The use of finger millet seedlings has shown very positive results in the region of Tahtai Maichew, near Aksum, Ethiopia, as has the use of alternative management practices for a number of other crops. The principles that make up a System of Crop Intensification are now spreading through the regions of Tigray and South Wollo for a range of crops. Agriculture, mainly rainfed and subsistence-based, is Ethiopia’s main economic activity, contributing 50 percent of the country’s GDP, and up to 80 percent of the employment opportunities. However, small-scale farmers are increasingly confronted with a changing climate and need to adapt their practices. Unreliable rainfall has pressed farmers to shift their cropping patterns – especially in the most water-stressed regions. When the rainy season comes late, and as the moisture constraints become more serious, farmers shift from long growing-season crops like sorghum and finger millet, to wheat or barley, and to tef and chick pea. This solution creates its own problems, as shifting from one crop to another is costly in kind and cash, and farmers become more likely to fall into debt and or sell their assets.