The EARS research is organized into five technology supply processes. The processes are Crops Technology Supply, Livestock Technology Supply, Soil and Water Technology Supply, Forestry Technology Supply and Farm Mechanization Technology Supply. Each research process is subdivided into projects.
Crops Technology Supply Process
The criteria for crops technology generation included food security and nutritional quality (including cultivated area and production, nutritive value, sustainability, income and employment generation), market value (local and export), contribution to natural resources conservation), sense of urgency, and adaptability to diverse agro-ecological zones.
Livestock Technology Supply Process
Prioritization for livestock technology supply was done following similar criteria to crops. That is, food security, market opportunity, contribution to sustainable natural resources, sense of urgency and wide benefits. Similar scoring methods as in crops were also employed in giving weight to each criterion for ranking purposes.
Soil and Water Technology Supply Process
Major areas of emphasis in natural resources management research for development include inorganic fertilizer management; integrated soil fertility management and nutrient recycling; soil microbiology; soil and water conservation; irrigation, drainage and water harvesting; and resource characterization and evaluation. Of particular emphases under soil fertility management are the development of soil-test based recommendations for fertilizer application and combating soil acidity problems. Finding alternatives to inorganic fertilizers (e.g. Rhizobium inoculants, farmyard manure, green manure, and multipurpose trees) is also very important here.
Integrated watershed management research shall be carried out in targeted catchment representing both the low and high rainfall areas. The sites for small-scale irrigation shall be those that are particularly prone to low and erratic rainfall and those that are selected for high value export crops such as spices and horticultural crops. Fighting the ravages of soil salinity in irrigated agriculture in the dry land areas will be given particular emphasis
Forestry Technology Supply Process
Forestry research focuses on agro-forestry, plantation forestry, biomass energy and pulp, non-timber products, and rehabilitation and conservation of degraded ecosystems. Major target areas for agro-forestry shall be the enset-coffee-cereal-livestock land use system in the southwest, the red Nitisols, and Vertisols areas in the central highlands, the low potential highland areas, and the semi-arid areas in the northwestern parts of the Awash River Basin. The focus of rehabilitation and conservation of degraded forest ecosystems shall be selected forest areas in many parts of the country.
Agricultural Mechanization Technology Supply Process
The Agricultural Mechanization Technology Supply Process delivers engineering based agricultural technologies, which create a favorable environment for bio-chemical inputs (seed, fertilizer, breeds) to perform to their optimum potential, without jeopardizing the future use of the natural resources base. The main focus of agricultural mechanization is to avail appropriate tillage and traction technologies, where both animate (human, oxen, and equine) an inanimate (engine) power sources will be efficiently utilized in pre-harvest (land preparation, crop establishment and inter-culture) agricultural field operations, to insure increased production and productivity.
Another priority area is harvesting and post-harvest handling of fruits, vegetables, and root crops. This will help in the improvement of marketability of horticultural crops through provision of improved handling, sorting, and processing technology. The Process will deliver technologies for harvesting of fruits such as mango and papaya, and for processing of enset, in order to reduce drudgery and help farmers to deliver clean, unblemished fruits for market. The department will also make available information on different power operated machinery through testing, evaluation, survey, and review. This will help entrepreneurs to select appropriate power units and machinery suited to the country’s conditions.
Support Processes
The support processes of EARS are organized into Human Resources, Finance and Procurement and Property management, and Information and Communications.
