BY MENGESHA AMARE
With a vast array of arable land from various corners, Ethiopia is capable of producing a range of crops to feed its population. Obviously, crop production needs to decidedly increase for confidently feeding a growing population and successfully meeting an increasing food demand nationally, regionally, continentally and even globally.
When people raise this issue, the question of production and productivity should come at the forefront. Not only is promoting production and productivity of staple foods, cereals and other related items important but attaching due emphasis to commercial crops and oil seeds is also indispensible to hit the set target—securing food self-sufficiency.
Having this in mind, The Ethiopian Herald approached Woldie Melese, an agro economist graduated from Addis Ababa University and working for research institutes.
According to Woldie, production increase can be achieved either by expansion of current crop area or producing higher yield per unit area, or both. Moreover, yield increases per unit area can be achieved through increasing of yield potential and/or through closure of yield gaps. Ethiopia’s agriculture creates 46 percent of gross national production, employs 85 percent of its population, and creates 75 percent of export commodity value.
Despite its large scale, the agricultural sector is largely dependent on smallholder subsistence farms burdened by reliance on unpredictable rain-fed systems. Smallholder farmers in the country have accounted for 96 percent of the total area cultivated in the country.
Woldie said; “In Ethiopia, oil crops have constituted the major food crops, source of income at household level and a contributor for the country’s foreign currency earnings, among others. Without a shadow of doubt, oil seeds have added a significant share of the grain crop area and good portion of the production to the aggregate national grain.”
As learnt from experiences and what has been practically witnessed in various parts of the country, crop yields are inevitably affected by many factors. These factors affecting crop production promotion include weather fluctuation, scarcity of inputs supplied, and changes in farming practices, amounts of fertilizer used, quality of seed varieties, technology and use of irrigation.
According to him, smallholders may not adopt modern inputs or farming techniques that would increase their productivity because they have faced one of the aforesaid several constraints. Meanwhile, governments in sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia, have renewed efforts to increase local food production by promoting the use of modern inputs and practices.
If it is important to cite well, in Ethiopia, large-scale programs such as cluster farming, which support smallholder have begun since 2019. Such programs function on the ground that with better modern input availability, smallholder farmers can close the gap between their productivity levels and levels found in local experiment stations.
Woldie further elucidated that crop yield gaps have received increased attention in recent years due to concerns over land scarcity, stagnating crop yield trends in some important agricultural areas, and large projected increases in food demand. Undoubtedly, Ethiopia needs to employ a diversity of solutions while protecting natural resources with a view to proposing or enacting policies, required, that help reduce the yield gap and enhance food security. Therefore, it is important to quantify the yield gaps and yield advantage of oil crops.
“Taking poverty and food insecurity in Ethiopia into account combined with the overwhelming majority of Ethiopians who depend on agriculture for livelihoods, transforming the agriculture sector should be the top priority for the development and prosperity of the country. Besides, the government has to well focus on the way how to properly exploit the potential of oil seeds across the nation. Frankly speaking, there are a number of areas in the country which can grow oil seeds, pulses and commercial crops across the nation,” he opined.
Undeniably, Ethiopia has had the potential to noticeably increase grain production of groundnuts, linseed, rapeseed, sesame, and sunflower, without expanding cropland area as the country is well endowed with these oil seeds and other related commercial crops, he added.
According to him, Ethiopia’s oilseed sector plays an important role in generating foreign exchange earnings. The three major oilseed crops such as sesame, soybean, and Niger seed have contributed to Ethiopia’s total agricultural export earnings next to coffee.
Yes, he said, coffee has taken the lead for Ethiopia to secure great deal of foreign currency. For instance, apart from garnering national income out of this commercial crop, smallholder coffee producers are heavily dependent on coffee income as their main source of livelihood. Moreover, the coffee sector in Ethiopia directly and indirectly affects the livelihood of a quarter of Ethiopia’s total population as it has been providing jobs for farmers, local traders, processors, transporters, exporters and different service providers.
He said oilseeds have the potential to contribute a vital source of nutrition to the human diet, too. Vegetable oils, proteins, and minerals are components present in oilseeds, all having essential functions for the human body. The profile of the content and composition of nutrients in a specific oilseed vary based on the species, type, maturity, environmental factors, breeding objectives, and management.
Even though Ethiopia is one of the major global producers and exporters of sesame seed, the country has faced increasing challenges related to both supply and demand side constraints. Some of the major supply side constraints are diminishing productivity levels, pests and diseases, and poor access to modern technology. On the demand side, perversely higher domestic price, easy entry of inexperienced operators and individuals and groups.
He said, “Currently, oilseeds are primarily used for oil extraction, and they are considered as the main sources of vegetable oil. The quality of the seed oil is mainly determined by its fatty acid composition, which is known to have an impact on human health.”
The current growing global population calls for an increased use of whole-seed oilseeds and/or oilseed cakes as a human nutrient source due to their high nutritive profile. The proteins from oilseeds are known to have a high content of essential amino acids and are therefore beneficial to human health and well-being. The oilseed minerals have the potential to play an essential role in the human body by providing both macro- and micronutrients, he opined.
Woldie further stated that mineral intake in sufficient amounts is essential for a vital life in humans and animals, and the consumption of inadequate amounts may result in an inefficient structure of muscles and the breakdown of nerves and metabolic processes, contributing to threatened immunity, cognitive memory, and regulatory functions.
According to him, most compounds, such as fatty acids, proteins, minerals, and phytochemicals in plant seeds are known to vary and be affected both by the genotype and the environment. Besides, their interactions and the magnitude of these effects on the content of the compounds depend on the genotypes and environments used.
The protein concentration and composition in various oilseeds or crops should be used for human consumption as whole seed or other forms suiting for intake. He also said that the environmental conditions are also of higher importance than the genotypes in determining the grain protein concentration and mineral content in the seeds, and both factors are of importance if the oil crops are to be used as whole seed/cake for human consumption.
He said, “If we take the case of sesame oil seed for instance, these constraints are posing serious threats to Ethiopia’s sesame seed growth potential. Unless farmers, traders and government address these challenges strategically, the country could lose its competiveness in the global sesame seed market in the near future.
In general, it is strongly believed these days that cash crop production paves the way for agricultural transformation. Despite dramatic improvements in global crop yields over the past half-century, chronic food insecurity, hunger, and undernourishment persist in many parts of the world, especially in developing countries like Ethiopia.
The transformation of subsistence agrarian economies towards higher agricultural commercialization and towards a greater reliance on non-farm incomes generally is viewed as part of the growth process of developing economies. It would also help the developing world secure food self-sufficiency coupled with other imperative and lucrative agricultural moves.
The Ethiopian Herald April 13/2023
