Cluster based popularization of Improved Wheat Technologies in Selected

Districts of West Shewa Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Soruma Gerbi*, Dawit Milkias, Azeb Bekele, Alem Jambo, Yenenesh Duguma,
Ambo Agricultural Research Center P. O. Box 37 Ambo, Ethiopia
*
Corresponding author Email: soruma.gerbi@yahoo.com

Abstract: With the aim of popularizing advanced wheat varieties (Wane and Lemu) on a large-
scale demonstration farming approach, a large-scale demonstration activity was carried out in
West Shewa Zone potential areas to increase production and productivity of wheat technologies
through promotion and popularization during 2018-2019 production seasons. West Shewa Zone
was purposively selected based on agro-ecological zone as the target population for this cluster
farming. From the Zone potential areas, three districts were randomly selected including Ambo,
Gindeberet and Abuna Gindeberet Districts. From these districts, 15 kebeles and 89 farmers
participated in this cluster based on their interest and availability of adjacent farm plots. Thus,
15 clusters were formed, and 38ha of land was covered byimproved wheat in one year. Before
sowing the varieties, 149 stakeholders (Male 112 and female 37) from the districts that were
chosen took part in theoretical and hands-on training on wheat production, management
packages and disease and pest control mechanisms. From the demonstrated wheat, Wane variety
scored 3.1 t/ha in Ambo and 2.88 t/ha at Abuna Gindeberet districts respectively. Lemu variety
score an average 30.8 qt/ha at all Gindeberet and Abuna Gindeberet implemented kebeles.
Therefore, from the researchers and farmers evaluation Wane and Lemu varieties were
recommended for the study areas and similar agro-ecologies for further scaling up/out and
dissemination.

Keywords: - Cluster, Improved Wheat Variety, Potential Areas, Productivity, Stakeholder

 1. INTRODUCTION

Wheat is the most widely cultivated grain in the world, with an annual yield of 779.33 million
metric tons on 222.15 million hectares (USDA, 2022 cited in Geleta Gerema, 2022). It can be
grown under a range of circumstances. About one-third of the world's population depends on it
for a steady supply of food, and it ranks second in the world in cereal production. Among the top
producers of wheat worldwide are China, India, the US, the UK, the USSR, France, Australia,
Germany, Ukraine, and Canada (FAO, 2021). With 1.8 million hectares of land and 5.3 million
tons of crop volume, Ethiopia is the third-largest producer of wheat in Africa, behind Egypt and
Morocco (CSA, 2021) (FAO, 2014).

One of the main staple crops in the nation, it produces second to maize in terms of output,
making up 16.91% of Ethiopia's total production of cereal grains (CSA, 2021). Nevertheless,
wheat production in Ethiopia is still poor (2.9 t ha-1) (CSA, 2021), especially when compared to
the global average yield of 3.51 t/ha (USDA, 2022). This is especially true in western Oromia.

Furthermore, improved bread wheat high yielding varieties have been released by both national
and regional research centers. Wheat has a wealth of opportunities for its production, including
strong policy support, higher market prices, and increased consumption by farm households
(Abara et al., 2021). According to reports of CSA (2019/20), however, its production in the
region as well as in the particular study area do not exceed 1.2 t/ha. This is because the
farmers are using low yielding and disease and pest resistant local varieties, traditional
practices CSA (2020). Ambo Agricultural Research Center has been conducting popularization
and scaling up activities in the last three years in three districts of West Shewa Zone, namely
Ambo, Gindeberet, and Abuna Gindeberet. This is part of the center's effort to improve the
production and productivity of wheat technologies. Therefore, this pre-scaling up was designed
with the objective of promoting and popularizing of recently released Wane and Lemu wheat
varieties along with their production package in order to increase production, productivity and
seed system of smallholder farmers in mandate areas. In turn, it contributed to securing food and
their livelihoods.
Ambo Agricultural Research Center has undertaken initiatives to enhance the production and
productivity of wheat varieties. In the past three years, popularization and scaling up activities
have been carried out in three districts of the West Shewa Zone, namely Ambo, Gindeberet, and
Abuna Gindeberet. These districts were specifically chosen for the pre-scaling up
implementation of technologies. Therefore, it is crucial to promote the recently released Wane
and Lemu wheat varieties, along with their recommended production package. This promotion
aims to have a positive impact and enable farmers to increase their income.

1.1. Objectives
- To demonstrate and popularize advanced wheat technologies in districts of West
Shewa zone.
- To show the production and productivity potential of improved wheat varieties using
large scale demonstration approach.
- To enhance the awareness and knowledge of smallholder farmers by promoting the
implementation of complete packages of wheat production technologies.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1 . Description of the West Shewa Zone

The study was conducted in Oromia National Regional State, West Shewa administrative zone,
which is found between 817° - 956° North and 371°-3845° West. It is found in central part of the
region, though some areas do incline to Western part. The zone is bounded with Amhara
regional state in the Northern part, East Wollega and Horro Guduru Wollega in the West and
North West, Jimma Zone in the South West, South West Shewa zone in the South East and
North Shewa zone in the North East. West Shewa Zone is 170 km long from north to south and
183 km wide from East to West. Ambo is the capital of the zone and far 114 Km to the West of
Addis Ababa on the main road from Addis to Nekemte. On the basis of current border

delineation, the Zone has area of 15,185 Kilometer square which covers 4.51% of Oromia
national regional state. West Shewa Zone has 529 PAs and 39 urban kebeles. This Zone has
the population of 2,071,974 from this 88.4% resides in rural areas and the remaining 11.6% are
urban dwellers. The total household heads in the West Shewa zone are 250,268 male and 39,823
female household farmers. The land use pattern of the zone shows that 614,967 ha is cultivated
land; 104,902 ha are covered with forest and 250,233.52 ha are grazing land. The major crops
produced in the zone are Tef, Wheat, Maize, Barley, Faba bean and etc. (Zone OARD, 2020).
 Fig 1: Map of study areas (Google map, 2023)

2.2 . Location and farmer selection

The activity was implemented in three potential wheat-producing districts of the West Shewa
Zone of Oromia region. From the Zone Ambo, Gindeberet, and Abuna Gindeberet districts were
selected. From these districts, 15 kebeles and 89 farmers participated in this cluster based on
their interest and availability of adjacent farm plots. Thus, 15 clusters were formed, and 38 ha of
land was covered byimproved wheat in one year intervention.

Table 1: Number of Clusters Formed and Participant Farmers on Wheat Cluster

Participant
No. of Land size of
No. Districts Variety used farmers
cluster cluster(ha)
M F
1 Ambo 5 Wane and Lemu 15 24 10
2 Gindeberet 5 Wane and Lemu 10 18 9
3 Abuna Gindeberet 5 Wane and Lemu 13 19 8
Total 15 38 62 27
Source: Own data computation, 2020
2.3 Capacity Development
While implementing of the large-scale demonstration activity, potentially selected 149
stakeholders (Male 112 and female 37) from the districts took part in theoretical and hands-on
training on wheat production, management packages and disease pest control measures. The
trainings specifically addressed input use, weed and disease management, and enhanced wheat
production technologies that are currently accessible and available (varieties, agronomic advice
and packages, etc.).

Table 2: Number of participants on Wheat technology production and Management Training

Participants
No. Districts Farmers Experts DAs
M F M F M F
1. Ambo 24 10 3 1 5 1
2. Gindeberet 18 9 3 3 5 2
3. Abuna Gindeberet 19 8 4 2 5 1
Total 62 27 10 6 40 4
Overall total 149
Source: Own data, 2020

2.4 Method of data collection

Data collection methods included field observation, focus group discussions, and the use of
formal data sheets. Information related to grain yield and farmer preferences for the variety was
gathered through formal data sheets and focus group discussions conducted in the farmers' fields.
The collected data encompassed various aspects, such as the number of farmers who participated
in field days and training sessions, the locations addressed, the quantity of seed distributed, and
the number of farmers who benefitted from the demonstration process.

2.5 Method of data analysis

The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, gap analysis and preferences were
used to analyze them by using narrations and tables.
3. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
3.1 Yield and yield performance of clustered commodities

The demonstrated crop varieties shown significant variation on growth and tillering
performances as compared to the conventional farming system. There also observed that there
are yield data differences between farmers to farmers, fields to fields, and clusters to clusters on
the growth performance of the crops.

Table 3: Yield performance of Wheat varieties at selected Districts

Average yield
Districts Crop Variety
(Qt/ha)
Ambo Wheat Wane 31
Abuna Gindebret and Wheat Wane 28.8
Gindeberet Wheat Lemu 30.8
Source: Own data computation, 2020

From the demonstrated Wheat varieties, Wane variety scored 3.1tons/ha in Ambo and 2.88
tons/ha at Abuna Gindeberet districts respectively. Lemu variety yield scored an average 3.08
tons/ha at all Gindeberet and Abuna Gindeberet kebeles (Table 3).

3.2 Technology Gap, Extension Gap and Technology Index

Based on wheat productivity potential and current CSA data, an overview of the pre-scaling up
activity yield performance is provided. Table 3 shows that the average yield obtained from the
cluster was 2.9 tons/ha, which is more than the yield advantage using CSA data in the Zone,
which is 3.31tons/ha (CSA 2020). This yield exceeds both the national average (3.046
tons/ha) and the regional average (3.3 tons/ha). The difference in yield is the outcome of
knowledge of management and diversity.

Table 4: Grain yield performance of wheat varieties demonstrated

Yield (Qt/ha)
Yield Extension Technology
Varieties Potential LSD Farmers
Gain(%) gap (Qt/ha) gap (Qt/ha)
Yield Yield yield
 Wane 42 31 14.5 113.8 16.5 11
Lemu 36 26 11 136.4 15 10
Mean 28.5 12.75 125.1 17.75 10.5
Source: Own computation, 2020

3.3 Field days

Field days offer an opportunity to disseminate findings and increase the general public's
understanding of new developments in techniques and technologies. In order to achieve this, a
field day was utilized as a means of raising awareness about the wheat varieties sowed, the
production process, and the clustering technique in this extensive demonstration activity. As a
result, 641 stakeholders (Male 451 and female 190) including farmers, researchers, DAs, experts
and districts higher officials participated in field day in all clustered districts.

Table 5: number of field day participants (Mini field day in all districts)

Participants Male Female

Farmers 413 173
Development agents 14 6
Agricultural Experts 12 3
Districts higher officials 12 8
Total 451 190
Source: Own data, 2020

3.4 Farmers’ Trait Preference

To collect farmers’ traits preference of wheat varieties, farmers (Male 20 and women 20) were
selected from different age and sex category from the community. Trait preference was done
separately for women headed, men and women in male-headed households. In all separate
groups twenty wheat producer farmers, a total of forty farmers have participated in trait
preference.
Farmers described that early maturity, disease resistant, high yielding ability, marketability,
and food making quality were the main traits listed. Accordingly, wane variety was
preferred by farmers because of its high yielding ability, consumption quality, early maturity,
palatability, and disease resistant traits respectively. Besides, the study showed 86.8% of
women-headed households and 95% of women in male-headed households preferred wane
variety than the local cultivars because of its high yielding ability, baking quality, and
market preference. 9 2 . 8 % o f Male-headed households preferred wane compared with the
local cultivars because the similar treats with women headed households.

4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

The large-scale demonstration activity was conducted in West Shewa Zone potential areas to
increase production and productivity of wheat technologies through promotion and
popularization during production seasons of 2018-2019. From the Zone potential areas, three
districts were randomly selected including Ambo, Gindeberet and Abuna Gindeberet Districts.
From these districts, 15 kebeles and 89 farmers participated in this cluster based on their interest
and availability of adjacent farm plots. Thus, a total of 15 clusters were formed, and 38ha of land
was covered by improved wheat in one year. While implementing of the demonstration activity,
149 stakeholders from the districts that were chosen, took part in theoretical and hands-on
training on wheat production and management packages with its pest control measures. The yield
performance among demonstrated wheat, wane variety scored 3.1 t/ha in Ambo and 2.88 t/ha at
Abuna Gindeberet districts respectively. Lemu variety score an average 3.08 t/ha at all
Gindeberet and Abuna Gindeberet kebeles.
Therefore, in order to achieve the intended aims of raising the productivity and output of the
commodity development in other regions and making the variety available to a sufficient number
of farmers, it is imperative that actors maintain their ties with key potential stakeholders in the
study areas.
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CSA 2018. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Central Statistical Agency
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