In late November 2024, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Agriculture—together with the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT—convened a half-day meeting to lay the groundwork for a National Agroecology Strategy (NAES), an ambitious plan to reshape the country’s food systems. The gathering brought together government officials, researchers and stakeholders from a range of institutions, including the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), to explore how agroecological approaches could tackle urgent challenges such as soil degradation, food insecurity, and biodiversity loss.
Opening the session, State Minister of Agriculture Eyasu Elias highlighted the toll of unsustainable farming practices and the pressing need for alternatives. “Agroecology puts farmers at the centre,” Elias said, “while restoring landscapes, enhancing irrigation, improving soil health and preserving biodiversity.”
Participants discussed both policy design and practical experience. Endalkachew Wolde-Meskel, senior scientist and research and development advisor at CIFOR-ICRAF, presented on the science and promise of agroecology, outlining its wide-ranging benefits—from boosting productivity and household incomes to improving food security, nutrition, and environmental sustainability.
Drawing on data from the Measuring Agroecology Performance (MAP) initiative led by CIFOR-ICRAF, Wolde-Meskel shared findings from the FAO’s Agroecology Performance Evaluation Tool (TAPE), which was applied in partnership with the GIZ ProSoil/ProSilience programme. “The data speaks for itself,” he said. “Farms that adopted agroecological practices showed greater resilience, improved productivity, better household incomes, and stronger food and nutrition security.”
Practices included composting, crop rotation, agroforestry, biogas production, fodder cultivation, integrated pest management using animal urine, and cut-and-carry livestock systems. In some areas, fuel-efficient cookstoves and the planting of multi-purpose trees further improved sustainability and livelihoods.
State Minister of Agriculture, Eyasu Elias, opened the meeting. Photo by Eyob Getahun / CIFOR-ICRAF
Endalkachew Wolde-Meskel during his presentation. Photo by Eyob Getahun / CIFOR-ICRAF
Wolde-Meskel also noted that some non-ProSoil farms assessed through the MAP project showed above-average performance—largely thanks to strong government support for integrating agroecological practices. “This underscores the importance of national-level policy to scale up these efforts and ensure consistency across regions,” Wolde-Meskel said.
Zenebe Admassu, a consultant at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, emphasized the need for a national strategy to drive transformative change in Ethiopia’s agricultural and food systems. He highlighted opportunities for alignment with global trends and access to international funding, noting the value of lessons learned from other countries. Admassu proposed a strategic framework that includes a strong monitoring and evaluation system.
Degfie Tibebe, also from the Alliance, laid out a roadmap for developing the strategy. He recommended forming a technical task force led by the Ministry of Agriculture and stressed the vital role of partners in facilitating workshops and providing technical support to create a robust and actionable policy.
After broad discussions, State Minister Eyasu Elias outlined the next steps: forming the technical task force immediately, holding an initial core team workshop and organizing inclusive consultations with relevant ministries and sector experts to refine the strategy. The draft will be submitted to the Council of Ministers for review and feedback, followed by a national workshop to gather broader input and foster a sense of collective ownership.
Ethiopia has already taken significant steps toward sustainable land management through national strategies on agroforestry, drylands and forest protection. The development of a dedicated agroecology strategy marks a critical next chapter—bringing food production, environmental restoration, and rural livelihoods together under a unified national vision.
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