Bako Agricultural Engineering Research Center

Establishment

Bako Agricultural Engineering Research Center (BAERC) is located in Bako town, West Showa, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia on an area of 1.8 hectares. It is found 250 km away from Addis Ababa to the west. It is one of the seventeen research centers found under the Oromia Agricultural Research Institute. The center has passed through different organizational and institutional changes since it was established in 1959 as Bako Project Trade School with the main objective of providing technical training in woodwork, metal work, and auto mechanics until 1975. It was reorganized as Bako Farm Implements Production Centre until 1984 and later on developed into Bako Rural Technology Promotion Centre under MOA in 1985 to undertake mainly production and dissemination of improved farm implements, small-scale cottage industries, and energy-saving technologies.

Even though the technologies have had some impact on labor and land productivity, the designed goal of the center could not be achieved mainly due to a weak extension system in identifying the existing farming problems and the absence of linkage to stakeholders and other research institutions. Therefore, to rectify all these scenarios the canter was again restructured under the Oromia Agricultural Research Institute (OARI) in 2003 and named Bako Agricultural Mechanization Research Center in 2008, pursuing its activities with the objectives of conducting research in various agro-ecology.

In 2014 BPR recalibration was undertaken and restructured and renamed as Bako Agricultural Engineering Research Center. It was restructured as Agricultural Engineering Research Process having 4 engineering research team cases and a technology multiplication team. These research teams are the Agricultural Machinery and Farm Power Engineering Research Case Team, Renewable Energy Engineering Research Case Team, Post-harvest and Agricultural Product Processing Engineering Research Case Team, and Irrigation, Drainage and Water Harvesting Engineering Research Case Team. The second process is Socio socio-economics and the Extension and Gender research process which consists of socio socio-economics research case team and an Extension and gender research case team.

Bako Agricultural Engineering Research Center (BAERC) has been conducting research mainly on adapting, improving, generating, and promoting appropriate agricultural mechanization technologies; providing training services to improve the technical capability of farmers how to use and micro enterprises/manufacturers to multiply new technologies and Production of technologies is undertaken according to capacity and budget allocation. 

The center also has supporting teams like Human resource administration, Finance and Resource administration and Planning

Center Location

The center is located 258 km west of the capital, Addis Ababa, Bako Agricultural Engineering Research Center lies between 9⁰6’N latitude and 37⁰9’E longitude at an altitude of 1650 masl. Agro-ecology is mid-altitude with high rainfall of 1238 mm year^-1 and hot humid weather 13.3 ⁰C minimum and 28 ⁰C Maximum annum^-1

Center Mandate Area

The center has the mandate to carry out its research activities in 7 Zones of the Oromiya region namely, West Shoa, South West Shoa, North Shoa, East Wellega, West Wellega, Horo Guduru Wellega, and Qelam Wellega Zones

Organizational Structure

The engineering process is responsible for the majority of the center's work. The prearranged activities are carried out in accordance with the authorized body's structure at the center. The center's organizational structure consists of the two primary research processes, research team leaders, team leaders for planning and monitoring, development and human resources management, purchasing, resource and financial   administrative, coordinator of workshops and gender, and HIV/AIDs representative.

With the center manager holding the most power within the center, these top-down structures are utilized to supervise the activities conducted within. The center's structure is flat, and the highest body that takes the essential decisions is the manager of the center. In conclusion, there are four supportive teams and two workshops at the Bako Agricultural Engineering Research Centre in addition to two research processes with six research teams. The following is a description of the center's structure.