Tewodros Mesfin Abebe

Tewodros Mesfin Abebe, PhD, is a Systems Agronomist with the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His work connects agronomic science, crop and farming systems modelling, data mining, machine learning–based analytics, predictive modelling, digital advisory innovation, stakeholder engagement, and field implementation to support more productive, resilient, and inclusive farming systems in Ethiopia.

Tewodros has more than two decades of experience in agricultural research, project coordination, postgraduate teaching, and advisory services. His technical expertise spans dryland agronomy, integrated soil fertility management, soil and water management, crop simulation modelling, climate-smart agriculture, digital agronomy, and the design, validation, and scaling of data-driven agronomic advisory tools.

In his current role, Tewodros contributes to the calibration, validation, harmonization, and piloting of integrated decision-support tools that generate context-specific fertilizer and crop management recommendations for smallholder farmers. His work supports initiatives such as NextGen, Localized Agronomy and Fertilizer Advisory, Ethiopia’s Harmonized Digital Fertilizer and Agronomic Solutions framework, and AgWise. A key focus of this work is improving advisory logic, spatial targeting, model validation, interoperability, scenario analysis, and last-mile advisory delivery.

Tewodros works closely with the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, the Ministry of Agriculture, regional partners, development and private-sector actors, frontline extension agents, and farmers. Through these partnerships, he helps ensure that scientific evidence, model outputs, and digital recommendations are translated into advisory services that are practical, trusted, locally relevant, and actionable.

Beyond digital decision-support tools, Tewodros supports thematic Farmer–Research–Extension platforms that provide problem-focused spaces for strengthening coordination, accountability, and responsiveness within Ethiopia’s extension system. He also contributes to client feedback mechanisms that capture real-time insights from farmers, extension workers, and other frontline actors to improve advisory quality and ensure that recommendations respond to actual field needs.

Tewodros holds a PhD in Agriculture from the University of Tasmania, Australia, an MSc in Agronomy from Alemaya University, and a BSc in Plant Science from Alemaya University of Agriculture. His research and professional contributions span soil fertility management, cropping systems, climate-smart agriculture, crop modelling, digital data-driven agro-advisory services, and extension system strengthening.