Participants Praise Push-Pull Technology’s Role in Boosting Crop Production

Addis Ababa, September 1, 2025 (ENA) -- The implementation of Push-Pull Technology (PPT) has been playing a significant role in enhancing crop production in Ethiopia, according to participants.

Push-pull technology is an agronomic package designed to reduce the effects of Striga and stemborers on maize and sorghum production.

In her opening remarks at the "Upscaling the Benefits of Push-Pull Technology for Sustainable Agriculture in East Africa" General Assembly, Yenenesh Egu, the Lead Executive Officer for Agriculture and Horticulture Extension at the Ministry of Agriculture, described PPT as an important tool for maximizing domestic resources. 

 

The assembly is being held in Addis Ababa from September 1-3, 2025.

According to the lead executive officer, PPT offers a range of benefits. It protects staple crops like maize and sorghum from pests, including stem borers and parasitic weeds like Striga. Additionally, she noted that the technology increases biomass for animal feed, improves soil fertility, reduces erosion, and helps in climate change mitigation.

She also stated that PPT has been successfully introduced and adopted in Ethiopia over the past five years and has growing potential for wider application.

The technology promotes the use of natural fertilizers and is especially beneficial for smallholder farmers. Yenenesh mentioned that the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) and the Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD) first piloted the technology in Ethiopia.

 

According to her, Ethiopia’s extensive maize and sorghum cultivation areas make it an ideal location for introducing PPT. In 2022, Ethiopia cultivated 11.24 million hectares, producing 31.62 million tons of cereals.

Of this, maize and sorghum accounted for 4.20 million hectares, or 37 percent of cereal production, yielding 14.62 million tons. She indicated that yields could have been significantly higher if not for crop losses from pests and weeds.

She also acknowledged the technical and financial support of local and international partners, including the European Union, for their role in scaling up the technology.

Ghebremedhin Belay, the Director General of the Institute for Sustainable Development, emphasized that Ethiopia's diverse agroecology makes it well-suited for PPT, particularly for the production of maize and sorghum.

 

He added that efforts are underway to expand the technology to other crops as well.

Prof. Emily Poppenborg, the Upscale Project Coordinator at the University of Giessen in Germany, explained that the initiative is a part of the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 program and for the last five years, it has been active in five East African countries, including Ethiopia.

She described PPT as an agroecological strategy with wide-ranging benefits.

"We are seeing very strong results in Ethiopia’s cereal systems, particularly in sorghum and maize," Poppenborg said. "Farmers have successfully integrated this technology with vegetables and other crops, and the outcomes are extremely promising."

 

Poppenborg also noted that PPT improves soil fertility, provides effective control against pests and Striga, and enhances climate resilience. The technology uses companion plants, such as legumes like desmodium and various grasses, which, when grown with cereals, strengthen the crops' pest resistance and improve soil health.

Scaling up PPT across Ethiopia has the potential to significantly increase yields, strengthen food security, and build resilience against climate change, she added.