The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has launched a new wheat farmer support project in Ethiopia.
The project dubbed ADAPT-Wheat programme is a leading a project to convert Ethiopia’s Awash valley’s irrigated lowlands from cotton monoculture to cotton-wheat rotation. This change will boost local wheat production and contribute significantly to the country’s objective of wheat self-sufficiency.
Prototype technology
Through prototype technology and farming practices, the ADAPT-Wheat programme will assist small and medium-sized wheat farmers in Ethiopia’s Awash Valley. The Adaptation, Demonstration, and Piloting of Wheat Technologies for Ethiopia’s Irrigated Lowlands (ADAPT-Wheat) initiative began in October of last year, in Adama, Ethiopia, with an inception workshop.
Wheat is Ethiopia’s second most important staple crop and a key component of food security. CIMMYT has long aided Ethiopian wheat producers in the adoption of superior, high-yielding, disease-resistant cultivars. In 2018, DNA fingerprinting studies revealed that CIMMYT-derived wheat varieties account for 87 percent of all wheat types produced in Ethiopia.
Domestic wheat output and productivity in Ethiopia have virtually doubled in the last 15 years thanks to enhanced farmer access to superior varieties, the implementation of a variety of agronomic management recommendations, favourable marketing, and strong supply networks. Despite this, demand for wheat in Ethiopia is growing faster than productivity due to population increase, higher incomes, and accelerated urbanization.
 has launched a new wheat farmer support project in Ethiopia.){kind=link}