ADDIS ABABA –Since recently, avocado’s productivity and export has been witnessing a formidable growth, the Oromia State Agriculture Bureau said, revealing plans to export 12,000 quintals of avocado in 2024/25 budget year.
Bureau’s Fruit Development Director Tegegn Erana told the Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA) that wide-ranges of activities are being undertaken to meet the set plans of exporting about 12,000 quintals of avocado products to the Middle East, neighboring countries.
Tegegn further stated that planning to export about 1,000 quintals this budget year, the bureau managed to export about 610 quintals of avocado over the past months to the European market.
The bureau has collected about 2.9 million quintals of avocado over the past months, he said, adding that out of the total coverage of 55,112 hectares of land, some 30,145 hectares are producing yields.
He mentioned that the bureau produced 6.5 million quintals of avocado during the concluded fiscal year.
“Engaging hundreds of thousands of people in avocado development activities, about 1,751 avocados are planted in a cluster system in 185 woredas found in 21 zones in Oromia State.”
Since last June, the state has been undertaking comprehensive preparations to plant about 20 million avocado saplings and planted 12.5 million in the last seven months, the director said.
Mentioning the challenges affecting the sector’s development, Tegegn emphasized that the bureau along with stakeholders in the area is exerting utmost efforts to address constraints of all input supplies which help promote productivity.
Chains of capacity building and awareness creation activities are underway to bridge the witnessed skill gaps in the field. Also, trainings ranging from early production to the market value-chain are being given to the exporters and farming communities in a bid to advance the sector.
BY ASHENAFI ANIMUT
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 21 DECEMBER 2024
