Guta Gudissa: A model potato farmer in the highlands of Ethiopia

mudisa

I’m a potato grower in Jeldu, in the central highlands of Ethiopia. In 2008 I was featured as a story of success in the CIP Annual Report, and since then I’ve made a very good living thanks to potatoes. Many people know me and my story and look to me as a model farmer, for both CIP and EIAR.

I’ve rented out some land to my neighbors to increase the cultivated surface of my land, and bring in day laborers to help work the fields.

As a model farmers, we’re organized into cooperatives to serve as a source of the improved potato varieties in the country. Currently there are several hundred ‘model farmers’ who have followed in my footsteps, leaving the cooperatives to start their own businesses.

I use the diffused-light storage units that I has built to store my potatoes, following technical advice from EIAR and CIP. The storage units are a common sight in Jeldu, as the technology has been adopted by the cooperatives.

 

 

 

 

 

ethiopia, highlands, potato farmers
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