The Sentinel Ethiopia team held a workshop on Ethiopia’s agricultural development on 23-25 July 2018 in Adama, Ethiopia.

The workshop was designed to predict and map out plausible future scenarios for the country’s agriculture sector. Participants included experts and institutions from relevant ministries, research institutes, the private sector, agricultural bureaus, cooperatives and international agencies.

Over the three days, participants explored various issues, from a range of perspectives, on what is shaping the sector. The trade-off between forestry and agriculture – including biodiversity loss – were paramount to the discussion and were examined in depth. Participants were divided into groups to carry out exercises that identified the sector’s key issues, drivers, social and environmental impacts, and that set the scenario axis. The exercises were engaging and interactive and a great way for participants to share knowledge and experience.

In a particularly interesting session, the group discussed and wrote storylines for four scenarios on how Ethiopia’s agriculture sector may develop between now and 2050. During intensive discussions, each group weighed up the plausibility of the storyline with respect to the drivers that had been identified as likely to shape the sector. 

For participants, the three-day workshop was dynamic and a real eye-opener, with many lessons learnt. Some experts suggested replicating this kind of workshop for similar projects in their respective sectors.