LiuJianjuntalkswithlocalfarmerstolearnaboutthewheatharvestCOURTESYPHOTOZenebeW.Selaseknowshowimportantgoodtechniquesareinfarming;sowhenChineseagriculturalexpertsaresenttoAddisAbaba,thedeputymanagerofEthiopianSeedEnterprise(ESE)ofteninvitesthemtovisitGonde-IteyaBasicSeedFarm,afarmownedbyESE.
“TheproductionofwheatisshowingmarkedimprovementsfollowingthepracticaladvicegivenbyChineseagriculturalexperts,”saidSelase.“Forexample,wecanincreasetheseedingrateandapplyblendedfertilizertoboostcropproduction.”
SelaseusuallycommunicateswithLiuJianjunonwheatgrowingtechnique.Liuisa48-year-oldwheatexpertfromtheAgricultureandAnimalHusbandryBureauofZhuoluCountyinnorthChina’sHebeiProvince,whoisnowworkinginAddisAbaba.“Liu’ssuggestionsarepracticalandweareconsideringchangingsomeofourplantingmethods,”hesaid.
Techcooperation
LiuistheteamleaderofthethirdbatchofChinesesenioragriculturalexpertsgrouptoEthiopia.TheworkoftheexpertsgroupispartoftheSino-AfricantechnicalcooperationprojectsannouncedbytheChineseGovernmentattheFourthMinisterialConferenceoftheForumonChina-AfricaCooperationin2009.
LiuandtheothersevenChineseagriculturalexpertsweredispatchedtoEthiopiainlate2015foraperiodoftwoyears,workingintheAgriculturalExtensionDirectorate,EthiopianMinistryofAgricultureandNaturalResources(MANR)inAddisAbaba.Theseexpertsspecializeinwheat,rice,cottonandediblefunguscultivation,aswellasinirrigationmachineryoperation,sericultureandagriculturalproductsstorageandprocessing.
FortunatelyforLiu,helearnedthelocalAmhariclanguagewhenhespenttwoyearsteachingattheAgarfaAgriculturalTechnicalVocationalandEducationalTrainingCollegeinEthiopiain2012-14.
WhatmotivatedhimtolearnanAfricanlanguagewastobettercommunicatewiththosearoundhim.
“NomatterifItalktomycolleaguesortechnicians,it’smucheasiertousethelocallanguage,especiallywhenIspeaktolocalfarmersinruralareas,”hesaid.
TheexpertsgrouplandedinAddisAbabaonOctober21,2015.Thefollowingday,theteammetwithTesfayeMengiste,DirectorGeneralofAgriculturalExtensionDirectorateofMANR.MengistehighlightedthetwomajorbottlenecksthatrestrictthedevelopmentofagricultureinEthiopia:severebackwardnessofcropharvestingtechniquesandadearthofagriculturalmechanizationtechnologies.LiusaidhelpingEthiopiasolvethesetwoproblemshasnaturallybecomethefocusoftheirwork.
WhileworkingintheMANR,theChineseexpertsalsohelpedwithagriculturepolicyplanningandadvising,conductedfielddemonstrationsandprovidedtrainingtolocaltechniciansandfarmers.
WheatisoneofEthiopia’smostimportantcerealcropstoensurefoodsecurity.Accordingtorecentstatistics,about4.8millionfarmersproducecloseto3.4milliontonsofwheatacross1.6millionhectaresoflandinEthiopia.Bothbreadanddurumwheatvarietiesarewidelygrowninthecountry,constitutingaround60percentand40percentofthetotalwheatproductionrespectively.However,eveninhigh-yieldareas,thecountry’swheatyieldisrelativelylow.HowtoincreasewheatyieldisakeyconcernforEthiopia’sMANR.
AfterthearrivalofLiuandhisteammatesinEthiopia,theirfirsttaskwastoconductextensiveandin-depthfieldresearchinthefirsttwomonths.InDecember2015,LiuproposedtotheMANRtolaunchademonstrationprojectofintensivewheatcultivation.
“Thedemonstrationprojectaimstoshowthetechniquesofintensivewheatcultivation,whichiswidelyappliedinChina,tolocalfarmersandshareexperienceswithtechnicians,soastoensurethehighyieldandgoodqualityofwheat,”LiutoldChinAfrica.
Afterbeingapproved,LiustartedthewheatcultivationdemonstrationprojectatGonde-IteyaBasicSeedFarmoftheESEinearly2016.Hefrequentlyvisitedthefarmandgavepracticaladviceandguidancetofarmersonfertilizerapplication,sowing,fieldmanagementanddiseasecontrolduringwheatgrowthperiod.
Oneyear’shardworkfinallypaidoff.Thewheatyieldreached301kgpermu(0.07hectares),whichis2.12timesasmuchasthecountry’saveragewheatyieldof141.7kgofthesameunitofwheatland.
“TheintensivewheatcultivationtechniquesLiuappliedhavenotonlysignificantlyincreasedwheatyield,butalsoimprovedthequalityofwheat.Theresultisfruitfulandimpressive.”saidSelase.
RollingouttrainingTraininglocaltechniciansandfarmersisanimportantworkofLiuandhisteam.Sofar,morethan100localexpertsandtechnicianshavebeentrainedbytheChineseexperts.
“Theideaistomakesurecultivationtechniquesareappropriatelyusedbyfarmerswholackmoneyandmanagementexpertise,”saidLiu.
OnMarch14,2017,LiusharedhisexperienceofwheatcultivationwitheightEthiopianagriculturaltechniciansatGonde-IteyaBasicSeedFarm.Afterlocaltechnicianswatchedafeaturefilmonwheatplanting,Liuexplainedthekeytechniquesindetailandansweredquestions.
“Thisisalivelytrainingsession.WenotonlylearntthewheatproductionsituationinChina,butalsothedifferencesbetweenourcultivationtechniques.Thetraininghelpsuslearnfromeachotherandimproveourgrowingskills,”saidZenebeGetachew,ManagerofGonde-IteyaBasicSeedFarm.
Sharingexperiences
Seedselectionisoneofthemostimportantaspectsforimprovingproductivityofcrops.“Indoingthat,wemustconsiderlocalclimate,topography,soilconditionsandfarmingrules,”saidLiu,addingthatitiscriticaltobreedhigh-yieldandrustdisease-resistantwheatvarietiessuitableforlocalconditions,especiallysinceyellowrust,leafrustandstemrusthavebeenontheriseinEthiopiainthepastfewyears.
Liualsosuggestedthatcroprotation,whichmeansthesuccessiveplantingofdifferentcropsinaspecifiedorderonthesamepiecesoffield,shouldbepromotedinthetraditionallywheatdominatedfarmingsysteminEthiopia.Thiswouldimprovesoilfertilityandreduceweeddensity,accordingtohim.
Soilnutrientsareanothersourceofconcern.“Thelocalsoilisdeficientinseveralnutrientssuchassulfur,boron,zincand,insomeareas,potassium.Theyareessentialforincreasingcropproductivityandproduction,”heexplained.
AsthefertilizerswidelyusedinEthiopiacontainonlynitrogenandphosphorusandlackothernutrients,Liusuggestedthatapplyingbasalfertilizerscontainingthoseneededelementsbetheimportantmeasuretosolvetheproblem.
Liualsofoundthatoutdatedtraditionalmethodsarethereasonsforthelowlevelofagriculturalmechanization.Agriculturalmachineryismainlyusedinthelargeandmedium-sizedfarms,whilethetraditionalplough-sowingmethodiswidelyusedbylocalfarmers.
ApartfromregionslikeArsi,BaleandRobe,theEthiopianterrainisnotsuitableforusingcombineharvesters.“It’snecessarytopromotetheuseofminiwheatplantersandminithreshers,”saidLiu.
Commentsto
TheintensivewheatcultivationtechniquesLiu[Jianjun,ChineseagriculturalexpertbasedinEthiopia,]appliedhavenotonlysignificantlyincreasedwheatyield,butalsoimprovedthequalityofwheat.Theresultisfruitfulandimpressive.
ZenebeW.Selase,DeputyManager,EthiopianSeedEnterprise