The Farmers- Land

Kobo, a town approximately 650 kilometres north of Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, lies in a very remote semi-arid region. Its population, poor farmers who barely eke out a living, grow food only for home consumption. They raise one crop a year: Rainfall, their only source of water for irrigation, is often in short supply.

In 1993, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia and his Minister of State approached MASHAV for assistance in easing the plight of its farmers in the country's northern region. "As a result of various negotiations," reports Atzmon, "we sent a delegation of three experts to survey the conditions in this area, working - as we did at every stage of the project - in close cooperation with the local authorities."

After three weeks of observation, the delegation recommended that an agricultural development project, eight hectares in size, be set up in the heartland of the area, i.e., in the town of Kobo. Taking into consideration the needs and desires of the local populace, the project was designed with the following objectives in mind: 1) To base the project on intensive, not extensive agriculture, using relevant and advanced technology to move the farmers from subsistence agriculture to a semi-commercial operation. 2) To introduce pressurized systems of irrigation, such as drip irrigation (supplying water directly and accurately to the root zone according to crop demand), micro-jet sprinklers and especially fertigation (the injection of fertilizers into the irrigation system for direct introduction into the root zone). 3) To increase the yield and improve the productive capacity of the existing crops - tef, a grain with very small seeds, wheat, corn, sorghum, a tall cereal grass, and chillies, a hot pepper - as well as to introduce new crops. 4) To set up demonstration and experimental units on the eight farms involved in the project. 5) To transfer know-how and update the farmers' knowledge and technology. 6) To utilize the farms to serve as models for improving agricultural production in all the remote, semi-arid regions of Ethiopia.

When the survey was completed, MASHAV mounted a long-term mission, sending Moshe Sivan, an expert agronomist, to Kobo. He has been there for more than three years now: The first year he lived and worked out of his car - before moving to a proper residence.

Since water is the main limiting factor of growth in agricultural production, its lack was a major obstacle that had to be overcome - and, as quickly as possible. Atzmon elaborates: "In order to intensify irrigation, we need water. With water the farmers could grow two to three crops a year. They could - as they did - move from a mono-crop system of agriculture, raising only one crop a year, to a multi-crop system, growing two to three crops a year."

The Kobo Project lies near the Golina River where there is a dam. Working together with the local authorities, "whose cooperation," stresses Atzmon, "was vital to the success of the operation," a concrete canal was constructed to bring water to the site of the project. A reservoir from which machines pumped the water to the farms was also built, as well as a building to house two pumps. "By using the dam, a reservoir and pumps to bring the water to the farms," notes Atzmon, "we released the farmers from dependence on rainfall for irrigating their crops. Today, all the land in this eight-hectare project is under pressurized irrigation."

The Kobo Project is a unique, first-of-its-kind attempt to directly involve small, landholding farmers in the development of an agricultural project on a sustainable basis. "In other projects," explains Atzmon, "we establish a central project on land which belongs either to a university or to another academic institution, to the government or to a chieftain of a tribe. In this case, the land belongs to the farmers themselves. They are the ones who are responsible for setting up and running the experiments, for demonstrating to other farmers what can be achieved with advanced technology."

The Kobo Project involves eight farmers, each owning a farm of approximately one hectare in size. Atzmon notes the tremendous advantage to this system. "Dealing directly with the farmers, we are giving them maximum involvement in planning and planting their crops. This is a 'short-cut' system that is proving to be eminently successful."

Along with maximum involvement, a key tenet behind the project, there is also what Atzmon terms participatory planning. "This," he explains, "is essentially trilateral cooperation between the farmers, the representative from the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, who is in essence the counterpart of our expert Moshe Sivan, and Sivan himself."

The system is not, however, without its problems or limitations. "Since the farmers own their farms," notes Atzmon, "we are limited by the need to minimize the risk to these farmers as much as possible. We have to work within this constraint, aware that failure means financial loss to the farmers, a risk," he repeats, "that must be minimized."

The remote location of the area also posed another challenge. As Atzmon points out, "Isolated as the area is, the farmers cannot sell their produce except to markets close by. Thus, we had to ascertain what the needs of those markets were. Long-distance hauling over rough terrain to distant markets is neither feasible nor practical."

Currently the farmers at the Kobo Project are concentrating on growing corn, tomatoes and chillies - products in demand by those living near them. Although these crops had been grown before, they had never been grown as now under conditions of pressurized irrigation. "The result," stresses Atzmon, are absolutely incredible. In 1996 when the project was finally fully operative, the yield of the farmers had increased ten times." Read that sentence again and one cannot but fail to be impressed by that statistic.

Obviously the farmers at the project are very satisfied with these results. In talking with the farmers, Atzmon asked them what their expectations were. "They told me that they wanted to be able to buy clothes for their families, furniture for their homes, medicine when they are sick and to see that their children are well-fed and properly educated. In brief, they want to improve their standard of living - and we're showing them how this can be achieved."

Today, the farmers at the Kobo Project take approximately 30% of what they grow for their own needs and have 70% left to sell. Although a large share of the money they receive for their crops goes to improving their living conditions, some is set aside for purchase of further inputs - seeds, equipment, advanced technology, etc.

Impressive, too, are the large numbers of families who are constantly coming to Kobo to look and admire. "On one hand," admits Atzmon, "it is quite conceivable that they are understandably jealous. At the same time, this project is providing them with a strong motivation to do as the Kobo farmers have. It is a great learning experience."

Atzmon visited the site of the project when it was still in the planning stage and again in the spring of 1997. The changes he found were nothing short of dramatic. "We have truly effected a 'Green Revolution,'" he affirms. "Where once all was bleak, now - even in the dry season - there are impressive oases of green. In a very short period of time, many of the objectives have already been met."

At Kobo, a well-planned infrastructure is also now in place: buildings for storing farm machinery, agricultural produce and the pumps, as well as facilities for grading, sorting and packing the crops before marketing them.

Ever concentrating on maximum involvement by the people themselves, the project is designed so that purchase of inputs and marketing of crops is the responsibility of the local authorities. "They are the ones who know," says Atzmon, "where is the best place to sell their produce and where high-quality inputs such as seeds can be bought at reasonable prices. They are aware that it is important to buy seeds with a high percentage of germination: Otherwise they won't have successful crops."

Atzmon is convinced that other local authorities in Ethiopia can also set up and run projects similar to the one developed at Kobo, "drawing and learning from what has been done there, teaching and helping other farmers how to increase their yield and income." Although the multiplying effect of the Kobo Project has yet to be fully realized, the potential is already there. As Atzmon notes, "There is support from so many people. The Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture, for example, is among those who are being very helpful. He has told us and his Prime Minister that he regards this as a prestigious project, one that is being closely watched and monitored."

Much, of course, still remains to be done. "We're now looking," reports Atzmon, "at the next stage - the introduction of new and promising crops and better and improved varieties of the existing ones, gearing this search to meet the demands of local markets. We are also planning on introducing other techniques, such as pest and disease control."

Basic to all this activity is the all-important objective of increasing the standard of living for all Ethiopian farmers. There is little doubt in Atzmon's mind that the Ethiopians have the ability to shift from traditional to advanced farming, as is being demonstrated at the Kobo Project. "There is, however, still the need to help them organize themselves in the best framework for their agricultural development - whether it be in the form of an association or a cooperative. We can advise them but, in the long-run, they will have to find the framework that will work for them. I am confident they will.

"What we have achieved at Kobo is not a miracle, but a combination of hard work by all parties concerned and, equally important, by much cooperation and goodwill, again on the part of everyone and every agency involved in this project," Michael Atzmon adds.