REVITALIZING RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS IN PASTORAL AND EMERGING REGIONS

Abstract

To many, it is a paradox that in spite of the vast riches of land, water and livestock resources pervasive poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition are still prevalent in the pastoral and emerging regions of Ethiopia. Of course climatic variability, drought and natural resource degradation are problems to be reckoned with in these areas but arguably among the factors exacerbating the existing situation are poor access to improved technologies and w^eak institutional capacity. Pastoral and agricultural productivity rs therefore very low because of the above indicated and a host of other biotic and abiotic constraints and significant part of the population in these regions has remained permanently aid dependent. If rhe country is to register rapid growth, alleviate poverty and meet its development goals, it has to enable those regions use their untapped natural resources and boost their agricultural production. Current government policy is geared in this direction, and as a government agency, EIAR has also reorganized itself to be in a better position to plav its frontline role by creating multi-stakeholder partnerships and capacitating the newly found regional research institutes and centers This paper describes the paradigm shift being followed in research for development to foster access of pastoralists and farmers to improved, an d m arket oriented tech n olog ies in the pastoral and em erg in g reg ion s and the striv es to stren g th en the im p lem en tatio n and institutional cap acity of the regional research set up. After the reforms introduced through BPR in 2008, EIAR has established a special office charged with the responsibility of coordinating efforts aimed at strengthening agricultural research and development in emerging regions. The pastoral and emerging regions research process and capacity building coordination office was bestowed with the responsibility to lead promotion and scaling up of proven technologies, work actively in collaboration with the main research processes in the introduction and adaptation of new technologies and implement measures to build capacity of the young regional agricultural research institutes and centers. To realize its mandates, the coordination office initially set up two focal groups comprising multi-disciplinarv team of senior scientists, one each for the mainly livestock-based system of the eastern Ethiopian pastoral regions of Afar and Somali; and the mainly crop-based system of the western Ethiopian regions of Benshangul Gumuz and Gambella. The dominant production system in these regions has dictated the composition of the focal groups, hence livestock and crop scientists make up the majority of Afar and Somali, and Benshangul Gumuz and Gambella focal groups, respectively. Once the structural set up was in place, the coordination office developed a comprehensive technical support plan project, a 7.3 million Birr budget project which was subsequently approved for RCBP funding. The main objectives of this project were: to provide guidance and advisory services and training; and organize various forums to enhance dissemination of knowledge and technologies by fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships, linkages and networking. The project has five com ponents vis. provision of technical support b y focal groups; consultative meetings, field days, research a n d development forums , and capacity building . Further , separately but as part of the overall comprehensive support plan, projects on crop and animal feeds scaling up (the two priority areas for scaling up) w ere developed. The comprehensive technical support program commenced with a