Abstract
The average yield of finger millet is low in Ethiopia, specifically in Western Oromia due to different production constraints such as limited availability of improved varieties, lack of formal seed delivery system, and limited adoption of the available technologies. To this, BARC in collaboration with AGP-II conducted the pre-scale up and popularized full packaged improved finger millet varieties in cluster approach at East Wollega zone, Western Oromia, on 22 ha in 2019 rainy season. Three districts (Boneya Boshe, Wayu Tuka, and Gida Ayana) were selected and a total of 6 clusters were established. Pre-scaling up of the crop conducted on 22 ha of land and 78 farmers were included in the cluster. Finger millet seed, Gudatu variety was produced at Wayu Tuka district, Bako-09 was produced at Gida Ayana and Gute variety at Boneya Boshe district. Based on the attained yield, a total of 51.74 tons of improved seeds of finger millet varieties were obtained, of which 22.15 tons were Gute variety, 17.38 tons Gudetu, and the rest 12.21 tons were Bako-09. The average yield obtained from the Gute variety was 2.22 t ha-1 followed by Bako-09 variety (2.04 t ha-1) and the least for Gudetu variety (1.74 t ha-1). Overall, the varieties showed better performance than local cultivars produced by the majority of the farmers in terms of yield, disease tolerance and other traits. Therefore, scaling-out of the varieties with full production packages should be carried out in the area and for similar agro-ecological operations. Key words: District, cluster-based, farmers’, finger millet, variety.
Highlights
In spite of significant achievements in the agricultural sector, the problem of food nutrition and security remains a key challenging development and health issue in Ethiopia
Both theoretical and practical training with clear objectives were given to participant farmers, development agents, and extension, cooperative and union experts before the commencement of actual work (Table 3)
The training was mainly focused on clusterbased finger millet production system, constraints and opportunities in finger millet production in the area, agronomic practices, pre-harvest and post-harvest managements, marketing, and value chain approaches
Summary
In spite of significant achievements in the agricultural sector, the problem of food nutrition and security remains a key challenging development and health issue in Ethiopia. Many reports have shown that the country is experiencing unfavorable climate change whereby several parts of the country are suffering from drought, erratic rainfall patterns, poor soil fertility and poor farming technologies (FAO, 2018; Dessi, 2018; Mohamed, 2017; Endalew et al, 2015) that is worsening food security situation in the country. The population of the country is estimated to reach 190.9 million by 2050 (Population Reference Bureau, 2018).
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