both cases the loss is more than 50% and it is Shameful for those who have turned blind eye on such great loss. Animals are struggling to feed on disposed fruits but no one has helped them to prepare the disposal in a proper way so that cattle can feed without problem and further loss. LIVES project has to fight to change such trained so that mango fruits will be properly harvested, ripened and processed in different ways to make them available all through the year in supermarkets.

Banana and mango plants are planted in very dens manner and water management is also critical problem. Therefore we have to think of how to change the mind of producers to boost production and quality.

We have to think of changing the mentality of producers beyond the production of fruits and vegetables so that they can add value and sell it with reasonable price. The work forces of a household are the children and we have to show the direction to them how to be business men.

To work with Yasin(GIS expert) about investment on mango production.

We should plan how to over sow forage crops on communal grazing areas because these areas are open resources and are exhaustively utilized.

We can intercrop legumes such as alfalfa within fruit crops such as banana and mango.

Beef

The zone has already selected beef as a commodity and LIVES project didn’t undertake estrus synchronization as just like it is operating in Sidama zone. But if the zone is willing to have genetic improvement of existing breed for meat it has to decide and write letter to LIVES project and we will synchronize about 1000 cows/heifers using the semen of selected bulls from the zone.

When coaching beef producers we should deal with feed resources and their management, nutrition, health, production, services and marketing

LIVES is planning to distribute sample generators which generate electricity from biogas plants and along with this generators storage bags will also be distributed to store extra gas in the plants.

Dairy

The zone has not selected dairy as commodity, but if the zone is willing to have genetic improvement of existing breed for milk, LIVES project will undertake the necessary measures to synchronize about 500 cows/heifers in urban/pre-urban areas. To start this operation the zone has to collect all necessary information ahead of time and make available for LIVES project.

Poultry

In A/minch town collectors and traders are selling one coke of indigenous breed with birr 180-220. This shows that there is very wide opportunity to get income from local chickens. Therefore we have to give strong emphasis to local ones as much as we give to the exotic chickens.

LIVES project shouldn’t involve in the current chicken production where male and female exotic chickens are distributed to organized groups or individuals for egg production in the ratio of 1:1 because male chickens have nothing to do with egg production except increasing cost of production. We should do what others are not doing.

Poultry production will be at ease if we are supported by incubators and LIVES project has assessed small scale (low cost) incubators and has found one Ethiopian who has produced better quality and distribution will continue to LIVES zones very shortly. The purpose of the distribution is to transform small scale producers to sale day-old chickens and/or pullets to other producers which can make them economically feasible. There is very high shortage of chickens in the town. Paradise Lodge in A/minch town alone transports 2000kg of chicken meat every three days with very high cost from Addis Ababa.

The most important components of poultry production are feed and vaccination and we have to be sure that these components are available. We should also know who is vaccinating or if there are no vaccinators we should train youths.

There are private companies in Hawassa which produce feed and chicken and we should link producers with these companies

It is unfair to provide chickens for groups or individuals who do not have knowledge on chicken productions. Therefore we should first train them the way how exotic and indigenous breeds are managed and handled.

Informal discussion with traders in A/minch town showed us that Bonke district is one of the sources of best quality chickens and we have to be fast enough to collect information in these areas how chickens are managed, fed, what the breeds look like, etc.

Small Ruminants

Gamogoffa zone is known for production of small ruminants. Producers own sheep, goat or mixed and production data (birth rate per year, mortality, growth, birth of twins, death rate after winning, time of pregnancy after winning, etc.) and market information (place of production, farm get price, price in big markets, time/month sheep or goat sold etc. ) are the most important activities in the production of small ruminants.

There are good markets for small ruminants and currently buyers can’t get ram for slaughtering and what they are buying is the ewe. This implies that we are eating the breeding stock. Unless we solve this problem at earliest possible time through genetic improvement, the population of small ruminants we be reduced.

Environment

This is critical issue as far as LIVES project is concerned. Waste materials are disposed everywhere and are contaminating/polluting resident areas, farmlands and grazing areas. In Gentakancham PA in A/minchzuria district one boy was observed spraying pesticide without any safety device. Therefore we should take the lead to teach waste management and pesticide handling and proper application to the rural community.