The farmers in the village of Udo Wotatie (Sidama State, Ethiopia) are dedicated to learning new agroecological techniques to enable them to enhance their livelihoods by producing and marketing their crops on a more sustainable basis.
The SNNPRS (Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region), where Sidama zone is located, is the most densely populated of the nine states in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The rural Sidama are mostly subsistence agropastoralists. Staple crops are enset (Ensete ventricosum) and maize, and less commonly wheat and barley.
Increasing climate change impacts have stimulated the farmers to adapt their farming practices to survive and thrive in this semi-arid environment.
The area is also is one of the country’s major maize producing areas despite the serious climate variability and stalk borer infestation.
Farmers in the village of Udo Wotatie have adopted innovative farming practices to sustainably enhance their livelihoods and manage the challenges posed by stalk borer, which has in the past had a devastating impact on production of the primary staple grain, maize.
One of the pioneers of the community is Arbe, who grows maize, sugar cane, beans, enset, peppers, guavas and banana on her 0,5 ha farm. She markets sugar cane, chickens and eggs primarily at the Hawassa market although some buyers also come to her house. She began using innovative techniques on her farm in 2004
by improving compost production. On the advice of the Department of Agriculture, in 2008 she started to use improved seed and using fertilizer to stimulate the growth of the crops to improve the productivity.
However, she noticed that some beneficial insects had disappeared from her farm (especially on beans and peppers). By participated in trainings she gained insights into the damage that fertilisers can cause to human and environment health and subsequently decided to stop using artificial fertilisers.
