Diffuse Light Storage: Appropriate Technologies Being Used in Ethiopia
Access to quality, affordable seeds by small scale farmers in Abo Yayebena kebele, Ethiopia, has been an issue and a core agricultural production constraint. The problem is mainly with vegetable seeds, as there are only a few suppliers and because of this they are able to increase the costs.
Consequently, farmers in Abo Yayebena kebele, as is the case elsewhere in the country, have been faced with a shortage of quality seed. In cases where seeds are available, they are too expensive for poor farmers to buy.
Storing vegetable seeds until next season has never been customary for Abo Yayebenian farmers, however it is an important agricultural practice which improves efficiencies and reduces costs.
Diffuse Light Storage (DLS) technology was introduced to the area by CPAR Ethiopia through the Putting Farmers First project. Putting Farmers First is CPAR’s approach to supporting long-term food security for farming families in vulnerable African communities. It emphasizes the belief that small-scale farming is an effective means of sustaining livelihoods for rural African communities in the face of global challenges such as climate change and fluctuating food prices.
Storage of potatoes using Diffuse Light Storage
Diffuse Light Storage (DLS) is a post-harvest technology which uses natural indirect light instead of low temperature to control excessive sprout growth of potato seeds and reduces the associated storage losses. It is a low cost method of storing seed potatoes which has been found to extend their storage life and improve their productivity providing a new opportunity for poor farmers to preserve quality seeds.
The Putting Farmers First project has selected w/ro* Tejie Getachew from the Odda Farmer Field School group as a model farmer to demonstrate the technology. This was based on advice from the Odda Farmer Field School committee who explained that w/ro Tejie was among the most vulnerable Female Head of Households deserving priority to receive the inputs and the training.
w/ro Tejie proudly displaying her potatoes
W/ro Tejie Gizachew, is a 30 year old woman who is the sole income earner for her family of seven. W/ro Tejie’s family was living off of small harvests obtained through share-cropping which unfortuantely, was not adequate to support her family year round.
During the 2011 cropping season, w/ro Tejie, through the Odda Farmer Field School group, recieved improved potato seeds on a revolving basis and harvested them on only o.33 hectares of land. Of the total output produced, she stored 1/3 for Diffuse Light Storage (DLS) while consuming and selling the rest.
When w/ro Tejie was asked about the advantages of Diffuse Light Storage (DLS) technology, she asserted that “there are so many advantages of this technology that it made quality seed accessible and affordable at the local level for the poor. I now have preserved my own seed for the next production season, and can market out the rest for extra income”.
*w/ro is a sign of respect for women in Ethiopia and is always put in front of the name.
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