BY ABEBE WOLDEGIORGIS
Though has been serving as a back bone for the nation’s economy, agriculture is characterized by vulnerability to drought, subsistence, rain fade and less utilizing of inputs. As a result, since it is a means of living for about 85 percent of the country’s population and supplying products to domestic and foreign markets, it requires special, continuous and careful thought.
Though agriculture is a centuries’ long practice in Ethiopia, still it remains subsistence and the nation has been one of the major food recipient countries in Africa. The successive governments since the time of emperor Haile Selassie I tried their level best to modernize the sector through utilizing inputs such as fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides and the measures brought some progress. But due to rapid growth of the country’s population, land degradation, drought and the outbreak of plant diseases, realizing attaining food security remained a challenge. However, through dedication and utilizing technologies, in recent times, things seem to be changed for better.
The reformist government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) tried its level best to improve the sector since assuming power four years ago and enhanced productivity and production and to that end, it crafted the ten years perspective development plan. This groundbreaking move can be taken as a part of achieving initial goals of Africa’s Agenda 2063 and meeting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) via making the country food self sufficient.
Recently, Esayas Lemma, Crop Development Director at the Ministry of Agriculture said that the Ministry is working with pertinent stakeholders towards harnessing the country’s agricultural potentials through utilizing the latest agricultural technologies. As to him, the country, since long time ago, has been importing wheat, rice, cooking oil, and other crop products. But now efforts are undergoing to import substitution.
To boost the crop production, more than 400,000 hectares of agricultural land will be cultivated in the coming years with the participation of investors. Special support and priority will be given for irrigation development to achieve the country’s aspirations to meet local demand and to supply agricultural products to the global market.
He recalled that wheat production through irrigation activities in the lowland areas has been taking shape in Afar, Somali, Oromia, and Southern Nation Nationalities and Peoples’ states. More importantly, the government has a plan to replicate the best experiences and strengthen activities to boost irrigation-based lowland wheat production and productivity.
According to him, in the coming years, attention will be given to promoting local and multinational investors’ participating in the agricultural sector in order to increasing production and productivity by providing incentive. According to the Ministry, in the past, the nation imported minimum 17 million quintals of wheat and transported from the port to various parts of the country. But it is a good news that in the last two and three years Ethiopia has been registering tremendous result in boosting wheat production.
As it is known, the agriculture sector is rain fed and subsistence and farmers survived for centuries in hand to mouth living. But recently, farmers began implementing the dry season wheat production through irrigation farming and become successful as the result is witnessing.
The government backed wheat cluster farming obtained recognition and appreciations by the international institutions and partners. Among the testifiers in the international platform, Akinwumi A. Adesina (PhD), President, African Development Bank Group is known.
“No one will see Ethiopia as wheat importer country even in this country’s budget year and it is prepared to export 2.6 million metric ton wheat and feed its neighboring countries,” Adesina said. He made the statement recently in the FAO meeting, in the presence of Development Ministers from Canada, France, European Union, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States. He further said that, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) endorsed that Ethiopia will not resort to purchase wheat in this budget year.
According to the sources of African Development Bank, the bank is the major supporter of Ethiopia’s endeavor to be self-sufficient in wheat production. It provided Ethiopia 61,000 metric tons of wheat seed which has the capacity to resist drought. Among the results of the wheat cluster farming, in 2018 the land coverage of wheat farming increased from 50 thousand hectares of land to 167 thousand hectares by the year 2021 and by the beginning of 2022 it rose to 650,000 hectares.
“Ethiopia in 2023 planned to export wheat to Kenya and Djibouti which is an unthinkable achievement for many showcasing that Africa has something which enables it to be food self- sufficient” the African Development Bank President, Adesina said.
According to the United States Agriculture Office information, in Ethiopia the wheat sector registered a tremendous achievement and enhanced its outputs. Even though the country is vulnerable to drought and natural calamities, if it explores and exploits its surface and underground water, boosting the production is possible and the ongoing irrigated cluster wheat far can be taken as a showcases.
Currently, wheat demand in the world market is increasing. Taking the situation as a good opportunity, Ethiopia announced that it started exporting wheat. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed recently visited Bale areas where known by its high production of wheat and announced that Ethiopia is realizing exporting wheat.
As to Abiy, the wheat product will be the new option to garner foreign currency. ”The vision that Ethiopia to give up importing wheat from abroad had not been get acceptance by many” the Prime Minister said. The society and government officials had similar attitudes in this regard and refrained to exert their effort towards achieving exporting wheat ambition. However, today it is possible to show that Ethiopia has the ability to export wheat.
Following the Prime Minister’s statement, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that summer wheat production through irrigation system enables the country to achieve not only exporting wheat but also serves for ensuring food security. According to the State Minister of Agriculture, Melese Mekonnen, exporting wheat production indicates that the country is attaining self -sufficiency in wheat production and changes the nation’s image which was regarded as food recipient from abroad and raises its pride.
Exporting wheat has opened a new chapter to Ethiopia. However, some complain that the government has to announce that it fulfilled the domestic demand before engaging in wheat exportation. However, the government officials have announced that Ethiopia began exporting wheat after it reaffirmed that surplus product which is more than the domestic demand is produced.
The State Minister Melese recently announced that in this harvesting season, it is predicted that 112 million quintals of wheat and in dry season 52 million quintals to be produced and the prediction indicated that excessive amount of wheat will be harvested. Based on the professionals’ detailed study, in this Ethiopian fiscal year, the domestic demand is 97million quintals of wheat. Therefore, 67 million quintals of wheat which is produced as surplus will be exported.
According to Girma Birru, the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisor and Chairperson of Board of the National Bank of Ethiopia, exporting wheat is relied on detail study of the nation’s production capacity and after meeting the domestic demand.
As to him, Ethiopia produces such amount of wheat firstly to meet the local demand and next to export and repeated assessment undergone in this regard. He further said that wheat harvested in the end of last year and the wheat that has been harvested in this dry season is estimated to be more than the annual consumption of wheat at national level. Hence, the surplus product will be exported. As to Girma, countries which agreed to purchase Ethiopian wheat are identified and among others Kenya and Djibouti are the leading.
Ethiopia has abundant natural resources and vast arable land but in the past, such huge resource was not properly exploited. The ten year perspective development plan emphasizes to boost agricultural production through utilizing technology, knowledge and investment.
In the earlier times, Ethiopia was a net importer of agricultural products such as wheat. Now, however, not only substituting the import, but also exporting wheat is becoming real. Such moment is a gear changer for boosting agriculture. The foreign currency earned from wheat export can be invested on agriculture and in the near future receiving food aid will be history.
The Ethiopian Herald February 19/2023
