The Smallholder Horticulture Project in Ethiopia

Improving smallholder farmers’ livelihoods through the competitive and sustainable development of the avocado sector

The Smallholder Horticulture Project (SHP) is a Joint Technical Cooperation Programme between Israel, the United States and Ethiopia. Implementing partners are Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation (MASHAV), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Ethiopia’s Ministry of Agriculture (MoANR). The programme was mainly implemented in five woredas (administrative divisions in Ethiopia):  Mecha, Meskan, Boloso Sore, Raya Alamata and Kersa, and provided technical assistance to avocado growers in the country. 

The project was designed to identify and access new domestic and export markets for avocados, as well as to provide technical support to improve phytosanitary regulations for Ethiopian horticultural crops.  The project’s ultimate goal was to promote economic growth in rural areas by strengthening the commercialization of horticulture production through the competitive and sustainable development of the avocado sector. The project aimed to increase smallholder farmers’ income by allowing access to new markets through the sharing of Israeli expertise in high-value horticultural production, the establishment of tissue labs and horticultural nurseries, the scaling up of production and supply of improved plant material, the capacity building of extension agents and smallholder farmers, and through the improvement of production and marketing skills. 

This initiative addressed all steps of production including: the introduction of new high-quality avocado varieties; quality training and consultancies; capacity-building for nursery and tissue culture lab management and extension services; and the establishment of tissue culture laboratories, new nurseries and demonstration plots for the propagation of avocado trees. The Ethiopian Government provided administrative coordination and nursery equipment; USAID, in its role as partner, directed the project including allocation of budget, monitoring and evaluation; and MASHAV provided knowledge, budget, training (in Israel and Ethiopia) and long-term expertise from the establishment of the project until April 2020.  

The project was navigated by a steering committee that met twice a year (once per year toward the project’s conclusion). The Committee was chaired by the Ethiopian State Minister of Agriculture, the USAID representative, and the MASHAV representative with the Israeli Embassy. 

The project underwent different phases, which were adjusted according to Steering Committee decisions. 

The project also set up pilot solar drip irrigation systems in four regions. 

More than 2,500 smallholder farmers were trained on improved orchard management practices, specifically on compost preparation and application, tree pruning and top working, pest and weed management, and mulching. The farmers also received training on post-harvest handling of fruit. 

A total of 413 experts, development agents and grafting technicians have been trained since May 2016. Specifically, training was provided on commercial agriculture project development as well as on post-harvest handling techniques. Focusing on five woredas, 5,000 farmers participated in capacity-building activities, and there were a total of 6,308 direct project beneficiaries.

Nurseries and extension activities were documented to fulfil the Global Good Agricultural Practices requirements for the export of avocado fruits. In 2019, about 16.3 metric tons of avocado fruit were exported to Europe, and around 46 farmers were linked to the export market in Amhara and in Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) in 2019. However, only around 13 percent of the export plan was achieved in 2019 (the plan was to reach 125 metric tons) due to various reasons, including lack of tree maturity and hail damage in August 2019. 

In general, the project was focused on capacity-building, i.e. providing training both on-the-ground and overseas, in both production and marketing. Still, greater efforts are needed to sustain the project’s achievements and to lay a strong foundation for the export of avocados from the country. 

The sustainability and replicability of the initiative is reflected in MASHAV’s approach of ‘training of trainers’, resulting in a cadre of local professionals who continue training local plant propagation technicians for nurseries and micro-propagation laboratories, transfer knowledge and plant material to the farmers, and accompany them while accessing local and export markets.  The roles of these trainers include:  transferring of know-how regarding fruit tree production; visiting the farmers regularly and suggesting improvements; following up on the implementation of these recommendations; organizing demonstrations of new technologies; and providing information on prices, markets and inputs. 

At the time of the initiative’s completion in 2019, over 3,000 smallholders were applying the new technologies and improved techniques, and were seeing increasing productivity. 

The project can be replicated in other developing countries after adjustments to the local conditions.  Activities can either be built on an existing project, or the two sides can jointly design and implement a new initiative. Each side contributes their expertise and comparative advantage to the project. 

Our cooperation focuses on providing developing countries with the tools for sustainable capacity building. In its triangular cooperation, Israel's main focus is on capacity building. By cooperating with a funding state and a developing country, the parties are able to achieve their goals of the triangular cooperation. 

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