Participatory barley breeding
Starting from 1997,Fetien discovered the dynamics of farmers' innovativeness in land management,through her lead in the Indigenous Soil and Water Conservation (ISWC) research programme. [4] Fetien Abay has done pioneering work in participatory barley breeding in Ethiopia. She released five varieties of barley that were adopted by farmers in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. [1] [4] The crosses were carried out together with input from 250 experienced farmer breeders in different agro-ecologies. The barley crosses were developed from Himblil and Sa'isa,the major local cultivars in Tigray. Three of the varieties,formally released by Mekelle University are drought resistant,early maturing and highly nutritious barley varieties:felamit,hiriti,and fetina,with the latter one named after Fetien. [4]
Gender role model in Ethiopian academics and gender advocacy
Fetien Abay was the first female lecturer at Mekelle University, [2] Ethiopia's first female professor of Plant Breeding and Seed [2] [4] and the third woman professor of the country. [4] Whereas,since the 1990s,the number of public higher education institutions in Ethiopia has increased from 8 to 36, [1] there was also an increased share of women in academia,yet this share reached only 12.6% by 2017. [7] In 2014,5% of the deans and only 3% of the department heads in Ethiopian universities were women. [8] While at the age of twelve,Fetien Abay was proposed for an arranged marriage that later was rejected by her mother, [1] she had become,by 2020,one of the four women who have ever been university president in Ethiopia. [1]
Professor Fetien is outspoken on issues of gender equality in science [4] and was director of the Institute of Environment,Gender,and Development Studies (IEGDS) at Mekelle University. [1] She shared her experiences with hundreds of high school students,and actively empowered women,who have been given sponsorship,mentorship and advice. She contributed to facilitating grants and employment of outstanding women university graduates. [4]
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