BY FIKADU BELAY
Ethiopia has long grappled with issues related to food security, with millions of people in the country facing chronic hunger and malnutrition. Despite being one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa, the country still has a high prevalence of poverty, which is one of the primary drivers of food insecurity. Along with poverty, climate change and environmental degradation have also contributed significantly to the food security crisis in Ethiopia. This issue affects not only the economy of the country but also the livelihood of the farmers and the overall health of the population.
Food loss is an enormous issue that affects the entire world, despite being particularly common in Africa. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimate that each year in Africa, 1.3 billion tons of food is lost or squandered. This is a waste of resources as well as a substantial economic loss. Waste is mainly generated in Africa during the stages of manufacturing, processing, and distribution. Supply chains are ineffective and cause food loss.
In total, a third of the food produced between the farm and the fork, or around 1.3 billion tons, is lost in supply networks, based on UN Food and Agriculture Organization data. It is well understood that horticultural goods are particularly susceptible to harm and waste at all points along the value chain. Compared to grains, meat, and fish, they are the food types that are most susceptible to exploitation. Ethiopia has large pre-retail expenditures in fruits, vegetables, spices, and herbs across the whole value chain.
Smallholder farmers in the first mile bear the majority of this loss. Spices and herbs are one of the principal items produced by smallholder farmers, who make up a significant portion of Ethiopia’s agricultural workforce, despite the fact that they sometimes struggle to combine their small plots of land and face difficulties in finding sustainable markets for their products. There are some companies that work on this issue to enhance food security in the country, such as Guaro Farms.
Guaro Farms was developed with the help of the Jasiri talent investor program, one of the Allan & Gill Grey Philanthropies programs in Eastern Africa that invests in, guides, and supports entrepreneurs and early-stage startups that benefit society by creating high-impact businesses on the African continent. This program started in Ethiopia, as it is a country where there are amazing young people who have many potential and ideas that can change their country and even the world.
According to Kidist Amedie, CEO of Guaro Farms, which is committed to reducing food loss and improving the livelihoods of farmers in Ethiopia, these micro processing units are also an opportunity to demonstrate a new model for hyper-local and agile food manufacturing. She stated that the company is strategically positioned in proximity to groups of 250 farmers and used to process spices and herbs onsite that fit within a 20-foot shipping container. Additionally, they introduced proper handling during the “first mile,” helping farmers embrace global standards while they are growing and post-harvest shipping. Their first-mile processing eliminates worries about food safety, she added.
Ethiopia is the second-largest producer of spices and herbs in Africa. The industry is faced with numerous difficulties, such as growing food fraud concerns and worries about food safety caused by mycotoxins. Spices can be contaminated purposefully or accidentally (for example, by insects or fertilizer spillage). Postharvest losses typically range from 25% to 30% across the whole supply chain. Smallholder farmers bear the bulk of the burden throughout the first mile. Traditional drying techniques, which include spreading the goods out in the sun, expose them to contaminants like dirt and dust as well as the risk of insect and rodent infection.
She noted that a large number of consecutive intermediaries, smallholders, sell small quantities, often only a few kilograms, to local collectors and village traders. Moreover, these traders often do not have access to appropriate storage facilities and packaging materials and may resort to malpractices such as adulteration with low-value materials. In cases where preliminary washing is performed by local collectors and village traders, the quality of the water is generally poor, so washing often does more harm than good.
The smallholder farmers in the southern Ethiopian highlands, located around Butajira, are the source of their herbs and spices. They individually own less than one acre of land on average, where they manually plant, care for, and harvest their crops on about 7,000 feet of volcanic soil along the Rift Valley, rich in nutrients. Everything is organically farmed without the use of fertilizers or pesticides. Similarly, Nano-factories are designed to accommodate a diverse range of crops and products, ensuring that farmers from every corner of Ethiopia can benefit from this transformative technology. Whether its cereals, fruits, vegetables, or dairy, the Nano-factories will be equipped to process a variety of produce, tailored to the specific needs and demands of each region, she added.
Complementing the physical infrastructure is the implementation of a cloud-based system, seamlessly integrated with existing websites and platforms. They can obtain information about the farmers, including their bios, the amount of their land, farm inputs, and the types of produce, using this cutting-edge technology to provide them with a comprehensive and easily accessible tool for managing their operations. Using this cloud solution, they can centrally manage their warehousing, payments, and customer data, she elucidated. According to her, it builds trust between farmers and consumers and also opens up opportunities for market expansion, both locally and internationally. “We strive to meet international product-quality standards.
The Ethiopian government is paying great attention to science and entrepreneurship and engaging in powerful activities at the policy level for the sake of food security. The leader of the country organizes an annual innovation award, and the government takes on the lion’s share of the country’s responsibility by producing promising young people.
Due to the potential of the facility, the population is increasing and the country is experiencing rapid growth in all aspects, so the job opportunities are still intact. In this sense, the Ethiopian government as a whole is working more than ever to focus on the youth, making it an active participant in the construction of democracy and making the economy directly beneficial to the creation of job opportunities.
On the other hand, billions of birr are being allocated. Most of the Ethiopian youths have high creative potential, which makes the work of the organization much easier, because the support provided by the government from stakeholders is not easy, until it comes as an obstacle. Also, since the empowerment of youth is the government’s focus, it is important to highlight good opportunities.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 13 JUNE 2023
