Farmers' Day

Last Updated on Monday, 02 November 2009 18:17 Monday, 02 November 2009 14:08

HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY OBSERVES FARMERS’ DAY

Haramaya University colourfully celebrated Farmers’ day from 30 October to 1 November 2009. Model farmers, development agents, woreda administrators, staff from bureaus of agricultural and rural capacity building, researchers from the University as well as other stakeholders participated in the celebration.

The event was organized by the University with the objective of reviewing the achievements of last cropping season and to build upon the strengths of achievements and make up for the limitations.  The occasion was held also to provide a forum of scientific and sensible communications among researchers and farmers and to bring other researchable problems of higher priority to the forefront of the minds of researchers and other stakeholders. 

The occasion was kick-started by the University’s Research and extension Office at Finkile peasants’ association, and continued to the main Campus of the University, Gursum, Babile, Hirna, and Baroda, and included research as well as farmers’ fields on which improved crop varieties were grown for demonstrating their merit to farmers and the wider public at large.

A number of research findings and development efforts were made public during the occasion. The following were the salient features:

Distribution of productive goats to widow farmers

In order to improve the livelihood of most disadvantaged farmers, the University has been supporting widow farmers through provision of goats that are highly prolific in both milk and meat production. Accordingly, widow farmers that were given improved breeds of goats disclosed on the occasion that they have had their lives improved considerably owing to the support accorded to them by the University. The goats were demonstrated to the participants at Finkile peasants’ association.

Improved crop varieties

Improved crop varieties that are resistant to most diseases as well as high yielding, which were released by the University last year, were shown on farmers’ demonstration fields. These included sorghum, wheat, haricot bean, faba bean, field pea, and potatoes. The demonstration fields planted to these crops were shown at Haramaya, Gursum, Babile, Baroda, and Hirna. Participants noted that the performances of the varieties were remarkable.

Seed multiplication

In order to counter the drastic effects of climatic changes, which has brought about the frequent occurrence of erratic rainfall even during the main rainy season, high yielding crop varieties that mature early were sown in the University’s research fields at Hirna (teff) and Fadis (sorghum) for multiplication and distribution to farmers in the next cropping season. These include a striga-resistant sorghum variety named Gobiye, and a high yielding teff variety named Kuncho. Seeds of the two crop varieties were obtained from Melkassa and Debre-Zeit Research Centres, respectively. Participants appreciated that the crops performed very well and farmers expressed their desire to get seeds of these varieties for planting. The University has pledged that it would supply the seeds of these crop varieties to model farmers for the next cropping season. These farmers are hoped to further supply the seeds to their peers and the wider farming communities. The farmers’ day was officially closed in the afternoon of Sunday, 1 Nov. 2009 at Hirna Research Centre with the pledge that the University, researchers, farmers, woreda Offices, development agents, and other stakeholders would continue working together hand in hand for ensuring food security in the region.