Fekadu Kebede is a smallholder farmer living in Medagudina village of Walmera district in Oromia region, Ethiopia. Farming is the mainstay for his family. He grows vegetables, cereal crops, fruits and medicinal herbs in his farm which is close to one hectare. He inherited the farm from his parents who have been farming for several years using conventional farming practice with the use of agrochemicals for plant protection and soil fertility enhancement purposes.
Mr Fekadu
has been implementing the conventional farming he learned from his parents
until he attended, for the first time, a training on Ecological Organic Agriculture organised by the Institute for Sustainable Development in the year
2015 with supports from SDC and SSNC.
After he
took part in the training, he became formally involved in the practical and
field based training sessions organised for farmers in his village. He was
receiving regular follow up visit and support by ISD’s field officer based in
Holeta. Mr Fekadu said that he started vegetables production with the use of
organic inputs in his 300m2 plot – on the side of his bigger farm to
make sure that the production system works before implementing it on a wider
area. once he found out that it was effective in terms of yield, and managed to
cut the use of toxic and costly agrochemicals; he expanded it to a 1000 square
metre plot where he grows a number of crop types.
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| Mr Fekadu's intercropped organic plot |
As you
walk through his organic plot, you will see fruit trees, vegetables, medicinal
herbs and other crops planted in rows and mixed intercropping systems where some
of the crops are planted as trap crops. Crop rotation is also one of his main
practices which he mentioned can help him in maintaining his soil health and
reduce pest and disease incidents. Mr Fekedu mentioned that he learned the
systems of crop intensification from the trainings given via ISD. His farm can
be an example of properly maintained agroecosystem which mimicked the natural
forest systems where trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses and other plants are found
and functioning (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_Nhf3O4cx0&t=13s).
His practices are examples for most of the farmers in his villages by improving
agriculture production, food and nutrition security and resilience to climate
changes.
|
Intercropping is
a cropping technique in which farmers grow two or more crops simultaneously
in the same piece of land in row patterns with the objective to maximize crop
productivity in a given space. Smallholder farmers who have small plots use
such practices as part of their production systems. |
|
Crop
rotation is the practice of planting
different crops sequentially on the same plot of land. Crop
rotation is done to help enhance soil fertility and optimize nutrients in the
soil. It is also used as a cultural practice to combat pest, disease and weed
pressure. |
Mr Fekadu said that his small organic plot is a source of food and cash for his family. “I harvest surplus fruits and vegetables and part of my harvest goes to my customers” said Mr Fekadu when asked about consumption and his surplus produces. He mentioned that market have never been his problem as his customers come to his farm to collect vegetables, fruits and herbs. He told us that he is making a significant amount of cash from his small and organically managed plot.
With
technical support from ISD, organised farmers in his village are processing
organic certification via locally based participatory guarantee system. As it
has been tested in different parts of the world, PGS is found to be an
effective and easy certification scheme for smallholder farmers. Mr Fekadu and
his fellow farmers are making a vital progress towards PGS based certification.
Crops
grown in Mr Fekadu’s small organic plot include Enset, Ocimum, Ethiopian aroma
hops(Gesho), maize, Swiss chard, Kale, tomato, rue, peach, rosemary, Koseret
(Lippia abyssinica).
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