For a country like Ethiopia, in which agriculture is the mainstay of economy along with being the major source of employment and holding the lion’s share in contributing for the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), transforming the sector needs to win everyone’s attention. To this end, standardized rural development program has been implemented in Ethiopia since long ago. It has also enjoyed considerable attention from the government.
Though the expected level has not been achieved yet for a number of variables, efforts are keeping on to modernize the agriculture sector to make more productive than ever before. Of late, Ministry of Agriculture underscored the need for agriculture reform. In his recent remark, Agriculture State Minister, Wendale Habtamu noted that various agricultural reforms have been introduced in the country to increase productivity and attract more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
“Ethiopia, as an agrarian county, has a huge potential in agriculture that is capable to satisfy its citizens’ basic needs,” he said. He further noted that, the major emphasis of the ongoing reform of the country in agriculture is to increase productivity by supporting farmers and attracting local and foreign investors to the sector. The State Minister underscored that enhancing the general agricultural productivity of the country has become not only a food security issue but also of sovereignty.
“The issue of food security goes beyond eating and it should not be considered in such a way. A country that is self-sufficient in food supply will not be easily exposed to any manipulation. As it is broadly known by many, this is a country with varied ecosystem where all kinds of seeds grow wherever we sow them. This fact is openly stated even by foreigners.”
Consequently, in order to boost the sector’s productivity, large-scale programs have been implemented in producing wheat through irrigation and cluster farming, he stated, and adding that the enhancement of productivity in fruits and vegetables as well as livestock are also being accelerated. Furthermore, reform in the agricultural sector that is one of the country’s untapped FDI potential, has been prioritized to alleviate the general lack of productivity and maximize foreign currency earnings.
According to the State Minister, in addition to crop production, rigorous reforms have been underway in the areas of horticulture, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, among others. Problems linked with land provision and submission of properly designed investment projects have been addressed through joint efforts with the relevant regional governments and investment projects.
“Presently, for example, we have 9 projects in the horticulture development sector where land provision problems were solved. There is also a huge investment potential in the livestock sector, which is being facilitated by the government to investors,” he added. Following these reforms and the relaxation of regulations on investments, Wendale revealed that foreign investors mainly from South Africa, India, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the US have been expressing interest to invest in the country.
The State Minister further elaborated that the Ministry, in its effort to enhance productivity and attract FDI, has for instance, exempted tax on over 550 agricultural machineries to investors in the sector. The Government of Ethiopia has also been working aggressively to have fertilizer plants that supply 100 percent fertilizers to the agricultural sector, he pointed out.
In the same context, the Office of the Prime Minister noted that Ethiopia has registered tremendous achievements in the agriculture sector over the last three years.
In a statement it issued recently, Office of the Prime Minister stated that the country has been witnessing encouraging achievements in irrigation development, crop production, job creation, and agricultural mechanization among others. According to the statement, since the 2019 fiscal year, 121,356 hectares of irrigation schemes (Individually and community-run) have been carried out.
Some 1,496 hectares of irrigated fodder has also been developed to improve fodder supply especially in pastoral areas, it stated. Irrigation rigs and other inputs have been made tax-exempt at all levels and the inputs required for domestic production and assembly are equally tax-exempt to facilitate the supply of irrigation rig and other agricultural equipment and inputs from the smallest to the largest.
The Office further stated that some 10 crop varieties are being developed in four regions in a cluster approach on 3.2 million hectares of land to strengthen market-led agricultural development system. Taking into account the growing demand for avocado in the world market, 34,271 hectares of the land was cultivated in cluster farming and 264 nurseries were established and are operational to sustain avocado production, it added.
The statement further related that summer wheat farming which was being piloted two years ago on 3,500 hectares of land is also expected to yield a harvest of up to 7 million quintals in the coming year. Improved wheat production and productivity in the highlands is underway intensely through treating soil acidity of wheat farm land. As a result, 900,000 hectares of wheat farm land has been cultivated during this period employing these techniques which have increased the overall wheat productivity by 13.88 percent at a national level, it was stated.
Some 74,000 tons of rose and summer flowers were exported that worth 1.2 billion Birr during the past budget year. Coffee productivity has also been increased from 6.19 to 7.5 quintals per hectare. The total production of coffee has increased from 508,639 to 680,800 quintal by renovating 297,330 hectares of coffee grounds that stopped production due to aging.
To improve veterinary health, coverage of vaccines based on risk has been increased during the past three years by 90 percent compared to the previous year. Over the past three years, 254 primary and secondary shopping centers have been built and become operational in various regions.
In line with this, about 4.2 million permanent and temporary jobs have been created in seven sectors for rural, educated, and uneducated people and school leavers living in rural areas during the last three years. Of the jobs created during the time mentioned above, 61 percent are created in the agricultural sector, 21 percent in the industrial sector and 18 percent in the service sector, it was learned.
BY MENGISTEAB TESHOME
The Ethiopian Herald June 5/2021
