Humera Agricultural Research Center

1. General Background

Humera Agricultural Research Center, was established in 1995 as one of the five agro-ecology based research centers established under TARI. The Center is located at 14^o15' N and 36^o37' E, with an altitude of 609 masl at Humera town which is found at the boarder of Sudan and Eritrea. The mandate areas of the research center encompasses three districts vis. Kafta Humera, Tsegede and Welkayt with agro-ecological zones of SA1-1, M1-7 and M2-5 respectively. The center owns about 200 ha farmland in Humera, which uses for improved seed multiplication and execution of different experiments. HuARC is the coordinator for national sesame research project and 15 years (2016-2030) document of sesame research direction is prepared. 

Humera Agricultural Research Center, was established in 1995 as one of the five agro-ecology based research centers established under TARI. It was established to conduct research on oil crops (sesame and sunflower), sorghum, cotton, and lowland pulses with the object ive of supporting and promoting mechanized agriculture in the Western and northwestern lowland plains of Tigray. Currently, Humera Agricultural Research Center is serving as national center of excellence for sesame crop which was previously under Werer Agricultural Research Center.

Manpower

There are three research departments and one support staff department as described in the table

Vision: To be one of the most important research centers in Ethiopia as well as in Africa and to see improved livelihood of the society in the mandate area and the region as a whole through the use of technologies generated and proven by the research center

Mission: To generate Agricultural technologies that improves Livelihood of the farming community in particular and the region at large; and to improve the welfare of people in Tigray through increased production, productivity and nutritional quality of food while preserving and enhancing natural resources base.

2. Duties and Responsibilities:

• Generate appropriate Technologies through adaptation and adoption to enhance sustainable agricultural development and natural resources conservation, utilization and management
• Popularize improved technologies that have proven to be effective in an innovative manner (scaling out and up)
• Technology demonstration, multiplication and dissemination
• Coordinate and network research activities in its mandate areas

3. Thematic areas:

The major thematic areas of the center focuses on crop improvement, natural resource management, and socio-economic and extension research areas and are described below.

Crop improvement: Oil and fiber crops (Sesame, sunflower, safflower and cotton), cereals (Sorghum, Teff, Wheat and Barley), lowland pulse crops (Mungbean and soybean), and horticultural crops (Banana, mango, pineapple, okra, onion and others).

Natural Resource management: It also focuses on the management and utilization of economically important trees like bamboo, Boswelia papyrifera, Balanites aegyptiaca and others. Irrigation water management, soil fertility management and soil water conservation and water management is also among the major focuses of the research center.

Socio-economic and extension research: Demonstration and popularization of proven technologies are among the major focus areas.

4. Major Achievements

HuARC is one of the research centers in TARI, which conducts different research activities and delivers different community services and technical backstopping to farmers. The major achievements of the center are shortly described below:

HuARC released a total of 7 improved crop varieties of sesame (Sesamum indicum), mungbean (Vigna radiata), Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum):

• four high yielding and drought tolerant sesame varieties viz. Humera-1, Setit-1, Setit-2and Setit-3
• One Mung bean variety viz. Arkebe
• One Tomato variety viz. Tekeze-1
• One Okra variety viz. Bamya-Humera-1 

The center investigated some improved technologies:

• Different agronomic practices like seed rate, spacing, ploughing depth and frequency, fertilizer rate and type and others that boosts sesame productivity and quality
• Identified appropriate farm machineries like row planters, harvesters, ploughing machines, rotary cutters and others
• Moreover, the center investigated different agronomic and management practices, from which different  papers are published in reputable journals

The center established an orchard in the compound of the research center having different economically important trees in the area 

The center multiplied above 3000 breeder and pre-basic seeds of sesame and delivered to sesame seed producing cooperatives and individuals since 2012.

5. Partnership

The center has been working in collaboration with different governmental and non-governmental organizations, small and large-scale farmers at region national and international levels:

Governmental: Research Centers (All research centers under TARI, EIAR, Gondar ARC, Assosa ARC, Pawe ARC, Werer ARC, Bko ARC, Wolkite ARC, Jinka ARC, Areka ARC, Melkassa ARC), Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA), Howot Agrocultural Mechanization, Investor farmers and others

Higher Learning Institutions: Mekelle University, Aksum University, Haramaya University, Hawassa University, Perdue University

Non-governmental: National Agricultural Research fund, Regional Agricultural Research Fund, Research Capacity building program (RCBP), Public Private Partnership Organization (PPPO), USAID, BENEFIT (Bilateral Ethio-Netherlands Effort for Food Security; Income and Trade), Selit-Hulling and others.