Integrated Agricultural Development Strategies in the ANRS:
Lessons from the AMAREW Project*
Brhane Gebrekidan, Yitayew Abebe, Fekadu Yohannes, Elias Zerfu, and Habtemariam Kassa

Abstract
The Amhara Micro-enterprise development, Agricultural Research, Extension and Watershed management (AMAREW) Project is a USAID/Ethiopia Mission funded initiative established in July 2002 to provide technical assistance in integrated agricultural development in the Amhara National Regional State (ANRS). The Project works to strengthen agricultural research, extension, watershed management, capacity building, and micro-enterprise development in the ANRS by collaborating with its ANRS partners in strategically selected two pilot watershed sites and five pilot food-insecure woredas.

The Project is being implemented by a Virginia Tech led Consortium (Virginia Tech, Cornell University, Virginia State University and ACDI/VOCA) in collaboration with its ANRS Primary Partners consisting of the Food Security Coordination and Disaster Prevention Office (FSCDPO), Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute (ARARI), Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development (BoARD), Environment Protection, Land Administration, and Utilization Authority (EPLAUA), Amhara Micro and Small Industries Development Bureau (AMSEIDB), and Amhara Credit and Saving Institution (ACSI). FSCDPO has the overall role of coordinating Project activities; ARARI is responsible for the planning and implementation of research; BoARD plans and implements agricultural extension and watershed management activities in the pilot extension woredas and watersheds; EPLAUA has the responsibility for guiding land use and certification in the pilot watersheds; AMSEIDB and ACSI share responsibilities for micro-enterprise and micro-finance issues in the target areas of the project. The technical advisors of AMAREW work with and advise their respective line department experts in all stages of project activities.

AMAREW strives to catalyze a paradigm shift in the ANRS in strengthening research extension linkage where education, research, and extension are integrated similar to the service-oriented Land Grant University Model of the USA. The Project focuses on upgrading human resource capacities and reinforcing the institutional relations between ARARI and BoARD through joint planning and implementation of on-farm research and extension programs. Our five pilot extension woredas are planned to integrate research and extension, thereby demonstrating that effective linkage of extension and research are possible in the ANRS. Our two pilot watershed management sites (Lenche Dima in Guba Lafto and Yeku in Sekota) serve as models for integrating watershed management, research, extension, and micro-enterprise development efforts. In the long run, the promising experiences and lessons learned through the activities of the AMAREW Project should be scaled up to other sites in the ANRS as well as nationally, thus contributing to the alleviation of the food security problem of the region and the nation.

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