Humidtropics Program Situational Analysis Launch Meeting report
Ethiopia (Western Oromia) Action Site
(not all participants shown)
September 9, 2014
Compiled by:
Elias Damtew (ILRI)
Randall Ritzema (ILRI)
Participants
1
Name
Benti Tolossa
Organization
Anno Agro-Industry (Private sector)
2
3
4
Seid Mohammed
Bayissa Gedefe
Minilik Besega
5
Tamrat Negussie
6
Teshome Terfessa
7
Taha Mume
AVRDC (World Vegetable Center)
Bako Research Center (OARI)
EIAR (Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural
Research)
HUNDEE (Oromo Grassroots
Development Initiative)
HUNDEE (Oromo Grassroots
Development Initiative)
OARI (Oromia Agricultural Research
Institute)
8
Mengistu Desalegn
9
Britta Kowalski
10 Alan Duncan
11 Randall Ritzema
12 Elias Damtew
IWMI (International Water Management
Institute)
CIP-SSA (International Potato Center-Sub
Saharan Africa)
ILRI (International Livestock Research
Institute)
ILRI (International Livestock Research
Institute)
ILRI (International Livestock Research
Institute)
Position
Plant breeder and business
owner
Human nutritionist
Socio-economic researcher
Biometrics and GIS researcher
Livelihoods expert
Site manager for Jeldu area
Humidtropics Action Site
Facilitator and Director of
Socioeconomics and
Agricultural Extension
Researcher, Social Science
Systems Research Scientist
Scientist-Innovation systems,
Livestock
Scientist - Systems Analysis
Innovation systems Research
Technician
Introduction to Workshop Objectives
The meeting started with an introduction session where participants introduced the person sitting next
to them to the rest of the group.
Randall presented the objectives of the launch meeting as:
1. Develop a shared understanding of:
 The Humidtropics CGIAR research program
 The Humidtropics East and Central Africa Action Area
 The Humidtropics Ethiopia Action Site
2. Identify data and human resources available within the group, as well as possible consultants,
who will all be involved in undertaking the situational analysis in the Ethiopia Action Site.
Likewise, two primary outputs of the meeting were to be:
1. Confirm a work plan for the Ethiopia Action Site
2. Clarify roles and responsibilities for the partners involved.
Introduction to Humidtropics program and action areas
In introducing the program, Dr. Alan Duncan (ILRI) emphasized that though there is tremendous potential
in areas of the humid tropics, most of these areas are still experiencing low productivity. To unlock this
potential, the Humidtropics program has adopted an integrated system approach with a strong emphasis
on viable partnerships. The program focuses not only on production systems but on policy, and market
and institutions. It considers crop, livestock, and natural resource management subsystems as well, and
therefore considers the system as a whole. Different innovation system trajectories of natural resource
bases and livelihood status that were used as a rationale for the program level hypothesis were presented.
Global action areas, and the action sites in east and southern Africa, were introduced.
The Humidtropics program in Ethiopia underwent a site selection process in late 2013. The main variables
when considering sites were:
 Rate of poverty
 Ease of market access
 Fragility of the ecosystem or risk of degradation
Based on different scales of these variables different development domains were mapped and used for
ranking and prioritizing potential Humidtropics field sites. A combination of hard and soft criteria were
considered for field site selection. The process emphasized that the number of field sites should be
manageable and each site should consist of roughly 20,000 households, equivalent to the size of a woreda
in the Ethiopian context. A brainstorming meeting was held with stakeholders to select eight sites in
reflecting different priority levels. Tier 1 sites selected were Jeldu and Diga. Tier 1 / 2 sites were Dedo
and Lemo.
Although the program is in the process of identifying entry points, a range of Innovation Platform activities
have been undertaken at field level by CIP and IWMI. Major partners in the program are:
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CGIAR Centers
- IITA, ICRAF, ILRI, CIAT, Bioversity, CIP, IWMI
Non-CGIAR partners
- AVRDC, Wageningen University, icipe, FARA
Advanced Research Institutes
- CIRAD, CSIRO, SLU
National research institutions
Development organizations
Farmer organizations
Discussion Points after Presentations
Benti- I now see this is a large program. The situational analysis study should flesh out not only problems
but suggest solutions to the identified problems. The most important crops in West Oromia are wheat,
teff, and maize: these particularly should be studied in depth. It is good to make use of the large amount
of information produced at the Bako Research Center over the last 40 years and another large USAID study
conducted previously in the area.
Alan- The Situational Analysis has a plan to make use of resources from Bako Research Center. It
is a work of systematically compiling existing information and builds on what is already there. We
will look for the previous USAID study and we also look into a recent USAID resource- the Atlas of
Ethiopia Livelihoods.
Taha- How did you select members of this supervisory committee?
Randall- The committee membership needed to reflect membership from diverse perspectives who
have knowledge of the situation in Western Oromia. The Oromia Agricultural Research Institute
(OARI) helped in coming up with lists of stakeholders.
Benti- A zonal level representative from Bureau of Agriculture in Nekemte is important.
Alan- They are very important and we can include them after the SA.
Introduction to Situational Analysis
The Situational Analysis study is going to be a three-month activity. It is funded by the Humidtropics
program through ILRI and AVRDC (the World Vegetable Center). Objectives of the Situational Analysis
are:
 To characterize broadly all important system aspects that are relevant to the CRP and, through that,
generate information to inform all other Program activities to better attain the Intermediate
Development Outcomes (IDOs), as well as to inform ongoing field site selection. To develop
common understanding among different partners And harness the different knowledge and skills
of partners
 To harness the various partner skills and experiences to develop a common and shared
understanding of the issues that need to be addressed and potential solutions, particularly between
international and national partners, allowing local and global expertise to play complementary
roles.
 To initiate and facilitate engagement with stakeholders and partners as part of the R4D platform
development that is needed for the long-term success and scalability of the Program.
Outputs Expected from the Situational Analysis:
OARI and the consultants will work collaboratively. An initial draft report produced by OARI will feed into
the consultant’s efforts to draft the four ‘descriptive’ sections of the final report. There will be two phases
of the Situational Analysis: the first phase will focus mainly rely on available secondary data. In the second
phase, the consultants will obtain further secondary data, and will gather primary data, with the support
of OARI, through Focus Group Discussions and Key informant Interviews. The supervisory committee will
hire the consultants and supervise their work, and identify study gaps through a series of review meetings.
The goal of this effort is to have a Situational Analysis final report drafted by the end of 2014.
OARI + Consultants
Supervisory Committee +
Consultants
•Development overview
•Production systems
•Markets and institutions
•Natural resources management (NRM) and the
environment
•Linkages between sectors
•Summary of opportunities, constraints, risks and
vulnerabilities
•Recommendations
Feedback on Introduction to Situational Analysis
Taha- The schedule is aggressive and we in government offices usually have unpredictable schedules. We
are ok with duration of Situational Analysis but timelines for some in-between activities need to be
flexible.
Alan- We need to finish it by the specified time, December, because this is related to new
Humidtropics funding in the coming year. We can be flexible with intermediate goals and
meetings as long as it doesn’t affect completion of the SA.
Benti- Historic trends of production should also be reflected in the final SA report. Productivity is declining
in some commodities and increasing in others.
Alan- This is one of the main reasons why Humidtropics tries to integrate all the system
components- to see how one system element affects and is related with the others.
Bayissa- What area does the Situational Analysis cover; only Jeldu and Diga or the whole Western Oromia
action site?
Alan- It is intended to cover the whole of Western Oromia.
Minilik- If we go for many information sources we may have inconsistencies; it would be good to have a
monitoring and evaluation tool to ensure the quality and depth of the data.
Seid- It would be good to collect data from any possible source. Grass root CBOs (Community Based
Organizations) and cooperatives can be used for production and market data. It would be good to also
use woreda and zonal level data sources.
Randall- What about data from the national level, for example weather-related data?
Minilik- We (EIAR) have ample weather data that can be used for the SA. Data coinciding with the
project field sites should be identified.
World Café for partner contributions and data sources for SA
A World Café exercise was used to identify secondary data sources around the four major topics of the
Situational Analysis. The World Café was performed with two groups in two rounds. Topics covered were:
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Development overview
Production systems
Market and institutions
Natural resource management and Environment
Development overview
Name of partners
Woreda agriculture office; Woreda finance and
economic development office; CIMMYT, IFPRI, ICARDA
Environmental protection authority; EIAR; Woreda office
of agriculture
Holleta and Bako Research Centers; Zonal agricultural
office; District electric power office; Woreda water and
energy office; Woreda water and sanitation office; Rural
road authority office
Central statistical Agency (CSA)
Land administration Office; Woreda Agricultural Office
Information
Socioeconomic reports
Climate reporst, GIS data and geographical
reports
Socio-economic, production, soil report;
Electric and water users/customers report;
water quality and access report; road
coverage and distribution
Demography, population and ethnicity
report
Land use report
Production systems
Name of partners
Oromia Bureau of Agriculture (Regional, Zonal and
Woreda)
Public and private seed companies
Woreda cooperative office; Oromia Trade and Market
development bureau
Bako Research Center (OARI)
CIMMYT; IFPRI
IWMI; ILRI
Central statistical Agency (CSA)
Finance and economic development office
Woreda gender office
Information
Has data and reports on number of
farmers, area of Woreda, input use, pest
and disease, management practices,
production and productivity in crop and
livestock
Seed varieties and quantity of seed sold
Quantity of fertilize sold; seed sold
Information on production systems, crop
varieties; livestock and crop productivity
Baseline survey (SIMLESA); adoption
pathway study; Impact assessment report
Rainwater management adoption survey
report; Livestock related data
Zonal annual production data/report
labor use and rural wages data/report;
socio-economic data
Gender disaggregated data around
production systems
ICCO (inter church organization for development
cooperation)
Demographic and socio-economic reports
Market and institutions
Name of partners
Woreda cooperative office; Woreda Trade and Market
Development office
Woreda Agricultural Office; Cooperative office and
unions
Oromia Commodity Exchange; Oromia Bureau of
Agriculture; Oromia Trade and Market Development
Bureau
Woreda Women Affairs Office; Cooperative office; rural
credit office
Woreda Finance and Economic Development Office
Woreda Agricultural Office; Woreda Finance and
Economic Development Office
Information
Report on market and market chains and
regulations
Report on supply of inputs and services
Report on dominant commodities and
market regulations
Report on farmer groups and gender
roles
Report on existing projects
Report on existing constraints and
opportunities
Natural resource management and Environment
Name of partners
Zonal and Woreda agricultural offices; Woreda/Zonal
Water supply and sanitation office
Irrigation authority at zonal and woreda office
Soil research lab (OARI and EIAR)
Biodiversity Institute (Addis Ababa)
Central statistical Agency (CSA); Woreda bureau of
agriculture; Woreda land administration office
Ministry of agriculture and Environmental protection
Authority
Information
Soil related reports; Water quality and
quantity data and reports
Irrigated and rainfed land data and
reports
Soil related data and reports
Biodiversity and natural resource status
data and reports
Annual land use and land use for NRM
data and reports
NRM Policy documents; Deforestation
and trends in forest cover
Some additional notes from Britta:
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CIP has a PCA (Participative Community Analysis) on the AfricaRising sites Lemo and Sinana.
Check with Solomon Gebreselassie.
There is a base-line study of Irish Aid nutrition project in SNNPR. Wellington Jogo. Not sure if
there is data on Lemo.
There are data for the BPBL (Better Potato for a Better Life) for Lemo and Sisana. Check with
Solomon Gebreselassie.
Reflection on the World Café exercise
Benti- This exercise should be just the start; I do feel we have left out important stakeholders. The
consultants should pursue the details.
Taha- I agree; we need to consult existing stakeholders for more information.
Benti- We can find raw data from Woreda and Zonal offices, but the international and national research
centers can provide processed information and analysis.
Alan- USAID has also some sort of recent data compilation, an Atlas of Ethiopian Livelihoods work that
could be used for this purpose.
Taha- CIMMYT-led SIMLESA program and Adoption Pathway projects can also be used as important
sources.
Minilik- I can give contact person called Dr. Chilot Yerga, for the SIMLESA and Adoption Pathway
projects. The Adoption Pathway project led to SIMLESA, and both projects used the same baseline.
Britta- Holetta Research Station may also hold relevant data.
One possible approach to take for the report: Focus on the 8 woredas with Western Oromia that came
out of site selection process, to paint a ‘picture’ for the region.
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Teshome- Questioned whether 8 woredas were representative; Alan felt so, because of rigorous
site selection process.
Alan: This approach would not ‘replace’ regional-based report, but would add to it.
Some general comments on data sources and data quality:
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Governmental organizations should be given higher priority when collecting data. Data from
higher levels has typically been processed and written up. Data /information from woreda/zonal
levels is typically raw and unprocessed.
Can get zonal-level data easily, and is probably the best data
Woreda level: data quality will be highly variable
Seid M: His experience is that typically, data handling is very poor; there are few quality assurance
measures in place. Therefore, have contingency measures in mind.
Some further potential sources of data:
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USAID Map (Alan): http://www.feg-consulting.com/what/services/early_warning/livelihoodintegration-unit-liu/an-atlas-of-ethiopia-livelihoods
CSA (Central Statistical Authority)- has data from national down to zonal level
NMA?
Many impact assessments have been placed online
Retired researchers with deep knowledge:
o Dr. Tesfaye Kumasa
o Dr. Alamayehu Mengistu
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USAID produced a comprehensive, SA-style report, (“ILDA”?) maybe 20 years ago. They were
based out of Bako for the assessment.
The Ministry of Agriculture should be involved, from the national level down to the woreda level. A key
stakeholder and potential data source is at the Zonal level, the ‘Bureau of Agriculture’. OARI will
establish contact for (1) data, and (2) for SC membership.
In addition to agriculture, other government offices exist at national, zonal, and woreda levels, e.g.
health and water quality institutes. Information from these sources should also be accessed.
Consultant Candidate Compilation
Name
Dr Bezabih Emana
Ethiopian economic
association
Getachew Gebru
Ethiopian statistical
association
Dr. Girma Taye
Category
Socio-economics
Contact info
ILRI/Randall
Recommender
Taha Mume
Socio-economics
To propose other
contacts
IWMI
Alan Duncan
ILRI
Alan Duncan
Socio-economics
Biometrician
Minilik Tesega
Addis Ababa University
0911 769926
Minilik Tesega
There will be an advert sent out to our networks and consultants are expected to send a one page resume.
Supervisory committee members can recommend people who have good experience in data analysis and
report writing. We are looking for the best science output out of their work so the consultants need to
meet those expectations. There will be two consultants for the Biophysical and Socioeconomic
components. Supervisory committee members can distribute the advert through their networks.
Alan- It is critical to get the right consultants. If we do not at first, it is best to hold back.
Supervisory Committee membership:
Dr. Asfaw Negassa how has worked with different CG centers and is now working on the national livestock
master plan development was recommended to be a member of the supervisory committee.
Britta- Suggested Geberemdhin Woldegiorgis, a potato specialist from Holleta research center, to be
considered as member of supervisory committee. He has worked on quality declared planting material
for potato in Jeldu.
Taha- Recommended having someone from the Bureau of Agriculture join the supervisory Committee.
Kidus Negussie was recommended for committee membership.
Finally, participants showed their interest for continuing being a members of the supervisory committee
and next meeting was tentatively schedule in October.
Sub-committee members for consultant selection:
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Alan Duncan
Teklu Erkossa
Randall Ritzema
Other CG representatives?
Taha Mume
AVRDC