Climate-smart agriculture: reducing deforestation, increasing opportunity

When farms lose productivity, it’s hard to spare the fertile soils of nearby forest. To protect forests, Farm Africa, SOS Sahel and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Ethiopia are helping farmers like Ahimed Adem transform their farming with climate-smart techniques.

Promoting climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is a way to ease pressure on forests while improving livelihoods at the same time. Techniques such as small-scale irrigation, tree planting and use of improved crop varieties boost yields on existing farmland, reducing the need to clear forest for agriculture.

Ahimed Adem is one of many farmers benefiting from CSA techniques. A former construction worker, Ahimed turned to irrigation farming in 2023 in search of a better income to support his family.

“Before starting irrigation farming, I used to work on construction sites as a daily labourer. But the return was not enough. Then I quit that job and started irrigation on a very small farmland.

“For the last three years, Farm Africa significantly supported me in my irrigation farming. They have been supporting me with training and close follow-up. I received seedlings of coffee, banana, watermelon and papaya.

“The papaya variety is new for me. I learnt it’s called ‘Red Lady’ and is from Thailand. It stays fresh longer and doesn’t perish during loading and transport. I planted more than 700 heads of this papaya variety on a half hectare of land. It was productive and I earned a good profit in the first-round harvest.

“I made the connections with my customers through the media. Being impressed by my papaya farm, reporters from the Oromia Broadcasting Network (OBN) approached me to do a TV programme. Accepting their request, I did an interview about my work and the climate-smart agriculture support of Farm Africa.

“Eventually, a couple of viewers who are traders contacted me, and they are now customers. They live more than 300 to 400 km in Robe and Negele Borena towns. Although my customers are from towns more than 400 km away, they receive fresh fruits.”

Ahimed’s dedication is paying off, with watermelon, papaya, banana, maize and haricot beans all giving strong returns. His vermicompost enterprise is also showing promise.

Ahimed received training on the method from Farm Africa. “More than 24 farmers have bought my vermicompost. I have a plan to expand it more.”

“With the income I made, I bought two oxen and a motorbike. I am also able to support my children who are studying at high school and colleges.”

Encouraged by his success, Ahimed now plans to expand his commercial farming activities to his remaining land.

Learn more about the ways we’re collaborating with local people to grow a greener future for Ethiopia’s Bale Eco-region: