Adoption of improved soyabean varieties: the case of Buno Bedele and East Wollega zones of Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Achieving national food security and diversifying export earnings from agricultural products is one of the major challenges currently facing developing countries like Ethiopia. Pulse crops in general and soya bean in particular play great role in improving households’ food security, increasing income for smallholder farmers. Despite the high production potential and the economic importance of the crop, adoption and dissemination of improved soya bean varieties is constrained by various factors.

Influence of potassium fertilization and liming on growth, grain yield, and quality of soybean (Glycine max L. (Merrill) on acidic soil in Gobu Sayo District, western Ethiopia

The experiment was to evaluate the influence of potassium fertilization and liming on growth, grain yield, and quality of soybean (Glycine max L. (merrill) on acidic soil in Gobu Sayo district, western Ethiopia. Soil acidity problem is one of the bottlenecks to improve crop production in high rainfall areas of Ethiopia in general and in western parts of the country in particular. A field experiment was carried out during the 2016 main cropping season at three sites (Gishe, Laften and Ago).

Introduction

In May, the N2Africa team met in Rwanda for our Annual Planning Meeting together with the N2Africa Advisory Board and local partners. This is the last year of N2Africa Phase II and the meeting was a chance to reflect on progress so far and to plan for the future. In particular we finalised planning for an impact study which is now in full swing across the N2Africa core countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda) and on which we will report in due course. You can read more detailed reports on the workshop in this Podcaster.

Impressions of the N2Africa Annual Planning Meeting and field trip in Rwanda 15-18 May 2018

The former Country Coordinator for Rwanda, Speciose Kantengwa took the lead in organizing our last full team meeting in Rwanda, a country that differs from others within N2Africa by climate and geography. Country coordinators of both Tier 1 and Core Countries, Business Development Officers, members of the Scientific Advisory Committee, our donor representative, Research coordinators, Leadership team and support gathered, together with representatives from the NGO’s and institutions from Rwanda that took over working with the Knowledge after the end or Phase I.

A flavour of the N2Africa Annual Planning Meeting in Rwanda

N2Africa is approaching the end of Phase II for the core countries while the Tier 1 countries phased out at the end of 2017. The N2Africa Annual Planning Meeting held in the Grand Legacy Hotel in Kigali (15-18 May) focused on exploring opportunities for Core and Tier 1 countries to continue their catalytic roles in providing technical backup to other projects and to stimulate diffusion of N2Africa technologies. Discussions were centred around the question “how can N2Africa reach 80% of the farmers who would benefit from N2Africa technologies?”.

Field trip: climbing beans in Rwanda

In the morning of May 17th buses took all participants of the Annual Planning Meeting through a hilly landscape to two sites in Northern Rwanda that were first approached by N2Africa back in 2010.

Gahunga action site

Reflections from our Rwandan colleagues

Introduction
The last annual meeting of Phase II of N2Africa project was held in Rwanda, in the period of 15 to 18 May, 2018 at Grand Legacy hotel in Kigali. The focus of this review and planning meeting was to reflect on achievements made and the future role for N2Africa based on what we have learned and to explore opportunities and barriers for reaching millions of smallholder farmers in Africa.