Gender Transformative Socio-Technical Innovation Bundles (GTSTIBs) scaling roadmap - Wolmera

Wolmera is one of Oromia Region’s most strategically positioned and commercially dynamic 1woredas for high-value vegetable production, largely due to its proximity to Addis Ababa and other urban markets, the presence of active cooperatives and Vegetable Business Networks (VBNs), and a growing pool of youth-led agribusiness initiatives. Despite these advantages, productivity and profitability remain constrained by persistent systemic bottlenecks - particularly soil acidity and declining soil fertility, inconsistent access to quality seed and soil-friendly inputs, weak post-harvest handling, limited value addition, uneven access to finance, and enduring gender disparities in decision-making and market participation. Evidence from the Gender Transformative Socio-Technical Innovation Bundles (GTSTIBs) Learning Lab in Wolmera indicates that farmers are highly motivated to adopt innovations when support is consistent, locally relevant, and delivered through trusted institutions and practical demonstration-based approaches. This Scaling Roadmap provides a structured, four-year pathway for scaling GTSTIBs in Wolmera, grounded in local realities and aligned with broad er agricultural innovation and inclusion frameworks. The overarching objective is to build a commercially competitive and environmentally sustainable vegetable value chain anchored in Regenerative Agriculture (RA) and inclusive service delivery. To achieve this, the roadmap prioritizes strengthening VBNs as organizing platforms for farmer aggregation and market access; scaling regenerative and climate-smart agricultural practices; improving access to reliable quality seed and agricultural inputs; increasing youth participation through digital agriculture; and accelerating women’s empowerment through leadership pathways, women-led demonstration sites, tailored training, and improved access to finance. The roadmap adopts a systems-based scaling strat egy built around three interconnected pillars: (i) re generating the land through soil restoration and cli mate-smart production practices; (ii) strengthening market systems through aggregation, quality-based 1 A woreda is Ethiopia’s second-lowest administrative unit, equivalent to a district, responsible for local planning, budgeting, and service delivery - including agriculture, health, education, and natural resource management - and typically comprises several kebeles; in Addis Ababa, the woreda functions as the lowest administrative unit beneath sub-cities. pricing, post-harvest improvements, value addition, and structured buyer linkages; and (iii) empowering women and youth as core change agents through leadership roles and agri-service entrepreneurship. These pillars are operationalised through six practical and integrated focus areas - RA, input and seed systems, youth-led digital innovation, women’s empowerment, VBN-driven market ecosystems, and coordinated extension-private sector collaboration - ensuring that scaling is driven by bundled solutions rather than isolated interventions. Implementation is organized into four phases over a 48-month period. Phase 1 focuses on institutional anchoring, policy integration, budgeting, and the establishment of a learning-oriented Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) system. Phase 2 expands pilot interventions across additional kebeles while strengthening linkages among extension services, private-sector actors, and seasonal finance models. Phase 3 advances woreda-wide implementation by establishing aggregation hubs, formal buyer contracts, digital transaction systems, and risk-management tools, such as insurance. Phase 4 consolidates sustainability by transitioning ownership to woreda structures, strengthening VBN revenue models, operationalising youth-led digital services as viable enterprises, and supporting continuous innovation renewal. A strong governance and coordination platform - anchored in steering committees, technical working groups, kebele units, and community structures - will guide accountability, learning, and long-term institutionalisation, positioning GTSTIBs as a durable and locally owned pathway for inclusive and resilient vegetable value-chain transformation in Wolmera. Overall, this Scaling Roadmap serves as a practical guide for local governments, development partners, NGOs, and private actors seeking to operationalise gender-transformative, regenerative, and market-linked agricultural innovations in peri-urban contexts. While grounded in the specific realities of Wolmera woreda, the roadmap offers adaptable les sons and approaches that can inform similar scaling 2 A kebele is Ethiopia’s lowest administrative unit, generally covering multiple rural villages or urban neighborhoods, and represents the primary level at which agricultural extension, community mobilization, and local administration operate; in Addis Ababa, the capital city, the woreda (sub-city district) functions as the lowest administrative unit. Workshop Report 1 efforts in other settings across Ethiopia and beyond. We will be piloting and institutionalising the GTSTIBs across multiple value chains like common beans, fruit trees, insect for food and feed, as well as honey bees through the Building Equitable Climate-Resilient African Bean and Insect Sectors (BRAINS) project.