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  Green manuring is the practice of using undecomposed green plants into the soil   to add organic matter. This helps the soil to be rich in nitrogen content and increase the availability of other nutrients which then helps to increase the productivity of the soil. Green manuring is used as means to enhance soil fertility in organic farms – by planting leguminous plants. Smallholder organic farmers in Holeta, Oromia regions –Ethiopia sow rough pea and Lupin as their main green manure crops in their organic plots. Using Lupin as a green manure in Holeta area is introduced by the agriculture office. Demonstrations were done in farmer training centres and now farmers are adopting it. This has become an invaluable input for Ecological Organic Agriculture project in the area which is being implemented in collaboration with the local agriculture offices. Lupin planted for green manure Apart from using these leguminous plants are green manures, it is a common practice that farmers impleme

Crop rotation, inter-cropping and planting nitrogenous plants either in rotation or as inter-crops is proven to improve the soil and enhance crop performance. These practices are key parts of ecological agriculture initiatives. Smallholder farmers who implement ecological organic agriculture are keen in using these practices   to maintain soil fertility and improve crop yield. When practicing organic farming, farmers use locally made recipe and some chemical formulations which are allowed in organic for plant protection purposes. Using plant extracts and other locally made solutions are widely adopted by smallholder organic farmers in Ethiopia. The stories in this volume of Mizan newsletter tell us about how farmers are successfully implementing ecologically based agronomic and plant protection practices to increase their yield and maximise profits. You can download the PDF here

  Assefa Anasha is a field agent working at PAN-Ethiopia since 2019. He graduated from Welaita Sodo University in plant science. Since he joined PAN-Ethiopia, he has been working very closely with smallholder farmers providing support in their farming routines. He facilitates farmers field school (FFS) training sessions in five villages – in Gamo Zone. The FFS approach is an experiential, and hands on training approach where farmers learn from each other, from the farm on a rotational basis. It is used as an extension system to help farmers learn from which actually is happening on the farm, analyse the agroecosystem – the crop, the pests, weather, natural enemies etc before they make decisions on plant protection and agronomic actions. Mr Assefa (left) supporting a smallholder farmer on insect scouting during FFS session  It was also a platform where farmers interact and learn that there are several plan protection and production management methods which can be used in an integrated m

Pesticide Action Network-UK provided training for Indican cotton grower farmers on Agro-ecological solutions for pesticide use. Follow the link below for details about the training! Over 230 Indian cotton producers attend PAN UK’s agroecological training sessions-attend-pan-uks-agroecological-training-session/

  The demand for organic products, mainly vegetables, is increasing in the Addis Ababa Market. As the market grows, fulfilling the demand is becoming a challenge for smallholder organic farmers and few private farms which are striving to meet consumers' demands. Another challenge for organic vegetables producers and consumers is the lack of proper market linkages. The widely used market outlets for organic vegetables in and around Addis are (i) few youth purchasing vegetables from smallholder farmers and other private farms for basket delivery to consumers (ii) basket delivery scheme by few private farms (iii) bi-monthly organic vegetables market day in Addis managed by organised smallholder farmers. Despite the motivating starts, there is an unproportioned growth in the marked demand and the production of organic vegetables. The amount of organic vegetables the farmers bring to the organic market in Addis is so small that there are times the consumers didn’t get vegetables left

Urban agriculture in Addis Ababa is contributing a lot to food supply in the city. The city sources most of the vegetables from urban farmers and farmers in the peri-urban areas. Urban farmers in Addis produce vegetables for home consumption and as a source of income for their families. There are also urban agriculture practitioners who grow vegetables only for home consumption. Mr Yilma Bizuneh is one of the urban agriculture implementers who grows different vegetable types for home consumption. When asked about his experience in vegetable production, he said that he used to grow a few vegetables in pots. His backyard was open only to grow grass and weeds, especially during the rainy season. He started growing vegetables in his backyard after the wide-ranging promotions of home gardening by the city administration.  Mr Yilma is now sourcing vegetables for his family consumption from his backyard. He adds compostable household wastes in the backyard to decompose there. The added biomas