Worancha ወራንቻ

The Harambee Stars' Stephene Wakanya, left, and Kevin Kimani during team training at City Stadium on Wednesday before leaving for Ethopia on Friday, June 17th, 2015. PHOTO/ JONAH ONYANGO.  For many years, the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) has always been touted as one of the best competitions on the continent. However, national team Harambee Stars coach Bobby Williamson believes this will be tested when the side takes on Ethiopia in Sunday’s Africa Nations Championships (CHAN) match away. The competition is reserved for players who feature in domestic leagues. “We have heard many times that the KPL ranks probably second to the South African league, but the time to prove this will be on Sunday when we play Ethiopia,” said the coach on his first day of training for the fixture at City Stadium, yesterday.  RESPECTS ETHIOPIANS Williamson further said that he greatly respects the Ethiopians, who are known to pass the ball around well. Stars, he says, will be out to deny them posses

Abstract The study was conducted to identify the challenges and opportunities of backyard poultry production in Arbegona Woreda, Sidama Zone. Both primary data via structured questionnaire and secondary data from different relevant offices, published and unpublished sources were gathered using 120 statistically selected households. To enrich the data, field observations and group discussions were also made. The result of the study indicated that the dominant flock structure in the study area is laying hens (42.4%) followed by pullets (19.1%). Hatching egg naturally at home (50%) and purchasing from market (45%) are the main flock sources of poultry as responded by the households. The result also indicated that 95% of the breeds in the study area are local breeds indicating use of hybrid and exotic breeds is less common probably because of lack of awareness. The main purpose of keeping poultry and egg is for selling (50% & 40% respectively) followed by egg for incubation (31.7%)

Addis Ababa is too important a place to sideline over a small matter like democracy On 24 May, Ethiopia went to the polls – a fact that might have escaped your attention. Hardly surprising since there was next to no coverage in the British press. Even the BBC no longer has a correspondent in Addis Ababa. But perhaps there is another reason why the election in what is one of Africa’s most important countries received so little attention: it was a foregone conclusion. The last time Ethiopians were given the opportunity to vote, the ruling party and its allies won hands down. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and its affiliated parties took 545 of 547 seats. The opposition was reduced to just two MPs. There was, apparently, some concern among those close to Prime Minister Meles that an election could be quite so blatantly rigged. The US State Department  reported  that the few international election observers a

Matare, a Nuer settlement along Baro River, Gambela Region, Ethiopia, in quieter times. Photo: UNICEF Ethiopia 2005 / Getachew via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND). It's not just western corporations that are moving into large-scale agribusiness in Ethiopia, writes Mohammad Amir Anwar. Indian investors have acquired rights to some 6,000 sq.km of land much of it in the ecologically sensitive Gambela region, where unconsulted Nuer and Anuak peoples are suffering from forest clearance. Gambela is an ecological hotspot with Gambela National Park at its centre. It is home to Nuer and Anuak people whose livelihoods are threatened by investors illegally clearing trees in the park. The global food  price crises  between 2008 and 2009 led countries that bore the brunt of the catastrophe to look elsewhere for agricultural land to mitigate the effects. In 2008 prices of some foods, including wheat, soared by 130% in a single year and the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisati

Hawassa is to host a continental conference on post harvest and agro-processing starting from June 24-26, 2015, Ethiopian News Agency reported. The conference centers on ways of bringing agricultural transformation in Africa, according to a press statement from the organizers. Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) and the Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension Education (SAFE) as well as Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture come together to organize the conference. SAA Managing Director, Juliana Rwelamira said 30 percent of food produced by Africa’s smallholder farmers is lost during postharvest. “We must improve postharvest handling, storage and the processing of agricultural produce to reduce losses, increase income, and improve livelihoods. Essentially, also, we must produce more nutritious food both for the home and the market place”, he commented. The conference intends to discuss on ways of adopting and scaling-up good practices supported with policies and infrastructures to d