Acid soils are a major constraint to agricultural productivity in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia. Restoring soil pH to optimal ranges for agriculture can have a significant impact on yields, particularly for acid intolerant crops like wheat and barley. The application of agricultural lime is the standard corrective, although the large application requirements, lack of farmer awareness, and weak or non-existent lime supply chains make this a complex problem to address at scale. To date, no large-scale farmer trials of lime application have been undertaken in Ethiopia. This leaves open the question to local policy makers as to the economic benefits given the enormous capital and logistics investments required. To help address this we leverage existing spatial edaphic data and longitudinal crop surveys to simulate the productivity impact of varying lime and fertilizer applications. Our estimates find the impact of moving pH from 5.5 to 6.5, modeled as a lime soil remediation strategy, increases yields by 22% and 19% for wheat and barley, respectively. In addition, at lower pH levels our models indicate that commonly used nitrogen-based fertilizers are less cost-effective. For wheat in highly acidic soils, we find that fertilizers cost over two times as much as a single application of lime over a five-year period. The cost savings of the use of lime reaches as high as 121% of average one-year agricultural household income for wheat; with barley these savings are lower but still substantial at 24%. In general, we advocate for an integrated soil fertility management strategy that applies appropriate levels of fertilizer on pH balanced soil. If successful, Ethiopia’s acid soil reclamation could become a modest version of Brazil’s successful “cerrado miracle” and serve as an example for Africa.

Women are often ignored from research and development agenda although they play key roles in agriculture in developing countries. They are excluded from decision making and as a result, they frequently do not have access to resources, technologies and extension services, credits, inputs and markets. This paper aims to document, using qualitative methods, how participatory approach through Farmers Research Group (FRG) can address gender inequalities and subsequently empower women smallholder farmers using a case study from Ethiopia. Through the participatory intervention, women farmers have enhanced their skills and knowledge of improved agricultural technologies as well as their collective capacity (social capital) in accessing input and output markets. As a result, the number of FRG members increased from 25 women farmers organized in one FRG in 2006 to 253 women farmers organized in 11 village-level Farmers Research Extension Groups (FREGs) in 2013. The participatory intervention in the study area has improved women's productivity of seed potatoes and marketing; enabled them to earn cash an average of Ethiopian Birr (ETB) 11 000 per year only from the sale of seed potatoes; and this has created more options to improve the livelihoods of women farmers and their households by diversifying into higher-value farm and off-farm work. Consequently, women decision making in the household as well as in the community has been enhanced. Women farmers are now heard at national level for their innovative experiences and have become one of the national seed potato and knowledge sources. There is a need to replicate this model approach to enhance the productivity of smallholder women farmers and subsequently empower them to facilitate exit pathways out of poverty and ensure sustainable development.

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