Goals and objectives
- Upgrade soil and water conservation field research.
- Translate results of soil and water conservation research into smallholder farmer land management systems.
- Expand micro-drip irrigation pilot program.
- Enhance South-South transfers between Eritrean and Mali plant breeders.
- Complete construction of the new GIS Laboratory at the University of Asmara.
- Foster agricultural and environmental research and monitoring, especially soil and water conservation and plant breeding, with a focus on millet. This includes South-South collaboration in agricultural research between Eritrea and Mali.
- Promote capacity building through human resource and skills development. This includes the introduction of innovative high-end tools and instruments such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as well as low-cost and participatory approaches to land management.
- Engage in regional and local planning and development. Activities include the preparation of local/regional studies to develop a body of knowledge on local livelihoods, and to identify concrete actions for development jointly with the local population and authorities.
Achievements
- Successful completion of the first-ever database report, summarizing the work of the SLM’s Afdeyu station, the only site in Eritrea that culls long-term systematic field data on soil erosion, soil conservation, river runoff, and sedimentation.
- Plant breeding: Significant progress was made in developing resistant and early maturing pearl millet varieties, tested both on-station and on-farm.
- Micro-drip irrigation: Successful completion of the test phase by our main partner, the College of Agriculture of the University of Asmara. Involving about 200 interested users, the test has shown that household food security, as low as 50% on national average, rises with micro-irrigation.