The business case for grasspea in Ethiopia: An action plan to provide Ethiopian farmers with a safe, nutritious and climate-smart protein source.

<p dir="ltr">This document provides an overview and action plan for the scale-up and use of low-ODAP grasspea across Ethiopia to complement nutritious and resilient climate-smart agriculture. Grasspea has a long history in Ethiopia as one of the most widely cultivated legumes, yet it remains underutilised and marginal within formal seed systems and value chains. The presence of the neurotoxin β-ODAP in traditional varieties has discouraged widespread consumption and investment, despite the crop’s adaptability, regenerative qualities, and importance to smallholder farmers.</p><p dir="ltr">Recent advances in bioscience have enabled more targeted and rapid breeding progress, resulting in low-ODAP varieties with improved agronomic performance. These developments offer an opportunity to realise the full potential of grasspea for Ethiopian farming systems, particularly in areas prone to climate stress. However, questions remain about how to ensure that improved grasspea seed reaches farmers at scale, in ways that are timely, inclusive, and sustainable.</p><p dir="ltr">In this document, we present a synthesis of recent developments in grasspea research and use this to outline three action plans for the expansion of improved grasspea use in Ethiopia. One approach follows the traditional Ethiopian model of government seed purchase and distribution. A second outlines how integrated seed systems involving local seed businesses (LSBs) and farmer organisations could support a more decentralised and sustainable model of seed delivery. A third, phased approach combines the strengths of the previous two and offers a pathway for both immediate and longer-term uptake. Each approach is described with reference to its actor landscape, implementation considerations, and embedded theory of change.</p><p dir="ltr">We argue that while the phased approach may provide a pragmatic starting point for rapid expansion, it is the integrated seed system model that holds the greatest potential for sustained delivery of improved grasspea across Ethiopia’s diverse farming landscapes. We conclude with a set of recommendations for the partnerships, capacities, and enabling conditions needed to ensure that improved grasspea can contribute meaningfully to food and nutrition security, climate resilience, and rural livelihoods.</p>