Our Research Diroctrates


Livestock Research Directorate

The Livestock research directorate undertakes different research activities in the six research centers under TARI distributed in different zones and agro ecologies.

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Research

Research Center

Focus areas

Humera Research Center

Ruminant animal (Milk and Meat)

Axum Research Center

Large ruminant, Bee, poultry

Mekelle Research Center

Ruminant animals, Bee, poultry

Alamata Research Center

Large ruminant

Abergelle Research Center

Small ruminant and fishery

Shire-Maitsebri Research Center

Ruminant animals

Ce

Skilled Manpower

Centers

Manpower Based on Level of Education including people on study leave

PhD

MSc

BSc

Diploma

Actual

%

Actual

%

Actual

%

Actual

%

TARI-head quarter

2

3.08

0

0.00

0

0.00

0

0.00

Mekelle

9

13.85

9

13.85

0

0.00

3

4.62

Axum

1

1.54

8

12.31

1

1.54

1

1.54

Abergelle

3

4.62

7

10.77

1

1.54

1

1.54

Alamata

0

0.00

3

4.62

1

1.54

0

0.00

Humera

0

0.00

8

12.31

1

1.54

1

1.54

Shire-Maitsebri

0

0.00

5

7.69

0

0.00

0

0.00

Total

15

23.08

40

61.54

4

6.15

6

9.23

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goals

  • Contribution for achieving GTP-Goals
    • Taking the Livestock Development Master Plan as strategic document
    • Considering the Country Livestock Research Strategy and cascading the objectives to our region

Core areas to be tackled

  • Productivity Enhancement (quantity/Quality)
  • Surplus production for Export
  • Import substitution
  • Input for agri-business/agro-industry
  • Public Health and safety
  • Food and nutrition security
  • Improving shelf life of animal products and by-products
  • Climate resilient agriculture

Major Commodities

  • Cattle (Meat/Milk)
  • Small Ruminant (Mainly meat)
  • Poultry (Meat and Egg)
  • Bee and Hive Products (Honey, Wax, Venom, Propolis)
  • Fish and marine products

Major Research Categories

  • Genetic Improvement
  • Animal Feed and Nutrition
  • Animal Health

Research Approach

  • Participatory (insuring involvement of all stakeholders)
    •  From problem appraisal to execution of research projects and dissemination of research outputs
  • Involving  Farmers’ research group (FRG)
  • Cluster based production system
  • Use of advanced biotechnology tools
  • Use of resource sharing codes
  • Networking with national and international  Research Centers

Note: Please Refer Downloads for proven technologies released by the directorate!

General Background

The agriculture sector in Tigray plays a central role and holds great potential to save lives and contribute to livelihoods, support rural households, and provide decent employment. From this, the crop sub-sector plays an important role in Tigray economic development as a major source of income, provides food and nutritional security, employment opportunity, and saves on foreign exchange expenditure through import substitution. Currently, the annual crop production stands at more than 2 million tons of food crops and 36,441.61 tons of horticultural crops from nearly 954522.53 ha (74% of the cultivated land), all supporting 1,818,960 households. The crops research directorate, in this regard, is mandated to conduct, promote, streamline, co-ordinate and regulate research in all agro-ecologies of Tigray, considering all crops of economic importance with the objective to generate, multiply and disseminate crop information, technologies, knowledge, and practices to accelerate productivity, value addition, and enhancement of competitiveness for meeting the local demand and beyond so as to improve the livelihoods. 

Research Centers Engaging in Crops Research

Currently, six agricultural research centers are engaging in research on various crops to varied extent and representing different agro-ecologies of Tigray.

SN

Center

Pillar Commodities  

1

Humera

Sesame, fiber crops, lowland pulses (green gram, haricot bean, soy bean), and horticultural crops (banana, date palm, okra)

2

Shire-Maitsebri

Sorghum, maize, rice, finger millet, pepper, mango

3

Axum

Taf, chick pea, onion, mango, avocado, fenugreek

4

Abrgelle

Sorghum, groundnut, cow pea, citrus, pepper

5

Mekelle

Wheat, barley, faba bean, lentil, potato, sweet potato, tissue culture , cactus

6

Alamata

Wheat, barley, sorghum, faba bean, dekoko, papaya, pepper, onion, mango, tomato, coffee,

Human Resources

Manpower

Diploma

BSc.

MSc.

Ph.D.

Total

Researcher

-

29

59

6

94

Technical Assistant

13

-

-

-

13

Research Thematic Areas

 

  • Improving food and nutrition security
      • Crop productivity and quality
  • Climate change and variability
      • Climate smart/resilient agriculture
      • Improve early warning system for crop productivity
      • Utilization of weather information in crop packages
  • Agro-processing and value addition
      • Commodity specialization
      • Enhancing agro-industry competitiveness
  • Export commodities and commercialization
      • Introducing and improving productivity of exportable agricultural commodities
      • Promoting commercialization of smallholder agriculture
      • Enhancing quality outputs
  • Job creation and cross cutting issues
      • Introducing income generating commodities
      • Empowering women and youth in agriculture
      • Participation in crop technology development and transfer
  • Promoting urban agriculture

Research Setup

In order to contribute significantly to the economic development, crop directorate is structured into six research programs as outlined below.

  1. Cereal crops research
  2. Pulse crops research
  3. Oil and fibre crops research
  4. Horticultural crops research
  5. Plant biotechnology research
  6. Plant protection research

Strategic Intervention

  • Genetic improvement
  • Crop agronomy and physiology
  • Crop protection
  • Plant tissue culture 
  • Source seed multiplication
  • Technology promotion
  • Urban agriculture
  • Advisory  and capacity building

Beneficiary and Stakeholders

  • Farmers
  • Investors
  • Bureau of Agriculture
  • Bureau of finance and economic development
  • Agro-industries
  • Seed enterprises
  • Cooperatives and unions
  • Small and micro enterprises
  • Higher learning institutions
  • Ethiopian institute of agricultural research (EIAR)
  • Institute of biodiversity conservation (IBC)
  • Agricultural transformation institute (ATI)
  • Regional research institutes  (RARIs)
  • Forestry and  environmental protection research institute
  • CGIAR centers (CIMMYT, ICARDA, ICRAF, ICRISAT, CIP, ILRI,)
  • Non-governmental organizations (FSRP, ICRC, FAO, WFP, World Vision Australia, GIZ, Irish Aid, BENEFIT, IFAD)

Research Output

  • Twenty-four varieties of different crops have been released
  • Significant number of crop technologies were recommended through adaptation from national and international sources 
  • Crop agronomic technologies and practices that increase crop productivity were developed and recommended 
  • Integrated pest management technologies and practices were developed and recommended 
  • Rejuvenation of germplasm and maintenance of breeder seed of improved varieties that are under production 
  • Early generation seeds (breeder and pre-basic) multiplication 
  • Development of secondary metabolites and multiplication of disease-free potato, sweet potato, papaya, and mushroom
  • Promotion of improved technologies  and practices
  • Coordination of crops research regionally (Tigray)

Get In Touch

Teklay Abebe (Ph.D.)

Senior Researcher

Email: teklayabebe6@gmail.com

Cell phone: 0911905589

 

 

General Background

The Socioeconomics and Extension Research Directorate (SEERD) is one of the five research branches of the Tigray Agricultural Research Institute. It is organized into two programs. The first is an agricultural economics research program that aims to generate evidence and information that is useful in supporting agricultural policy, investment decisions, and technological development. The second is agricultural extension research program. It aims to create a demand for improved agricultural technologies and practices that enable effective technology and knowledge transfer to end-users.
The research directorate holds forums for multi-stakeholders to critically identify and prioritize economic, social, natural, institutional, and agricultural policy and service-related problems to provide alternative research-based solutions. It also disseminates research results through a participatory research approach and creates platforms to be assessed by beneficiaries, stakeholders and policy makers.
The directorate currently has 25 staff members, with 20 of them being MSc holders (4 women) and 5 BSc graduates working at 8 research centers in the region.
Thematic (research) areas

  • Technology promotion (demonstration, pre-extension popularization and Scaling) 
  • Adoption and impact study
  • Gender analysis  
  • Agricultural policy and institutional analysis 
  • Market research/value chain analysis 
  • Extension system analysis 
  • Panel data development and analysis: 
  • Analysis of natural and environmental resources economics
  • production constraints analysis 

Focus areas of the directorate

  • Improve land, livestock and labor productivity
  • Food and nutrition security 
  • Market oriented commodities and import substitution
  • Improve decision making power based on scientific evidences 
  • Participatory research approach 
  • Empower women and landless youth 
  • Reduce post-harvest loss and human drudgery
  • Reduce deforestation
  • Transforming conventional agricultural practices
  • Organizing, publishing and disseminating research findings

A significant outreach of improved agricultural technologies in crops, livestock, natural resource, and mechanization technologies was revealed by the research directorate in collaboration with different partners and supporters. During the past years, the research results have been compiled in the form of research papers and extension materials and distributed to a wider audience. In the last ten years, 53 research papers in proceedings and 45 journal articles have been published. The research directorate has made the results of the research publicly available on social media and local and national programs.

General Background

Natural Resources Research Directorate (NRRD) is one of the five research directorates of Tigray Agricultural Research Institute (TARI). The directorate has six pool and two specialized (soil) research centers distributed in different zones and agro-ecologies of Tigray. It is mainly affianced in execution of different researches in the fields of forest, soil, water and wild life resources as well as on the environment and climate change. Furthermore, the directorate provides soil & water laboratory and meteorological services to beneficiaries and stakeholders. The directorate has experience on technology generation, adaptation, demonstration, multiplication, capacity buildings and establishment of partnerships and fund raising.

Goal 
To contribute to the region`s long term policy, strategy and planned objectives through generation and delivery of improved natural resources management technologies and innovations.

Research thematic areas 

  • Irrigation and drainage engineering and water resources management research
  • Soil and water conservation and watershed management research
  • Forestry, agroforestry and wild life management research
  • Geospatial research
  • Agro-meteorology research and services 
  • Soil fertility and health management research
  • Soil resources survey and digitizing research
  • Soil microbiology research
  • Analytical soil laboratory services

Manpower of NRRD

Centers

Based on Level of Education

PhD

MSc

BSc

Diploma &below

Total

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

TARI-head quarter

1

0.9

2

1.8

0

0

0

0

3

2.7

Mekelle ARC

2

1.8

12

10.8

0

0

1

0.9

15

13.5

Axum ARC

0

0

5

4.5

3

2.7

0

0

8

7.2

Abergelle ARC

0

0

6

5.4

2

1.8

0

0

8

7.2

Alamata ARC

0

0

5

4.5

1

0.9

0

0

6

5.4

Humera ARC

0

0

6

5.4

9

8.1

5

4.5

20

18

Shire-Maitsebri ARC

0

0

7

6.3

1

0.9

0

0

8

7.2

Shire Soil RC

0

0

7

6.3

1

0.9

9

8.1

17

15.3

Mekelle Soil RC

3

2.7

9

8.1

3

2.7

11

9.9

26

23.4

Total

6

5.4

59

53.2

20

18

26

23.4

111

100

General Background

Agricultural Mechanization and Rural Energy Research Directorate is one of the five research Directorates under Tigray Agricultural Research Institute (TARI). The research directorate is mainly engaged in development-oriented research activities of different agricultural machineries and implements, post-harvest and feed processing technologies, renewable and biomass energy appliances.

Mission

The Directorate is given a mission to improve agricultural production and productivity, improve post harvest product handling and improve access for least cost energy in the rural Tigray through undertaking demand driven and participatory research on agricultural mechanization, post-harvest and feed processing technologies and renewable energy technologies.

Vision

  • To see better and sustainable living standards of communities living in Tigray regional state through use of modern agricultural technologies.

Thematic (research) areas

  • Pre harvest and harvest agricultural implements
  • Post-harvest machineries and agro processing  sciences
  •  Rural transportation
  • Irrigation and water pump
  • Biomass and renewable energy

Research pillar of the directorate

  • Improve land and labor productivity
  • Reduce post-harvest loss and human drudgery
  • Reduce deforestation
  • Import substitution
  • Transforming conventional agricultural practices
  • Create new job for land less youths
  • Empower women