Ethiopia-UQ partnership strengthens future crop breeding

Ethiopia’s capacity to improve crop varieties for farmers has been boosted by a 5-year breeding modernisation partnership with The University of Queensland.

The collaboration helped the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) embed improvements to how new varieties are selected, advanced and delivered to farmers. 

The project worked across 6 priority food crops including maize, wheat, sorghum, teff, chickpea and common bean, supported by the Gates Foundation.

Professor David Jordan said the partnership with UQ was built on shared agricultural challenges and a strong commitment to practical outcomes.

“Many of the crops and production challenges in Ethiopia are familiar to us in Queensland, particularly in tropical and sub-tropical environments,” Professor Jordan said.

“That gave us a strong foundation for collaboration, while the real expertise on local farming systems sat with EIAR scientists and breeders. 

“Our role was to work alongside them to improve decision-making processes and support the use of modern tools and data.”

The project supported more coordinated breeding pipelines, clearer product advancement processes, stronger use of field and performance data, and improved alignment between breeding objectives, farmer needs and market demand. 

Professor Emma Mace said a significant achievement was creating systems that would have an impact well beyond the life of the project. 

“This work was never about a single season or a single harvest,” Professor Mace said. 

“It was about building systems that can respond to future farming challenges in Ethiopia including climate variability, population growth and changing market needs. 

“EIAR already had highly capable scientists and breeders – this partnership helped achieve stronger coordination, more transparent decision-making and better use of evidence across their breeding programs.”

The project also introduced digital tools and workflows that reduced manual processes to improve the speed and quality of decision making.

Professor Jordan said the willingness of EIAR staff to embrace change had been central to the project’s success. 

“Researchers across the organisation were highly engaged, particularly when they could see clear evidence that new approaches were improving outcomes,” he said. 

“That sense of ownership is what makes change sustainable.”

Independent reviews involving EIAR staff and leadership found that many of the new approaches are now routine practice providing a strong platform for future investment. 

EIAR senior researcher and maize breeder Dr Demissew Ababulgu said the project was the most successful he had been involved with in terms of creating tangible and impactful outputs. 

Professor Mace said maintaining momentum would now be the key priority. 

“The system is in place, and EIAR is well positioned to continue accelerating crop improvement,” she said. 

“Institutional change takes time and depends on trust, leadership and ownership. 

“The progress achieved has only been possible because EIAR wanted these changes and led them internally. 

“We are proud to have contributed to that journey, and excited about what comes next.”

Professor Jordan said the partnership had been deeply rewarding for the Australian team from UQ’s Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation. 

“Helping strengthen systems that enable others to succeed is one of the most valuable contributions research partnerships can make,” he said. 

“This has been a genuine 2-way collaboration, and we have learned a great deal ourselves through the process.”

Collaboration and acknowledgements