Security issues, reduced motivation among extension workers, severe soil erosion, overgrazing, climate change, high input costs, machinery breakdowns, fuel shortages, and youth migration are smothering Ethiopia’s agricultural productivity, cautions a non-profit working with smallholder farmers across the country. The warning came as the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA), founded in 1986 by Norman Borlaug, Ryoichi Sasakawa, and Jimmy Carter to boost smallholder farming, food security, and income in four African countries, held its annual stakeholders’ workshop in Adama this week. The non-profit announced it directed investments of more than two billion Birr to smallholder farmers in 300 districts across all regions of Ethiopia over the past five years.
Speaking at the event, SAA Ethiopia Country Director Fentahun Mengistu (PhD) stated that the funding was dedicated to boosting crop productivity, ensuring food security, and improving smallholder farmers’ livelihoods. SAA distributed 145.5 million tons of seed inputs, over 41.2 million tons of synthetic fertilizer, and 2,400 tons of organic fertilizer, while providing training to more than 63,000 farmers. Coordinator Melese Liyehe told attendees the association focused heavily on regenerative agriculture, reaching nearly 265,000 farmers directly and over 1.5 million indirectly.
Additionally, over 182,000 citizens benefited from nutrition-sensitive agriculture, with encouraging results in improving household dietary diversity and post-harvest machinery usage, according to the non-profit’s managers. Despite these achievements, security issues and conflicts severely hindered agricultural extension service delivery over the past five years. Other notable challenges included reduced motivation among extension workers, severe soil erosion, overgrazing, climate change, high input costs, machinery breakdowns, fuel shortages, and youth migration away from agriculture.
Looking ahead, SAA has launched a new strategic plan for 2026–2030 with a projected budget of 2.5 billion Birr to sustain developments it has looked after since 1993. Fentahun stated the plan seeks to boost crop productivity, ensure food security, and improve smallholder farmers’ livelihoods. He disclosed that funding will be mobilized alongside key international partners, including the Nippon Foundation, the African Development Bank, and AGRA.
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