Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) demonstrated in Ethiopia!
Vegetable production in the central Rift-Valley of Ethiopia is a growing business supplying produces to large markets in Addis Ababa and export to Djibouti and Somalia. Unfortunately, the area is a hotspot for major vegetable pests and diseases and farmers apply several types of pesticides at a higher rate.
In order to reduce the indiscriminate use of pesticides and improve human and environmental health, the WorldVeg FCDO-funded project in Ethiopia is piloting tomato Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) at the Melkassa Agricultural Research Center (MARC) experimental station.
Conventional farmers’ practices such as calendar-based application of chemical pesticides and agronomic practices were compared with the GAP that mainly included the application of bio-control agents, colored sticky traps, mulching, staking, etc.
The WorldVeg Ethiopia office held a field day for personnel from the Ministry of Agriculture (horticulture director, staff, seed and chemical regulatory offices), Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), Arsi University staff and students, agro-dealers and vegetable farmers to demonstrate the importance of GAP in tomato production.
Dr. Wubetu Bihon Legesse, WorldVeg Liaison Officer in Ethiopia, and Mr. Abdulrazak, intern from Arsi University working on GAP, introduced the WorldVeg study and purpose of the field day. In his opening remarks, Dr. Bedru Beshir, Director of the MARC, mentioned the urgency of reducing the use of toxic pesticides in vegetable and ornamental production, given its impacts on human health and the environment. He suggested that more environmentally friendly and climate smart production technologies need to be introduced.
Along the same lines, Mr. Abdella Negash, Director of the Horticulture Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) explained that the government is putting more emphasis on horticulture in the country, especially on safe production of vegetables.
Participants visited the tomato plots using both GAP and conventional practices, which generated fruitful discussions on the topic. Mr. Abdella encouraged the use of colored sticky traps and suggested to use locally available sticky materials such as molasses, which are available in the study area. Some of the researchers and farmers were curious about the availability of the bio-control agents in Ethiopia and their costs. It was explained that although no cost benefit analysis has been conducted yet, considering the frequency of application of pesticides, and its effect on human and environmental health, the application of bio-pesticides is considered to be cost-effective.
Regarding the availability of bio-control agents in Ethiopia, the WorldVeg team will join efforts with the pesticide regulatory office at the MOA for developing registration and regulation protocols.
The result of this study could be used as evidence to justify the importance of promoting the use of bio-pesticides.
Farmers were positively surprised to see tomato plants performing well without spraying chemical pesticides. They invited the WorldVeg team to visit their farms and provide advice on safe tomato production.
