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National Dialogue On Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and its role on the climate resilient green economy initiative in Ethiopia A recap from Day 1 (23 July 2012) Ermias Betemariam Meron Mulatu. Lain Wright.
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National Dialogue On Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and its role on the climate resilient green economy initiative in Ethiopia A recap from Day 1 (23 July 2012) Ermias Betemariam MeronMulatu
Lain Wright Sustainable intensification: Increase production while maintaining ecosystem health
A national platform for institutional learning and policy action on NRM in Ethiopia Presentation – 23 July 2012
Agri., water, forest and food security are well- connected = integrated approach (Rio+20) • Week institutional linkages & fragmented investment • Platform: • Guide evidence based policy formulation • Reduce risk of duplications • Approach: creating portal
Sustainable tree-crop-livestock intensification as a pillar for the Ethiopian climate resilient green economy initiative –ICRAF led project funded by USAID Aster G/Kirstos (PhD) and Kiros Meles Hadgu (PhD) Presented at National Dialog On Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and its role on the CRGE 23-24 July, ILRI, Ethiopia
SSA poor cereal production (1 t/ha) –major challenge: • Agroforestry as a solution • Major challenges of environmental degradation • Agri. Expansion • Free grazing • Lack of tree germplasm
National Dialog On Sustainable Agricultural Intensification in Ethiopia and its role on the climate resilient green economy initiative in Ethiopia July 23rd and 24th, 2012, ILRI Campus, Addis Ababa The status of forestry development in Ethiopia: Challenges and Opportunities Wubalem Tadesse Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research wubalem16@gmail.com
Opportunities • Exclosures • Tree planting in home gardens & woodlots • Why Ethiopia is wood importer? • Challenges • State of Ethiopian forest: lacks data & updating (old references) • Deforestation • Poor forestry institutions • Consequences of forest degradation: erosion, siltation, etc. • Integrated approach: forestry, Agri, Industry • More investment in forest research, education and extension
Importance of Biodiversity for agricultural intensification and climate change adaptation in Ethiopia GemedoDalle (PhD) Institute of Biodiversity Conservation
Biodiversity values • Critical about “sustainability” & “intensification” • Intensification may affect sustainability: careto address the issues of small holding farmers • Researchers should focus on local varieties. There are fast growing tree and shrub species • Generic erosion to adapt for climate change, disease resistant etc. • Diversification should be considers as a useful pillar in projects. • Proper valuation of ecosystem services: yield /ha is not sufficient (values of trees on landscapes…) • Consider the international convention that Ethiopia has accepted • Strong forest institution • BD - Key weapon in the fight against climate change
Contribution of TAF to climate change adaptation and mitigation in Ethiopia ZebeneAsfaw Hawassa Unversity, Wondo Genet college of Forestry and Natural Resources. zebeneasfaw@yahoo.co.uk, zebeneasfaw@gmail.com
Agroforestry (Gedeo) for landscape connectivity, land rehabilitation, nutrient cycling, water quality… • Diversification (e.g. interventions, income) is key to intensification • Intensification of agri. Should also give emphasis to already existing AF systems
Forest Policy, Strategies and Laws of Ethiopia: Opportunities and Challenges to Developing the Sector MelakuBekele (WGCF-NR, Wondo Genet) and HabtemariamKassa (CIFOR, Addis Ababa) Presentation at the National Dialog On Sustainable Agricultural Intensification in Ethiopia and its role on the climate resilient green economy initiative in Ethiopia 23-24 July 2012, Addis Ababa
Forest policy is a process: • Forestry institution vacuum • Forestry proclamation 2007 butforest directive missing • Monitoring policy outcomes are lacking: policy implementation is an issue
Lack of clear data on forestry • Inadequate attention by the planners to the sector- undervaluation of the total economic values of forest resources • Forest property rights • Lack of capable institutions • Establishing regular discussion forum
Genesis of Climate Resilient Highlands Transformation KelaliAdhana (PhD) Director General Tigray Science and Technology Agency July 23, 2012 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 23 July 2012
A climate resilient economy – avert the negative consequence of CC • Economics of CC • Economic resilience • Environmental resilience • Strengthening GO an Civil Society organizations • Requires new types of institutional arrangements • Society resilience: • Policy should consider social resiliency • Indigenous knowledge • What matters for the highlands matters for the lowlands
Information Needs for Adaptation to & Mitigation of Climate Variability & Change Dr. GirmaBalcha and GebruJember Climate Change Forum-Ethiopia Gebru_j@yahoo.com
at least 30 years of change • We don’t have enough met stations- poor spatial and temporal coverage (modeling as a solution • Ethiopia trend- • temp increasing but rainfall variability • Future projections: RF will increase
More attention to climate variability than CC (Ali , 2007) Need for formulating research/ knowledge-based policy and strategy set up
Sustainable Agricultural Intensification in the Ethiopian HighlandsTilahun Amede Scientist / Nile Basin Coordinator, CGIAR Challenge Program Water for Food
Problem priority: Water scarcity • Water scarcity • Physical • Economic (e.g. Sahara has huge under ground water but not economical to use it). • Compare sustainability and intensifications- they may contradict • Intensification is short term- increase productivity • Sustainability is long term
Approach • Understand systems and the clients • Improving water storage and productivity of farms, landscapes and basins • Increasing water productivity • Livestock productivity- reduce distance to watering point • through enhancing soil fertility (Zn): combining organic and inorganic fertilizers • We need to make choices: more food per unit of water
Landscape approaches for intensifications • Functional policies in facilitating incentives mechanism • Market incentives: infrastructure is rudimentary • Policy incentives • Safety-net options • Enable local institutions • Scaling up/out/down- good pracitices
Reflections • What are the challenges to implement Agfor? • Consider the roles of natural & plantation forests [the topic is intensification- trees outside forest] • Strong forestry institution needed • Wide use of exotic tree species could alter future forest diversity • Whose task is data base management? At different levels (e.g. institutions) [BoARD] • Urban forestry: towns are more green than their surroundings
Science/research-policy interface: • breaking the academic circle • Policy communication- the national platform is good • Professional shouldn’t bias decision makers
Specialization: northern Ethiopia has good potential for grain production that the traditional Agfo might be less feasible [Agofo has still potential in northern Ethiopia- land restoration] • Eucalyptus as Agroforestry species [used as shelter in wet soils] • Trends in forest cover change = f(Af/reforestation, deforestation) [number of seedlings plants doesn’t tell the change in forest cover- proper data and documentation needed] • The proceeding should be shared with policy makers: [policy makers are very much aware and shared with proceedings in the past]
CC uncertainties should be managed carefully • What is our priority? adaptation or mitigation [adaptation] • Why farmers are not adopting good practices? • Environmental resilience: ecosystems don’t bounce back but respond: prepare the community for scenarios than Green Economy • Develop scenario • Prepare packages
Livestock productivityby reducing walking distance appreciated • Soil organic matter management: identify the limiting elements (low of the minimum) • Water scarcity a serious problem: improve water use efficiency- recycling & reuse • Traditional resilience: traditional knowledge
Common issues shard by the speakers • Data source/quality • Institutional strength • Small-holders and indigenous knowledge • Proper valuation of forests/biological resources to ecosystem services • Up/out-scaling of good practices
Creating synergies Ethiopian soils: Agriculture Transformation Agency Red-legacy data White- AfSISsentinel site Green- Millennium Village Yellow- proposed 98 sentinel sites http://www.africasoils.net/EthiopiaSoils
Final remarks Good representation of institutions- a good mix. Very informative presentations Much engagement from the audience