SAA-Ethiopia Launches Groundbreaking Regenerative Agriculture Project in Oromia
On November 2, 2023, SAA-Ethiopia kickstarted the transformative EbRACCA project, a three-year project funded by the Japan Policy and Human Resources Development Grant (PHRDG)
How the Digital Device ‘Talking Book’ is Enhancing Agriculture in Ethiopia
Temesgen Girma, a 30-year-old father of five from the Shino Funamura Kebele in Ethiopia’s Angacha district, has been the Sasakawa Africa Association’s (SAA’s) host farmer since 2021. His enterprise as a farmer has over that duration transformed several-fold thanks to education on regenerative, nutrition-sensitive, and market-oriented agriculture
Unveiling of new agricultural production facilities in Ethiopia
On May 29, 2023, SAA held an inauguration ceremony for facilities established under the Pro-Environment Market-oriented Agriculture Promotion Project (PREMAP-I) at the Turge Galo Farmers’ Training Center in Ethiopia’s Oromia region.
From Humble Beginnings to Agribusiness Success: The Journey of the Fedhi Gudina Community Group
When we founded the Fedhi Gudina Community Saving for Investment in Agribusiness group in 2019, we only had a capital of USD141 raised by 20 members (15 women). However, our savings have now grown to USD28,530 through a combination of strategic investments in crop cultivation and processing
Permagardening has enabled our families to enjoy highly-nutritious foods and earn more from market sales
In the last three years, we have seen an improvement in our nutritional and economic status by taking up permagardening. We were the first farmers in the Raya Boda Kebele to implement permaculture activities in our farmers after training by SAA Ethiopia. We initially started with a combined cultivated area of 600m2 in 2020, which we increased to 960m2 in 2021 and 1170m2 in 2022
How Ethiopian farmers grew knowledge through Sasakawa Radio
“In the last three years, our knowledge of agricultural innovation has been transformed through training sessions by Sasakawa Radio,” said a farmer in rural Ethiopia. Sasakawa Radio, is how farmers refer to the Talking Book (TB), which is an on-demand audio device with integrated analytic dashboard platforms to provide extension and advisory services to low-literacy farmers
Harnessing an AI-powered brain for agricultural solutions ‘e-kakashi’, supporting the decision-making by farmers and Extension Agents
As part of efforts to digitalize agricultural extension, SAA-Ethiopia has been testing smart farming practices since 2022. One such example is the AI-powered brain for agricultural solution ‘e-kakashi’ . Originally taking the name “kakashi” from a Japanese word for scarecrow, this e-kakashi has been introduced to Ethiopia as part of the Pro-environment Market-oriented Agriculture Promotion Project (PREMAP-I)1 funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
SAA collaborates with peers to advance sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture objectives in Ethiopia
In March 2022, five organisations, including the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA)-Ethiopia, the Ethiopia Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) project of the World Resources Institute (WRI), the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), the Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI), and the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), formed an Action Coalition to Promote Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture Commercialization in Ethiopia
Thousands of farmers gain transformative agricultural production skills through SAA field days
In April, SAA held Farmers’ field day events focusing on Regenerative Agriculture (RA) technologies in Negele Arsi, Kewet, Angacha, Meket and Ana Sora districts of the SNNPR and Oromia regions of Ethiopia. The sessions were attended by 4,402 (1,099 female) farmers, Extension Agents (EAs) and officials
Two birds with one stone: Using compost to tame fertilizer price hikes and increase yields sustainably
Farmers in the Amhara and SNNP regions of Ethiopia have cut their expenditure on fertilizer by half after training on compost preparation and use. Compost improves soil structure and provides a wide range of nutrients for plants, adding beneficial microbes to the soil, and increasing crop yields…
