Abenet Solomon Dibaba

Led the implementation and strategic coordination of digital agriculture initiatives, focusing on market information systems, farmer profiles, and cooperative digitization.

• Directed the collection, validation, and dissemination of National Market Information System (NMIS) data, enhancing market transparency and access for farmers.
• Oversaw the development and operations of the Digital Market Linkage Platform (DMLP), improving market connectivity for agricultural producers.
• Managed farmer profile registration and digital kiosk deployment, facilitating service delivery to a broad network of smallholder farmers.
• Provided strategic support for Farmer Producer Cooperative (FPC) digitization and governance, strengthening organizational capacity.
• Coordinated training and awareness programs for regional and woreda officers, ensuring effective adoption of digital agriculture tools.
• Managed procurement, budgeting, and financial reporting for digital agriculture projects, ensuring fiscal responsibility and project sustainability.
• Provided critical technical support and troubleshooting for digital systems and field teams, maintaining operational efficiency.
• Fostered stakeholder coordination across federal, regional, and woreda levels to drive the adoption and successful implementation of digital agriculture services.

Managed key digital agriculture projects, including the 8028 Farmers Hotline (FHL) and National Market Information System (NMIS), to enhance farmer support and market data collection.

• Planned and conducted workshops and capacity building training for 8028 FHL and NMIS project system users, improving user proficiency and adoption.
• Managed the moderation of farmer questions and answers via the 8028 FHI helpdesk system, ensuring timely and accurate information dissemination.
• Coordinated the implementation of the 8028 FHI IVR/SMS survey and content adaptation, expanding outreach and engagement with farmers.
• Oversaw the proper collection and validation of weekly market data from the marketplace, ensuring data integrity for informed decision-making.

Provided expert GIS services for UNHABITAT projects, focusing on comprehensive data collection, land use mapping, and spatial data organization and analysis.

• Conducted primary and secondary data collection using state-of-the-art equipment for national and regional land use and land cover mapping.
• Managed orthorectification, unsupervised and supervised classification, and utilization of Digital Elevation Models for accurate spatial data organization.
• Performed digitizing and visualization of maps, satellite image pre-processing, and quality vetting with ground truth reality, ensuring data accuracy.
• Executed georeferencing, orthorectifying satellite imageries using ERDAS IMAGINE, projection transformation, and geometric/radiometric correction.
• Managed, supervised, and approved the collection of quality Ground Control Points for base map preparation and advanced spatial analysis.
• Liaised with Woreda-level data collectors for classification accuracy assessment and developed institutional mapping to collect relevant maps from secondary sources.
• Updated Woreda and regional base maps using recent imageries (satellite, orthophoto) and GIS technology, ensuring up-to-date spatial information.

Managed the 8028 Farmers Hotline project, providing critical helpdesk support, training, and innovative digital solutions to smallholder farmers.

• Provided helpdesk support for smallholder farmers and Development Agents (DAs), ensuring timely resolution of queries and enhanced service delivery.
• Reviewed the quality of helpdesk questions and answers, collaborating with smallholders and responders to maintain high service standards.
• Reviewed IVR/SMS content translated into local languages, providing first-hand feedback to improve communication effectiveness.
• Planned and conducted 8028 Farmers' Hotline and Helpdesk trainings for various stakeholders on 21 agricultural commodities, covering pre-farming to market access and digital agriculture financing.
• Developed and delivered customized training on FPC profile and FPC farmers profile data collection using mobile data collection tools, generating analytical reports and map-based visualizations.
• Designed and implemented an innovative, integrated mobile-based data collection platform with open-source digital agricultural tools, increasing smallholder farmer productivity and income.
• Delivered Digital Agriculture business development training for Development Agents and small-scale farmers, fostering economic growth.
• Provided training on FPC Cluster data collecting parameters, including GPS coordinate measurement and mapping for grain and horticulture models.

Managed regional data collection activities and supported the expansion of digital agricultural tools, ensuring data quality and effective project implementation.

• Coordinated and followed up on all regional data-collection activities, streamlining processes and ensuring timely data acquisition.
• Developed and executed training and rollout schedules for Development Agents, enhancing their capacity in data collection tools.
• Conducted training for project stakeholders and partners on data collection tools, facilitating wider adoption and proficiency.
• Assessed capabilities of project collectors and updaters, providing targeted capacity building to improve project execution.
• Collected and compiled feedback from various regional stakeholders on the digital platform, informing federal project team decisions.
• Supported data quality control checks during the transfer of records from 'work-in-progress' to 'finalized-version,' ensuring data integrity.
• Supported the expansion of AIM and CropIn tools in regions, zones, and woredas, enhancing digital agriculture outreach.
• Reprioritized outputs/deliverables and adjusted implementation plans as required, optimizing project efficiency and responsiveness.

Led and supported the development and implementation of the Agricultural Investments Mapping (AIM) project, enhancing geospatial data management and analytics for agricultural and livestock investments.

• Supported the development of high-quality, reliable, and user-friendly databases, maps, and geospatial resources for the AIM project.
• Conducted comprehensive data sourcing, management, analytics, and visualization to provide actionable insights for agricultural investments.
• Led and facilitated regional data collection activities for the AIM project, ensuring accurate and timely data acquisition.
• Supported the expansion of the AIM tool to assemble agricultural and livestock investments across regions, zones, and woredas.
• Drove overall expansion and enhancement of data infrastructure, analytics, and reporting capacity at ATA and regional offices.
• Engaged with internal teams and external partners to identify data and information management needs and technical requirements.
• Conducted follow-up trainings to provide troubleshooting and ensure the sustainability of the system for users.
• Served as the primary liaison with RBOALR, BoFEC, Primary Implementing Partners, and Donor Organizations, managing data collection status and resolving data issues.

Managed project operations and information systems for the Emergency Operation Centre, ensuring effective coordination and reliable communication infrastructure for humanitarian efforts.

• Oversaw overall project management of the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) at ERCS HQ and Amhara Region, coordinating with DPR/DRR, ICT, GIS, and M&E units.
• Managed the HF radio system, including installation and maintenance with ICT staff, ensuring critical communication for emergency operations.
• Improved information and project management practices at ERCS by providing timely and quality information, enhancing operational efficiency.

Provided expert GIS and land administration guidance, including training surveyors and designing geodatabases for communal land registration and certification.

• Prepared and instructed surveyors on technical documents for communal landholding, delineation, adjudication, and demarcation, enhancing field team capabilities.
• Designed and implemented a geo-database for Communal land registration, adjudication, and certification of the USAID LAND project.
• Supervised and trained GIS Technical staff and para-surveyors on communal landholding demarcation, delineation, and adjudication.

Conducted geoinformation research and training, focusing on geographic data collection, storage, analysis, and database maintenance for mapping applications.

• Involved in collecting, storing, analyzing, and modeling geographic data, contributing to comprehensive spatial intelligence.
• Collected geographic information to create digital maps used by various agencies and businesses, supporting diverse applications.
• Maintained databases and ensured geographic information was up-to-date, guaranteeing data accuracy and reliability.

Led the orthophoto production team, managing daily operations, workflow, and quality control to ensure timely delivery of photogrammetric products.

• Set and communicated daily, weekly, and monthly objectives to employees, driving team productivity and performance.
• Organized workflow by assigning responsibilities and preparing schedules, optimizing resource allocation for production.
• Oversaw and coached employees on photogrammetry, orthophoto production, DTM generating, and editing, enhancing team skills and output quality.
• Checked production output of photogrammetric and Orthophoto products against specifications, ensuring high-quality deliverables.
• Submitted regular reports on performance and progress to management, providing transparent updates on team achievements.
• Trained new employees on GIS, Remote Sensing, and Photogrammetric software, facilitating rapid onboarding and skill development.
• Enforced strict safety guidelines and company standards, maintaining a compliant and secure work environment.

Performed diverse photogrammetric and GIS tasks, including aerial triangulation, mapping project preparation, orthophoto production, and database management.

• Performed analytical aerial triangulation for mapping control extension, ensuring precise geospatial data alignment.
• Prepared mapping projects for photogrammetric compilation and operated current generation photogrammetric workstations.
• Checked aerial photography and reviewed digital photo files from aerial surveys to ensure adherence to specifications.
• Created, edited, and reviewed digital orthophotography, managing digital image mosaicking, color balancing, and editing.
• Managed, produced, and archived large quantities of data, completing orthophoto projects within deadlines to meet customer needs.
• Entered new data into the GIS database, drawing and annotating maps using advanced computer software, ensuring correct information compilation.