By Abdirahman Ibrahim Abdillahi
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia’s national agricultural research institution and the Somaliland Institute of Agricultural Research (SIAR) are deepening scientific cooperation aimed at adapting improved crop varieties and farming technologies to the dryland conditions of Somaliland.
The cooperation between the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) and SIAR is centered on climate-resilient crop research, variety adaptation, technology transfer and technical capacity building. The initiative is intended to help researchers identify crops that can perform under limited rainfall, short growing seasons and other conditions faced by farmers in Somaliland.
The collaboration is being led on the Somaliland side by SIAR Executive Director Ali Ismail Ibrahim, with the two institutions working toward expanding field trials and strengthening the capacity to produce and disseminate technologies suited to dryland farming.
For Somaliland, where much of agriculture is exposed to rainfall variability, the partnership could provide access to Ethiopia’s decades of experience in crop breeding, agricultural research and technology development.
What is the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research?
The Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) is Ethiopia’s national agricultural research institution and one of the country’s principal centers for generating and adapting agricultural technologies.
EIAR traces its institutional origins to 1966, when the Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) was established as Ethiopia’s first nationally coordinated agricultural research institute. It was reorganized as the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization (EARO) in 1997 and renamed the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research in October 2005.
Its work covers crops, livestock, natural resources, biotechnology, agricultural economics, food and nutrition, plant protection and agricultural engineering, among other areas.
According to EIAR, its research system includes dozens of research centers and sites operating across Ethiopia’s diverse agro-ecological zones. These centers conduct research on specific crops, livestock systems and environmental conditions, allowing technologies to be tested in environments ranging from highland areas to hot and dry lowlands.
The institute says it has released more than 3,000 agricultural technologies and improved farming practices since its establishment, including crop varieties, livestock technologies, pest and disease-management methods and production and post-harvest technologies.
What does EIAR do?
At the heart of EIAR’s work is the development, testing and transfer of technologies that can raise agricultural productivity while responding to Ethiopia’s different ecological and economic conditions.
Its principal research directorates include:
Crop Science Research: Develops improved crop varieties and production technologies, including breeding for higher productivity and climate resilience. EIAR’s crop research also focuses on supplying breeder seed and supporting the multiplication and transfer of improved varieties.
Animal Science Research: Conducts research related to livestock production, including animal breeding, nutrition, forage and livestock-management systems.
Natural Resource Management: Works on soil fertility, water management, land resources, watershed management and other issues affecting the sustainability of agricultural production.
Agricultural Economics: Examines the economic dimensions of agriculture, including markets, production systems, technology adoption and agricultural policy.
Plant Protection: Researches crop pests and diseases, diagnostics and management strategies designed to protect agricultural production.
Food Science and Nutrition: Works on food quality, processing, nutrition, post-harvest systems and value addition.
Agricultural Biotechnology: Uses biotechnology and molecular approaches in areas such as crop improvement and agricultural research.
Agricultural Engineering: Develops and evaluates technologies related to farm machinery, agricultural mechanization and engineering applications.
EIAR’s research sector is coordinated through a deputy director general for research, while separate offices and directorates support research partnerships, capacity development, research-center coordination and other institutional functions.
The institute also operates a technology multiplication and seed research function that focuses on multiplying early-generation technologies, including breeder and other classes of seed, planting materials and other agricultural technologies needed for wider dissemination.
A nationwide network of research centers
One of EIAR’s strengths is its network of specialized research centers.
Holetta Agricultural Research Center, for example, focuses on areas including dairy and forage crops, highland pulses, oilseeds and soil and plant-nutrient management.
Bako National Maize Research Center is associated with maize research, while Kulumsa Agricultural Research Center has a major role in wheat and barley research. Jimma is strongly associated with coffee and other crops suited to its environment.
In the drier parts of Ethiopia, research at centers such as Melkassa is particularly relevant to dryland agriculture, while other centers work on crops and livestock suited to lowland and semi-arid environments.
This geographical spread is important for the cooperation with Somaliland because crop varieties developed or tested in one environment cannot automatically be assumed to perform well elsewhere. They must be evaluated under local conditions before recommendations are made to farmers.
SIAR: building an agricultural research system for Somaliland
The Somaliland Institute of Agricultural Research (SIAR) is a relatively young national research institution. According to its official profile, it was established in January 2021 through a presidential decree and is mandated to conduct agricultural research aimed at supporting agricultural development, food security, rural incomes and nutrition.
SIAR’s mandate includes research and technology development in crops, livestock, genetic resources and biotechnology, as well as work on crop and animal diseases and the dissemination of agricultural research findings.
Its research activities are centered largely around the Aburiin Center for Research and Training, where the institute conducts field trials and other research activities.
SIAR’s crop research division has already been evaluating varieties of cowpea, sorghum, pearl millet and pigeon pea, while additional trials are being prepared for crops such as chickpea and groundnut. The institute’s broader research priorities include climate-resilient varieties, water-smart agriculture, seed multiplication and improved farming practices.
What was agreed between EIAR and SIAR?
The cooperation between the two institutions is focused on turning agricultural research into technologies that can be tested and eventually used in Somaliland’s farming systems.
The research agenda includes active and completed adaptation trials involving pigeon pea, pearl millet, sorghum and cowpea.
The next phase is expected to consider additional crops, including:
• Chickpea
• Groundnut
• Wheat
• Maize
The central scientific question is not simply which varieties produce the highest yields under ideal conditions, but which varieties can provide useful yields under the constraints faced by Somaliland farmers.
Researchers are therefore targeting traits such as:
• Drought tolerance and efficient water use
• Early or short-duration maturity
• High yield potential under low-input conditions
• Adaptation to semi-arid environments
• Resistance to important pests and diseases
The planned cooperation also places emphasis on technology transfer and technical capacity building, particularly in seed production, field experimentation, data collection and agricultural extension.
These priorities are consistent with SIAR’s own stated strategy of introducing and evaluating climate-resilient varieties specifically suited to Somaliland’s rainfed conditions and strengthening the capacity of farmers and extension personnel.
Why crop adaptation matters
For farmers in dryland regions, the timing of rainfall can be as important as the total amount of rainfall received.
A variety that requires a long growing season may fail if rains end early. By contrast, an early-maturing variety can complete its life cycle before moisture becomes severely limited.
Drought-tolerant crops can also reduce the risk associated with increasingly unpredictable rainfall. But drought tolerance alone is not enough. Researchers must examine yield, nutritional quality, disease resistance, maturity period, farmer preferences and performance under local soil and management conditions.
That is why multi-season field trials are central to the EIAR-SIAR cooperation.
From research stations to farmers
The broader objective is to shorten the distance between scientific research and farmers.
A crop variety developed elsewhere can only become a meaningful agricultural technology after it has been tested, multiplied, made available as quality seed and accompanied by production recommendations that farmers can realistically use.
EIAR’s experience in research, variety development and early-generation seed multiplication could therefore complement SIAR’s growing research and testing capacity.
The two institutions’ cooperation also creates an opportunity for researchers to compare dryland farming experiences across the Horn of Africa, where drought, land degradation, limited water availability and variable rainfall are shared challenges.
A partnership focused on resilience
The emerging EIAR-SIAR relationship comes as agricultural research becomes increasingly important to food security in drought-prone regions.
For Ethiopia, cooperation with neighboring research institutions can extend the reach of agricultural knowledge and create opportunities to test technologies in additional environments.
For Somaliland, access to established research expertise and crop-development experience could accelerate the country’s efforts to build a stronger national agricultural research system.
The immediate priority is practical: identify crop varieties that can survive and produce useful yields under Somaliland’s dryland conditions.
The longer-term ambition is broader — to build a research partnership capable of supporting seed systems, technology transfer, scientific capacity and evidence-based agricultural development.
If the planned adaptation trials produce varieties that perform reliably under local conditions, the cooperation could ultimately give farmers more options for managing drought and rainfall uncertainty.
For both institutions, the success of the partnership will ultimately be judged not by the number of research meetings or trials conducted, but by whether scientific knowledge is translated into technologies that farmers can access, afford and use successfully.
