Project

Circularity in Integrated Systems in Ethiopia

‘Circularity in Integrated Systems: Resource Recovery for Feed, Fuel and (Organic) Fertilizer Self-sufficiency in Ethiopia’ is a one-year project funded by the Circular Food Systems Network.

The overall aim of the project is to develop circularity indicators (Task 1). The project operates in two case studies in Ethiopia, which are characterized by the integration of crop, livestock and forestry systems. In each case study, we analyse the material flows (Task 2) and the associated carbon and nutrient contents (Task 3) as well as the GHG emissions associated with selected farm activities (Task 4). In addition, we investigate the contribution of circularity to other environmental (Soil Health) and socioeconomic (Living Income) goals (Task 5). Furthermore, we organize a series of Online Dialogues to promote the exchange of knowledge and experiences in the development of circularity indicators (Task 6).

Online Dialogues

Exchange of knowledge and experiences in the development of circularity indicators will be promoted through a series of Online Dialogues. In each session, we invite speakers to talk about specific topics within the domain of circularity to set the scene for an open dialogue with the participants. Besides the exchange of knowledge and experiences, we hope to create opportunities for future collaborations among the scientific community working in the topic of circularity across different scales and geographical contexts. Documentation of each Online Dialogue will become available on this website.

Session 1

Session 1 took place on 02.03.2023 and was officially the kick-off meeting of the project. In this session, we invited Flavia Casu (WLR) to talk about the CFS Network and Elena Testani (CREA) to talk about her experiences leading WP2 of the SENSE project (ERA-NET), where they are developing circularity indicators for integrated systems in Europe and South America. In addition, Carlos Alho (WENR) presented the project while Prof. Yihenew Selassie (Bahir Dar University) and Prof. Gezahegn Berecha (Jimma University) presented our case studies in Ethiopia. Presentations can be found on the right.

Session 2

Session 2 will take place on 26.09.2023. In this session, we invited Marloes van Loon and Wytze Vonk (PPS Group) as speakers. Marloes and Wytze, who is also involved in the MI BICYCLE project (ERA-NET), will talk about their recent paper in the journal Agricultural Systems: ‘Circularity indicators and their relation with nutrient use efficiency in agriculture and food systems’ (pdf on the right).

Session 3

The third Online Dialogue session focussed on nutrient recycling in mixed peri-urban mixed crop-livestock farms in the Ethiopian context. Invited as key speaker to the session was Dr. Solomon Tulu, Associate Professor and Dean of the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine at Jimma University (JUCAVM). He focussed his presentation on manure recycling from urban livestock farms for closing the urban–rural nutrient loops. An in-depth discussion followed that touched upon cost savings by recovering nutrients, barriers to recycling practices, trade-offs in biomass use, policy development and business case ideas. Dr. Tulu's presentation as well as his recent articles around these topics can be found on this page.

Session 4

Session 4 took place on 22.02.2024 and focused on the means of data collection, with emphasis on the eddy covariance method. As speaker, Dr. Ruchita Ingle (Earth Systems and Global Change) presented the project ‘Re-integrating Land and Livestock for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation and Circularity’ (ERA-NET ReLive) as well as the Nationaal Onderzoeksprogramma (national research programme) Veenweiden (www.nobveenweiden.nl). She focussed her presentation on the eddy covariance method as a means of direct measurement or verification of GHG emissions at field level. Collection of data through eddy covariance method can be coupled with chamber measurements to determine the contribution of singular emission sources. Dr. Ingle's presentation as well as the Mentimeter results can be downloaded from this page.