Whenever Temegnush Dhabi, a 50-year-old widow, stops to look out over her two-hectare farm in East Shewa, Central Ethiopia, she cannot help but think about the dramatic changes that have taken place since 2008.
Until four years ago, Temegnush, who has been a farmer for 26 years, grew mostly teff (a popular cereal native to Ethiopia) on her land. Teff fetches a reasonable price at her local market, but it requires expensive fertilizer to grow well and is labor-intensive to harvest. Then she began working with researchers from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) to test new improved varieties of chickpea. Pleased with the results from one of the high-yielding, drought-tolerant, pest-resistant varieties, she divided her land in two and started growing chickpeas.
Chickpeas, which are now Temegnush’s main crop, generate more income for her and her family. “I would never have thought chickpeas could bring me such high returns,” she says, scooping out a handful of recently harvested chickpea grains from one of the many bags that fill the grain store in her house. “I started sowing the improved chickpea variety three years ago and it was the best decision I made. Not only do I get better harvests, but it needs very little labor and fertilizer compared to growing cereals.”
Tropical Legumes II (TL-II) project
Temegnush is just one of nearly 250,000 smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia directly reaping the benefits of higher yields and incomes from improved tropical legume varieties and farming practices through the Tropical Legumes II (TL-II) project, which started in 2007. The project has provided farmers in 10 countries with improved varieties of six major grain legumes, as well as much-needed farmer education programs. In Ethiopia alone, the number of farmers growing these new legumes has increased by more than 14 per cent, while in Karnataka, in southwest India, the number has grown by more than 33 per cent since the project began.
“The key driver for this project is that we look at the needs and solutions in a holistic way,” says Tsedeke Abate, TL-II project coordinator. “We work with farmers, agrodealers, market traders and local government to ensure that training and tools, such as high yielding seed varieties, are provided for sustainable impact.”
This “chickpea revolution” shows how agricultural production and productivity can significantly increase when innovations are adapted to farmers’ needs, when local research and extension systems are working, and when all stakeholders work together to meet a healthy market demand.
Other benefits
In addition to helping her test “risk-free” the improved seed varieties, the project also taught Temegnush about crop rotation, how to obtain improved seed and manage her crop. Moreover, in common with other legumes, chickpea boosts nitrogen in the soil, making it more fertile, and reducing the need for fertilizer.
“I started growing wheat on the land after having harvested the chickpea and found that I needed half the amount of fertilizer I used to need to get a good yield of wheat,” she says.
Chickpea is also more water-efficient than teff, which is valuable given the challenges of scarce and unpredictable rainfall in this region.
“The high yields and market value of chickpea last season meant I could buy a second pair of oxen,” says Temegnush. “I lend these to neighboring farmers. I’m no longer seen as a poor widow but a successful farmer. I am also able to send all six of my children to school. So it’s not just my income but also my social status that has improved.”
A second phase of the TL-II project, which is jointly implemented by ICRISAT, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in close collaboration with partners in the national agricultural research systems of target countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in India, was recently guaranteed by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Further reading: Tropical Legumes II
Photo essay: Ethiopian farmers test new chickpea crops – in pictures
Video impact story: Changing Chickpea Culture in Ethiopia
Photo credit: Alina Paul-Bossuet, ICRISAT