Ethiopia has been striving to transform the agricultural-led economy to an industry-led one and has been performing various activities toward this end. As a result of these, the nation’s agricultural products and productivity have been improving for the better. However, crop harvesting and protection is still traditional—that causes post-harvest loss.
This has negatively impacted on the farmers’ benefits and the country’s economic development. According to the Ministry of Agriculture Communication Directorate Director, Alemayehu Berhanu, the Ministry has been trying its best to reverse this scenario. It has been developing the old tradition.
As to him, over 14 million hectares of land is covered by crops throughout the country. From this, 375 million quintals of crops are due to be collected if there will not be either natural or manmade disasters— God forbid that! Though there is delay in the collection as to the plan, the climate is conducive throughout the country.
So far, over 80 percent of the crops are harvested despite the fact that the states have not yet collectively reported their harvesting performances. By the same token, Oromia State Agriculture and Natural Resource Bureau Crop Development and Natural Resource Protection Directorate Director, Dejene Hirpha says that out of the crops on 5.9 million hectares of land, 3.9 million hectares or 58 percent are harvested. He also says that over 203 million quintals of crops are estimated at maximum and 170 million quintals to the minimum from the total land covered by crops.
On the other hand, only 26 million quintals are harvested so far due to various either natural or manmade reasons. Some of these reasons are unseasonal rain, snow and conflicts in some areas. In some parts of the Sate, such as Bale, Arsi, Guji and East Shawa, combiners and other harvesting machineries are being used to facilitate the collection and protect crops from wastage.
As well, both in the central and western areas of Oromia State human power and all available machineries are implemented to speed up the harvesting and care for the crops. The other critical issue they both raise is post harvest protection. Since there is low awareness on the post-harvest crop protection, the farmers pay less attention to crops after collection. And this causes crop wastage.
Therefore, the ministry has given it much focus and facilitated trainings across the nation. All the States have made awareness creation their major activities to assist farmers apply all their efforts those they used during harvesting to protect the crops after they have collected. Post harvest protection includes the processes from farmyards to the consumption stages. Farmers need to know how and where to clean and store safely as well as the amount they should use for food and market. On the one hand, farmers should be taught to leave the traditional way.
That’s why the officials said awareness creation is the activity they are majoring and should major to facilitate industrialization.
Herald December 28/2018
TRANSLATATED BY DIRRIBA TESHOME
