Yilma Getachew

In: UA Magazine 10 - Appropriate (Micro) Technologies for Urban Agriculture

Indicators on increasing urbanisation and congestion in Addis Ababa include: 40% unemployment; a daily output of 2000 tons of organic waste and 100,000 tons of animal manure, daily per capita of one dollar or less, daily per capita micro nutrient food consumption of 10 grams or less and 25 m2 garden space per family. Urban agriculture can play an important role in the increasingly congested cities. This article describes the experiences of Yilma bio-consult, specializing on promotion of urban agriculture in Addis Ababa and other urban centres in Ethiopia. Yilma bio-consult, has identified 30 technologies for fertilizer production, pest and disease control and water management. They are all based on natural processes and are therefore cheap, simple and are dependant on locally available resources.