23/06/2026
Can a research partnership leave a legacy that lasts for generations?
The SLU–Ethiopia partnership has done just that. Its roots can be traced back to the Chilalo Agricultural Development Unit (CADU), launched in 1967, where researchers, agronomists and farmers worked together to improve agricultural production, strengthen rural communities and build lasting institutions.
Through photographs, letters and personal stories, we revisit a collaboration that helped shape agricultural development in Ethiopia and laid the foundation for a partnership that continues today.
Photos: Agronomist Karl-Axel Hansson, crop protection specialist and later deputy manager in CADU.
The images show field demonstrations during official visits, including several by Haile Selassie and Sweden’s Crown Prince, as well as meetings with farmers in remote villages where travel was often difficult. They also capture the practical experimentation that shaped the project: testing crop varieties and cultivation methods on mechanised farms and with smallholder farmers to find solutions suited to local conditions.
🔗 Read more: https://www.slu.se/en/news/2026/06/cadu/
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