Evan Maxfield

Research & Development

Evan Maxfield has been working with Morrell Agro Industries in Ethiopia for about two years, researching the production of cereal grains in the country. So far, this initiative has yielded great successes.

Evan was asked by Paul Morrell to introduce four new grain varieties to Ethiopia in 2010. MAI works in conjunction with the Oromia Research Institute, and they want to be able to work with different types of seed in order to address some of their research needs. These new varieties, in combination with the varieties already introduced to Ethiopia by MAI, should help researchers find solutions to food shortage problems in the country. Evan said, “This ought to really help them. It’ll be the icing on the cake.”

Since the beginning of the year, Evan has begun the gathering and shipment process to get seven new varieties of seed into the country. All of the new varieties are drought-resistant and will grow in semi-arid to arid environments. The final shipping list includes Iona bread wheat, Freyr bread wheat, Klassic hard white bread wheat, Kronos durum wheat, Copeland two-row malting barley, Steptoe six-row barley, and Ajay grain oats.

New Grain Varieties

Iona is an older variety of wheat, developed in the western United States. It is similar to Jefferson wheat, which was used to start MAI projects in Ethiopia, although it is taller. It has milling qualities and is drought-resistant.

Freyr is a new variety of wheat developed by AgriPro Genetics. It is similar to Buck Pronto wheat and has done well in Montana and the Midwest. It has qualities of drought-tolerance and rust-resistance, and it has the potential for good yields.

Klassic wheat has a lighter color, and it has done well in the Northwest. It is mostly popular for use in home storage. They don’t use a lot of hard white wheat in Ethiopia, so it’s not sure how the Klassic variety will do there.

Kronos is a supplier’s variety based out of Canada. It has also done well in North Dakota and the Northwest. It is commonly used in pasta noodles and has milling qualities.

Copeland is a variety of barley developed in Canada in 2001. It has drought-tolerance and malting characteristics. Evan has done a lot of work with this variety in the past and believes that it should do well in the Langano area of Ethiopia.

Steptoe is an old variety of barely that has been around for a long time. It is rugged and should grow almost anywhere, including Langano, Ethiopia.

Ajay is a grain oat. Researchers in Ethiopia want access to an oat variety for processing into cereals and grinding to oatmeal. This particular variety of oat probably won’t grow very well in wet conditions, but this meets part of MAI’s agreement with Oromia Research to introduce dry season food crops.

Seed Shipments

The Iona, Freyr, Klassic, and Kronos wheat varieties are currently being shipped to Ethiopia and are destined strictly for the use of Oromia Research. Evan is supplying them with 1,000 to 2,000 pounds of each variety. The containers are in transit and should arrive in the country any day.

The Copeland and Steptoe barley varieties are in transit, as well, and they will be used in the Langano farming project.

Up-Scaling Existing Research

In addition to introducing new grain varieties, Evan Maxfield has also been working on up-scaling the existing research of MAI and Oromia Research in Ethiopia. He has shipped, to Ethiopia, 10,000 pounds each of Jefferson wheat, Buck Pronto wheat, Xena two-row non-malting barley, Walker six-row barley, and Goldeneye six-row barley; Walker and Goldeneye are both Utah State University releases.

These varieties are currently being tested by the Oromia Research Institute. When their work is complete, the varieties will be released under new names. MAI cannot sell the seeds that they are producing in Ethiopia until the seeds are certified by the government there. MAI is working with Bale State Farms inspectors to complete the certification process.

Jefferson wheat will be the first crop from the MAI Alyssa farm in Beltu. The Oromia Research Institute has been testing this variety for a year, and it should get a certified release before Christmas. The other varieties should be certified by next year.

Alfalfa

Alfalfa has been planted, and is growing well, on the MAI school property near Kersa Illala; it will be cut soon. This alfalfa is intended for the Arsi heifers in Kokosa, and for Lonny Ward’s projects in that area. Some of the seed produced from this crop will be planted in Kokosa, as well.

This particular species of alfalfa has been experimented with in Ethiopia for years, with little or no success. Evan Maxfield was told that it would not survive the dry season. He said, “This has survived two, and is going fairly strong. Definitely proved them wrong on that.”

A lot of the problems that the Ethiopians ran into growing alfalfa came from how they managed and cared for the crop. They cut the plant about a half of an inch from the ground, which kills it. They also watered it every week, when alfalfa actually needs to root down.

Evan said, “Alfalfa is my love in life. I’m a third generation alfalfa person, so I kind of knew what to do. And, they really hadn’t had anybody there that had any basic background in alfalfa.” He has introduced varieties of alfalfa to Ethiopia that he feels comfortable working with.

Although there is no intention to introduce anymore varieties of alfalfa, Evan hopes that the Ethiopians will take more interest in the crop in the future. He said, “I believe there’s a good future for this crop in Ethiopia.” When the people are ready for it, more work can be done with alfalfa in the country. But, until then, the crop will be for MAI’s own farm use.

Paul Morrell said, “It has been a great success. But, it has been my belief since then, until we figure out how to get the kids feed, we’re not going to have any success worrying about feeding the livestock. So, this is something we’ll use in a few years once we increase their harvest for human consumption.”

Grass

The last container of seeds, which is currently being shipped to Ethiopia, includes 1,800 pounds of grass seed. 400 pounds of this seed is being sent to Kokosa to improve the pasture there. 1,200 pounds is for Beltu and experimental pastures for the local farmers there.

Seed was selected that will grow in those conditions. Once the local people see the results of planting the grass seed, they will wonder why they’ve been foraging on thorny bushes for hundreds of years when they could have decent pasture lands.

Experimental grass seed will be planted in four locations. People and livestock will be kept off the land, so that the seed will be allowed to grow. If the people actually like the end result, planting grass may really be something that they become interested in doing.

Garden Crops

MAI has planted garden crops on the school property in Kersa Illala. Mekonen Geteneh was directed to fill the space with crops, and he has done very well doing so. Potatoes and onions, which are Ethiopian crops, are currently growing there, and it is expected that they will produce a good crop. This year, MAI will get three crops from the property.

Paul Morrell said, “When Evan went over there two years ago, they were doing one crop a year. Here… we don’t allow them to use any technology the guy next door doesn’t have. We plow these fields by ox. We plant by hand. We harvest by hand… Evan and Mekonen together are getting three crops a year off of rain-fed ground. And, it’s really taking off.”

People in Ethiopia are beginning to see the vision that Morrell Agro Industries has for Ethiopia. Many of the local people, which MAI has been working with, planted potatoes this year. This is not a new technology for them, but watching MAI have success has lead to the local people believing that they can have success, as well.

One of the main reasons that the Ethiopian people have not planted these crops in the past is that they have had difficulty keeping their neighbors animals off of their fields. One person alone can’t protect their fields. But, they are learning that if a group of people plant their fields and then work together, they can protect their crops much easier. They are also used to being idle for eight months of the year, but this is changing.

The local people have always known that they are able to grow potatoes on their land. They have just never experimented growing their crops in the fourth quarter, or dry season, of the year. It was just never considered. But, this was the first thing that Evan Maxfield demonstrated to the people there, that it was possible to grow dry farm wheat in the fourth quarter. He also successfully grew Ethiopian chic pea in the fourth quarter of that first year he was working in the country.

In Kersa Illala, hundreds of people have planted personal gardens in their little compounds this year, which they haven’t done in other years. Many people in Ethiopia fear that there will be a countrywide famine in the next few months. Paul said, “But, at least in this community, there’s not going to be any famine. Because, they’ve all followed the lead that Evan has established. They followed the lead that Fayisa and the Foresight Fathers have established. And, in this community, he’s changing the culture. He’s changing the way they do business.”

In that community, they are now aiming to produce two crops each year, while Evan and Mekonen are demonstrating that three crops is a possibility. It’s remarkable.

Future

For now, enough grain varieties have been shipped to Ethiopia to satisfy the research needs of Morrell Agro Industries and the Oromia Research Institute. As Evan Maxfield said, “They have enough ammunition to go after their drought problems.”

Evan will continue to look for rust-resistant varieties of cereal grains, which can be experimented with by MAI, as well as wet season crops and ways to increase the production of corn in Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian people typically don’t like hybrid corns, which is the only kind researched in the United States. They are expensive and have poor production in the country. The Pioneer Seed Company is currently working on a drought-resistant gene for corn specifically for use in Africa.

Research data from crop planting, growth, and harvest in Ethiopia is also being gathered so that MAI can begin its marketing campaign of seed in the country.