“The project focuses on the aspects that are usually neglected by individuals and organizations working in agriculture”

Hello, who are you?

I am Turuwark Zalalam Warkineh, Adult Education and Community Development expert and lecturer at Bahir Dar University. I am a national innovation facilitator for the Chickpea Production and Marketing niche partnership in Ethiopia. I was invited to the national inception workshop of the CDAIS project when I heard about the nature and objectives of the project. The project interests me because it uses an innovative approach to tackle challenges in agriculture systems as well as focusing on the aspects that are usually neglected by individuals and organizations working in agriculture.

What are your roles and responsibilities as National Innovation Facilitator?

My responsibilities in the niche include planning, organizing and executing meetings, workshops and training courses that involve multi-stakeholders in the niche. At first, I started working as a Technical Working Group (TWG) member since September 2016, and then, as a national innovation facilitator (NIF) since January, 2017. I participated in two training workshops so far: a NIF training course on facilitation skills including various tools for capacity needs assessment and a reflection and refinement workshop that including training on facilitation skills.

What has CDAIS changed for you?

My involvement in the project has brought several changes on personal and professional levels. Working in this project, I have learnt that developing technical knowledge and skills in individuals and organizations is not enough to enhance the agriculture system, and that ‘soft skills’ are equally important. I also learnt that working with innovation partnerships requires skills to facilitate and communicate effectively. And my facilitation skills have improved significantly due to the training provided by the project.