Learning in and from the FSRE Addis Ababa Gerrit Holtland

FSRE context The learning agenda level of the FSRE is implemented by the Agri-Hub Ethiopia. The expected outputs are: Agri-Hub organizing the FSRE Fund learning agenda Documentation of lessons learned during implementation Publication and dissemination of innovations via Agri-Hub network.

Six steps in learning agenda 1.Agri Hub secretariat screens proposals on what can be learned and which Working Groups is relevant 2.A kick-off workshop (11 July) 3.Project owners present their learning questions and how they will answer them to the Working Groups (in Sept.) 4.Hub secretariat visits projects with the learning questions (Nov./Dec.) 5.Hub organises a (week) learning event with KIT 6.Event can be repeated in summer 2014.

Agenda today 1.Overview of the learning template with a general overview of potential learning issues 2.Each project gets the rough, initial learning questions 3.Study the Learning questions that are posed to you: Try to understand these questions: is it clear? If needed reformulate / cluster them Reflect on how you might try to answer them 4.Discuss your with peers how you think to handle your learning agenda 5.Short presentation of each project

Overview Working Groups 1.Gender Dorcas Christian Aid 2.Rural BDS DEC GOAL Africa Bamboo 3.Cooperative development Hundee Agri-Service 4.Contract farming FC ECO-COFFEE Arba Minch Seri-culture company

Follow up 1.Send mail with learning question 2.They will answer digitally 3.Cluster the issue! Some questions are not on the right place 4.Tell us how you will present the learning issue to the Working Group in September. Max. 10 slides. Half project/ half learning agenda.

ECO Coffee 1.Link between seeds and processing 2.Benefit of specialty coffee 3.How to motivate women (25); control income 4.Economic questions: how will the contract? Cost of service? Can it be negotiated? A lot question can be moved to value chain part. 5.Environment: How to involved relevant agencies? Scale up. Policy issue: 5 km between washing plants 6.HH level: how to ensure tangible impact 7.Value Chain impact: trustable, transparent relationship? How to design the contract? How will the costs be determined? 8.How to scale up? Other coffee enterprises? 9.How to capture market share? 10.By far most investment go into pulp machine? How to pass on? 11.Who represents the farmers in the decision making? Could others do the same? 12.How to develop effective partnerships with research? 13.No Islamic credit. So we prefer value chain finance

Christian Aid 1.With SOS only product development; now scaling up to 200 people 2.We link to MFIs for scaling up and market linkages 3.Innovation: quality of product. Discuss with community to assess satisfaction 4.Women’s workload? We will as how it fits ? Who will control the income? 5.SHG more training on gender equality (like we do with Hundee) 6.Rough price calculations; price should include labour (30-40 bars in a few hours) 7.Environmental issues: Aloe will be domesticated to avoid conflict over land 8.How much will they earn? Talk to SHG members. Transaction records. 9.Mobility? Some move. Some stay in the village 10.How much money time does a soap take? Talk to uses/clients 11.Tasks of coop? We can check on the role with women. Actually they have an individual incentive system 12.Credit from on own saving in SHG 13.Raw materials: vegetable oil from Kenya. Bulk from Hawassa is better. Caustic soda. Adama factory 14.Scaling up: how we did it / marketing assessment will be shared. Flyers 15.Biotechnology centre we overlooked. Try to link with them. 16.Finance: how much seed money is needed? Can it be spontaneous? 17.MFIs: we discussed with Zegeye. Interested. 18.Social aspect: women are empowered? We see in the participation… Behind men. Ask permission to talk 19.Role of Christian Aid? Contributes money.(8%) Other can learn from it. Expertise. 20.Technical upscaling: Manual: make locally 21.Michael: economics of soap making. Quality of soap with water

FC 1.Impact of Rhizobium? Rhizobium is not available. Difficult: mix with seeds, if it stays a long time in the air. Max. 2 hours. FC will train; experience we have farmer? Plan is 300 qt (so 300 ha) Training at FMO level via trained DAs (and 4 FW for 20 FMO) 2.Impact of Kabuli variety: how to spread it? Bigger/more weight/ more seeds per plant. Also price is better. Additional costs: Rhizobium (20 gr. = 50 ETB = 1 qt of seed = 1 ha), more labor (not very high), seeds costs (15% higher). 3.Before FC works with 190 farmers: traditional yields 8-12qt/ha; Kabuli 15 (no Rhizobum) => 25 qt (with Rhizobium). 4.Contract: agreement last year. For both var. If union cleans they will take in Tulebolo for the Addis price. 5.Side selling: FMO has olla’s. Peer pressure. Role of FMO and olla’. How to collect, buy both crops? Currently FMO buys which a fixed commission from farmers. 6.If FMO buys from none-member: members get dividend. Experience of sharing 7.Loan type of union ? Harbu is for farmers. So if a farmers can not buy, he take micro loan 8.Union shareholder of CBO: working capital 9.Lessons learned by FC: Becho unions used Rhizobium successfully 10.How can seed supply be improved? Link with research center (DZ/Mojo) 11.High demand for chickpea => high price. Five years ago 2 people. Now familiar. Price down to to ETB

Agri Service 1.Black cumin (veg. is left out) 2.How do you jump from 650 to 1700 ? Var. draught resistant 3.Agronomy: how to sow, process up to harvest 4.What are external factors affecting the quality of the product? 5.How many women in the leadership of the coops? 6.Innovation: brokers have a out of proportion profit: interview traders etc. 7.25% increase in income: qt store? How will the group function etc. Information by seeing the administration of the coop? Managed by paid workers. Income from members (fee). Minutes of the coop leaders. 9.Four groups to 3 markets: how will markets be identified. Assess prices 10.Scaling up: how many times used the improved seeds? Up to four times (or experience) we can ask farmers 11.Revolving credit scheme? Coop members is responsible to run this scheme. 12.How to reach people? Direct beneficiaries 695. By asking government staff 13.Best practice like camel fattening. Gov. will replicate this and the cumin as well.

Silk 1.Train farmers to produce cocoon and sell to us 2.Advantage of silk: one cycle per month, permanently 3.We offer seeds and quality of silk will follow 4.Farmers cultivate mulberry/castor 5.Service from us: training and seeds 6.Earning of farmers 1 kg = 2.9 Euro plus 2% of company profit to farmers 7.Let them be shareholder of company 8.Cocoon per ha= 9.Costs of farmers are not determined individually 10.How will association work ? To enhance training etc. 11.Finance: we link producers’ group to our company. 12.

DEC 1.Add Qualified Technologies 2.Experiences with SHG and coops. Also existing coops. We know them and we want o re-organise them 3.Coop: 120 members on feed. 2: goats; 3 pigs; 4 poultry. Interdependent. No other needed. Manure= fertiliser. 4.They are happy. No transport costs. All on the spot. 5.After 3 months: own feed from 18 ha 6.Till 3 months purchase feed. And prepare land 7.We asked if water is available. Irrigation system 8.Introduce the technology : market among them. MoU. 9.Maranatha/ Genesis farm are buyers from the coops (pigs/goats/poultry). Continuous. 10.Cash flow of the coop: profit is … Food security members and 100 full time jobs 12.

Dorcas 1.Biomass briquettes; groups of 8 2.Technical: how to set up a maintenance system? Selam Awassa Business Group. Train members /link? 3.Social on social position of women? Schooling of children 4.Poor women running an economic group? 5.Are they in leadership role? 6.Members elect each other ? Communities form their own group. 7.How to make water supply sustainable? 8.Costs composition? Trend. We will know from their records. Also time spend and members per day ; Time needed to collect raw materials. Bylaws say how much time each has to spent. 9.Carbon credit ? We have no connections. Prepare data for the future? 10.Impact on FS and entrepreneurship? Incentive systems for production and selling? Each SHG decides themselves. Not uniform. Bylaws will decide everything (daarom is geld zo’n geweldige uitvinding). 11.Scaling up: raw materials with increased. Some companies sell sawdust (50 ETB/qt). Or crop residue (coffee husk is 100 ETB/qt) 12.Market outlet studied 13.Spontaneous adaption. Yes. Now high investment

Africa Bamboo 1.Start small and have all learning. Panel should be 80%. So is 20%=>3.2 million 2.Bamboo has 7-8% sugar=> you must treat it (light/ Boric ). Last as long as wood. 3.Innovation: prefabricated and treated matts 4.Improve planting : how will they do? We want to give them an incentive. Thin one we will not buy. Waste. 5.Environment: bamboo stays 8 years; cut 25% every year. We want to increase area of bamboo 6.How much higher : 35% about market price. 7.Can other join it? We work openly. Refugee business will stay there. 8.Prefabricated houses in Sidamo could also be a market. 9.Is thinning economically attractive ? 10.Coops and SMEs, at refugee camp we have organisation as well

GOAL 1.Rich experience on post harvest; Technologies developed by farmers 2.Walls remains a problem. 3.Many learning questions. How to capture the change in design by farmers 4.Not in detail on all: Cost/benefit analysis. We did many analyses Start up capital is big: design modification. Farmers research groups will discuss and transfer knowledge 5.Comparison with fertilisers; experience with other 6.If we use organic fertiliser this is positive. The link is a plus 7.Lining: how long will it last? Five years. HDP (High Density Polyethylene). The platform is meant for this 8.Link with domestic rainwater harvesting (different models of liners) 9.Mitigation on environmental effects: recycle via Plastic Groups 10.FS/Entr. Period of loss. Farmers Research Groups inn previous project. We measured periodically. We plan it again. We use benchmark figures on different crops over time. 11.Use marketing agents. Link is in proposal. Groups on competitive basis. Agents on an agreement. It will be based on what works on both. We facilitate the process and promote. 12.Role of SMEs: we have to organise the groups. Innovative for jobless. Money as a group will be more. They will facilitate the group to access to finance 13.Michael: Link to Dorcas. 14.Michael: we do not finance research.

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