Harmonized national advisory system for scaling HaFAS through Ethiopia’s research and extension networks

Ethiopia is advancing from generalized fertilizer recommendations towards more precise, evidence-based, site-specific agronomic advisory services through the Harmonized Digital Fertilizer and Agronomic Solutions (HaFAS) framework, which links scientific validation, institutional capacity strengthening, partnerships and digital delivery. National and regional research partners, led by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), conducted independent validation and piloting, with reported coverage of 3,954 sites in more than 150 districts and seven regions. The percentage gains shown for 2024–2025 give unweighted annual means of 31% for wheat, 7% for maize, 31.5% for tef and 35% for sorghum relative to the extension recommendations used in the reported comparisons. The results informed the 2026 HaFAS advisory through data harmonization, quality assurance, analysis and model refinement. The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT supported this work in collaboration with the national and regional research system, the Ministry of Agriculture and regional and district bureaus of agriculture. Digital delivery uses the AgriMob mobile application and the HaFAS Advisory Platform. AgriMob’s conversational functionality is designed to help users access and clarify recommendations, while the web platform supports bulk generation of plot-specific advisories. Direct practical training and research-center cascade training recorded 163 and 99 participants, respectively, or 262 training attendances before checking for repeat participation. District-led delivery recorded 5,504 farmer contacts and research–extension partnerships recorded 3,852, giving combined recorded reach of 9,356 contacts during the reporting period. These pilot records document advisory delivery through existing research and extension systems; unique farmer reach, adoption and agronomic outcomes require separate verification.