Farmers diversify crops in their fields and food on their plates

Farmers in the Bale area, in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, mainly produce wheat and barley. Temam Mama was no different — but some six years ago, the introduction of the two-wheel tractor offered him additional opportunities. This was part of an initiative of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Africa RISING project.

Selected as one of the two farmers in the region to test the technology, Temam took a five-day training course to understand the technology and the basics behind operating calibrating and maintaining the equipment.

The two-wheel tractor is multipurpose. By attaching various implements to a single engine, farmers can use it for ploughing, planting, water pumping, transportation, harvesting and threshing. For Temam, who had always relied on a rainfed agricultural system, the technology has high importance — he will be able to use the nearby river as a source of water for irrigation purposes.

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