About+IPMS

= Introducing the IPMS Project =

The Ethiopian Government’s “Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP, 2005/06-2009/10) outlined a development direction which complements a natural resource management and food security focus with market-oriented agricultural development. It also advocated a more gender-balanced development through increased participation by women as well as the increased involvement of agri-businesses i.e. cooperatives and private companies, in the sale of inputs and in the processing and marketing of outputs.

In connection with this new policy direction, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was one of the first donor agencies willing to finance a pilot project to explore options that go beyond traditional support to food insecure households, focusing on the untapped production and market opportunities. While the initial design team, lead by ILRI, focused on the development of a project focused on improving technology uptake – it gradually broadened its horizon of the Improving Productivity and Market Success (IPMS) Project in line with the new policy direction. It decided to follow a participatory market-oriented commodity value chain development approach.

This approach is based on the premise that technology uptake is significantly influenced by the profitability of production, and that production is driven by market demands for specific commodities which requires interventions in input supply and services, and output market support to smallholders. The approach is participatory in that it involves farmers and other value chain actors as well as associated service providers in diagnosis, planning and implementation of the interventions through formal and informal linkages. Study tours abroad were organized for leaders in research and development so they could learn and share experiences about commodity value chain development, knowledge and skills development, extension methods, and approaches and processes for market-oriented transformation.

The project pilot-tested the approach using market oriented commodities as identified by the value chain stakeholders in 10 Districts in four Regions in Ethiopia. The stakeholders also identified potential value chain interventions. Attention was paid to the role of women and the potential impact on the environment.

The key role of the IPMS project team was to facilitate and support the Implementation of the various interventions by the value chain actors and associated service providers. Key components of the implementation strategy were the use of knowledge by the implementers, capacity development of service provider and value chain actors, especially women, and action-oriented research and M&E to capture and synthesize lessons and experiences.

To better accommodate the use of knowledge, the project developed a knowledge management system which included an Ethiopian Agriculture Portal (EAP), Woreda knowledge Centers (WKC) and the use of FTCs for knowledge capturing and sharing. Support was also provided to encourage the use of methods such as field days, demonstration plots on farmer’s fields and FTCs, study tours, exhibitions/fairs, seminars and actor linkages to capture and share knowledge.

To build the capacity of service providers, the project facilitated carefully targeted training programs using its own staff or trainers from partner institutions. Several training materials were also developed. The project sponsored staff from agriculture offices in District, Zonal, Regional and Federal levels for formal university-level education at local (and in a few cases international) universities. These students and their Universities were encouraged to conduct their thesis research in Districts/Regions and on topics which could assist in developing a more market-oriented development approach. Other capacity development activities included farmer training using audiovisual tools, joint ‘husband and wife’ training, and practical training using resource persons from within and outside the Districts, including innovative farmers and agri-business staff.

To capture and synthesize lessons and experiences, the project sponsored various research projects conducted by EIAR, RARIs, graduate students, IPMS staff, and partners from other CGIAR centers. The project embedded an M&E system in its project implementation strategy. The introduction of the various value chain interventions is a continuous process, which requires careful monitoring and evaluation through follow up visits, field days, workshops, and meetings. The lessons learned from such events result in new value chain interventions which require again new and advanced technology, knowledge and capacity development.

The processes and interventions in the 10 Districts are ongoing and it is becoming increasingly clear that with the increased levels of production and commercialization, some District-level interventions can only be properly addressed with the help of interventions from outside the District, in particular the supply of inputs and services and the processing and marketing of outputs.

Looking forward, the Government of Ethiopia’s Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) has re-emphasized the role of smallholders in the commercialization of Ethiopian agriculture. Since this requires the adoption of efficient value chain practices supported by improved methods and approaches for knowledge management and capacity development, we hope that IPMS experiences will also contribute to the interventions considered in the Growth and Transformation Plan.

IPMS web site

IPMS research outputs and reports