General Description
In the new Ethiopian University Differentiation; DU was assigned under Applied Science University (AUS) with main focus area of Agriculture, Natural Resource Management, Healthy and Teacher Education. In this scope, it is mandatory to develop research theme and appropriate sub-themes to ensure Agricultural productivity and sustainable livelihood on which center of Excellence would surface. This will focus on a very sharp priority area that enables to exploit naturally gifted potentials of the area through innovative research output endeavors. For this porous; different documents have been reviewed; such as Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), Gedeo zone agricultural research priority baseline survey document and Assessment of Development Bottleneck Problems in Selected Agro-pastoral Areas of Southern Ethiopia. The identified theme – ‘Agricultural productivity, Food security and Livelihood’ and sub-themes: ‘Crop production and Technology Livestock and Fishery production and Technology; Animal health; Agribusiness, Adoption and Rural Development Economics; Food security and sustainable Livelihood’ are much compressed but holistic and inclusive; that can be cascaded into large research programs and projects that enable to provide full package innovative technology to enhance the production and productivity of agricultural product. That improve the livelihood of the society as well as contributing for national economic return; that may goes with the national economy policy focusing on ‘sustaining faster and equitable economic growth, maintaining agriculture as a major source of economic growth, creating favorable conditions for the industry to play key role in the economy’ that enhance expansion and quality of social development; through active stockholder engagement.
Aim
The main aim of the theme is to bring holistic economic improvements of the society by fixing agricultural research agenda on economically prioritized agricultural technologies and production that used as a raw materials for emerging agro processing local and national industries while ensuring healthy environment that support the agricultural production.
Sub-Themes
Sub-theme 1.Crop production and Technology
Research projects focusing on Agroforestry based-coffee, spice and enset production system; improved root, tuber and vegetables crop technology; integrated field crop production and technology; and improved fruit crop production technology will be entertained.
Sub-theme 2.Livestock and Fishery production and Technology
To bring meaningful improvements with livestock and fishery potentials of the region feeds, forage and rage land management’s; non-gastric and ruminant animal production; and apiculture, sericulture, fisheries and aquaculture technology will be considered.
Sub-theme 3.Animal health
Researchers will mainly focuses on improving livestock disease diagnostic and prevention mechanisms and improves cultural treatment approaches
Sub-theme 4: Agribusiness, Adoption and Rural Development Economics
Research projects focusing on rural development economic and agribusiness; adoption and evaluation of innovated agricultural technology; and dissemination, and scaling up of innovated agricultural technology will be entertained.
Sub-theme 5: Food security and sustainable Livelihood
Here, research projects focus on exploring food insecurity challenges, food security potentials, livelihood mechanism/strategies, proven potentials for livelihood interventions,