CASCAPE -
Alumni meeting in Ethiopia March 2013
As part of the celebrations for the 95th anniversary of the foundation of Wageningen University, various activities have been organised for alumni to take place this year. For international alumni, ten meetings with the theme food security have been scheduled around the world. The first meeting was held on Tuesday 26 March in Ethiopia, with the specific theme ‘reduction of post harvest losses’. Thirty alumni gathered together in the head office of the African Union in Addis Ababa.
The CASCAPE project was mentioned as one of the initiatives which can be used to start up new initiatives in Ethiopia. For Wageningen University the rector magnificus Martin Kropff was present and he also closed the official alumni meeting.
You can read more about this successful day on the website of the Wageningen University, here.
Addis Ababa University receives vehicle donation
On April the 15th, Addis Ababa University received two vehicles from the CASCAPE project.“Our University has a serious of shortage of vehicles. These two cars will assist our day to day activities for the CASCAPE project. We strengthen our partnership through these valuable additions.“, president of AAU; Admasu Tsegaye explains.
Picture: Ceremony of handing over the car keys.
Mr. Arie Van Kekem, CASCAPE Project manager handed over the two vehicles’ keys to AAU's president. The vehicles are Toyota Land Cruisers Hard top Station Wagons.
Dr. Admasu: “This project was initiated five years ago when I was in Hawassa University for capacity building and scaling up of agricultural productivity. After I joined AAU I convinced the Embassy of The Netherlands that AAU should work in this project as well.” Degefa Tolosa (PhD), Dean, College of Development Studies, AAU and assistant coordinator of CASCAPE project on his part said: “The vehicles we are receiving today are very instrumental for the smooth implementation of our project.” Dr. Degefa accentuated that the two cars are very pertinent for the success of the project in bringing about changes to the lives of the farmers we work with.
CASCAPE-AAU operates in five Woredas of five Zones in Oromiya. Currently the project is working on four innovation themes namely crop production, animal production, natural resource management and cross-cutting issues like nutrition and gender.
CASCAPE-AAU coordination consists of two coordinators, six innovators, two agricultural experts from OARI, and one administration assistant.
Integrated Farming System Analysis training in April
Increasing agricultural productivity is one thing. Assuring its sustainability in the long run and at various spatial scales is another. After one year of experience in the field time was there to share experiences during a training on Integrated Farming System Analysis (IFSA). During this training in April of this year not only experiences were shared, but also working methodologies to apply IFSA in practice were developed.
Central to the training was the assessment of trade-offs of innovations. So far the focus was on the target variable, often being crop yields or livestock performances. Yet, every intervention has intended and unintended effects. During the training the TEEB (the economics of ecosystem and biodiversity) methodology and SLF (sustainable livelihoods framework) methodologies were presented as analytical frameworks for assessing intended and unintended effects of the CASCAPE interventions.
The participants of the training made some exercises applying the methods which were presented. The methods were applied for their own region. Results of these exercises can be used in the regional working plans, and by that, will stimulate sustainable management of the sites, and being aware of possible trade-offs options.
Theories were brought to practice during a field visit to Abraha-we-Atsibeha. This award winning site is known for its successful community based interventions and ecosystem restoration. The training was finalized with a concept note on how CASCAPE is bringing practice to IFSA. Next year we will know what differences this will bring about!
Dutch government visits Ethiopia
Dutch minister for European Affairs and International Cooperation Mrs. Ploumen visiting EthiopiaIn February 2013 a Dutch trading mission took place in Ethiopia.
After years of complete dependence on aid, Ethiopia now wants to switch over to trade as soon as possible. This was the message foreign trade and development cooperation minister Lilianne Ploumen received on Wednesday from Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.
Please read more on the following link from Dutch development cooperation.