Agriculture has long been the mainstay of Ethiopia’s economy and the sector has employed the vast majority of the working population. It is also an important pillar of the economy.
Of the assortment of crops Ethiopia has been producing on both highlands and lowlands, Sesame—the white gold crop—comes at the forefront. Sesame is an important crop produced in Ethiopia for oilseed production. The crop grows in different regions across the different agro-ecologies in Ethiopia.
Keeping this in mind, The Ethiopian Herald had a stay with Solomon Deksisa, an agro economist graduated from Jimma University and working an agricultural consultancy, to have a piece of information about Sesame. He said, “Sesame seed is one of the most frequently grown oilseed crops in Ethiopia, and the majority of production occurs in the country’s northern and northwestern regions, which border Sudan and Eritrea.”
As to Solomon, sesame, the white gold crop, is the second most exported crop in the world after coffee at a global export. Sesame output in Ethiopia is expanding as a consequence of the commodity’s importance in the lives of sesame-growing farmers as well as an increase in demand and price, he added.
Solomon said, “Agricultural productivity remains low due to limited private investment, fragmented markets, environmental degradation, and recurrent shocks. The low productivity of Ethiopian agriculture, however, could hardly ensure food security for the rapidly growing population and is unable to provide an impetus for the necessary economic transformation. These challenges are exacerbated by conflict and the worst drought in recorded history, to support access to healthy diets for its rapidly growing and urbanizing population or to stimulate broad-based economic transformation.”
Sesame grows in Amhara, Tigray, Oromia, Benishangul-Gumuz, Southern, and Gambela states of Ethiopia, but productivity of sesame is very low due to several reasons. Besides, traditional production technology, weeds, insect pests and diseases, climate change impacts, domestic and global market fluctuations and low research and expert knowledge and skill, are among the major challenges for sesame production in Ethiopia, Solomon stated.
As to him, the national productivity of sesame necessitates improving the production techniques, productivity, and developing varieties with higher productivity potential, wider adaptability, application of improved crop protection techniques, and capacity building for experts on agronomic practices will have vital role in providing modern sesame production systems in Ethiopia.
Sesame production in different areas in Ethiopia is carried out by different land holdings. Big investors holding in hundreds of hectares, whereas, small scale farmers own even less than ten hectares of land, where in some areas with pieces of land on different locations, which incur extra production cost, and uneven crop management, he said.
According to Solomon, small scale farming accompanied with retrograde production system led sesame production and productivity very poor. The production is concentrated in Southwestern and northwestern parts of Ethiopia. Sesame production in most areas is carried out under traditional production systems which results in low production and productivity.
Therefore, to increase yield potential and quality of sesame crop and achieve better profit necessitates improving production techniques, application of improved crop protection techniques, development of high yielding widely adapted cultivars with better resistance to pests, development of improved agronomic and management practices and capacity building for experts on sesame crop improvement and post-harvest handling, across the sesame growing areas would play a vital role in providing modern sesame production systems in Ethiopia.
Solomon further elucidated that sesame is one of the oldest oilseed crops cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa and South America and thought to have originated in Africa. Ethiopia ranks among the top six world producers of sesame and linseed. The Ethiopian government has indicated that the oil seeds such as sesame, Niger and Safflower seeds as high priority export crops and ranks the second biggest export earner.
Thus, production growth and quality improvement of oilseeds can substantially contribute to the economic development at national, regional and at family level.
Sesame is the third most important oil crop in Ethiopia and occurs both as cultivated and wild. In Ethiopia, it shows a high phenotypic diversity for number of days to maturity, plant height, pod shape and size, and for seed size and color.
Though Ethiopia is among the top sesame producers in the world, the potential benefit that could be obtained is below the optimum due to various factors like the aforesaid ones and the traditional methods to run the business, Solomon opined.
As learnt from Solomon, sesame grows on a wide range of soils. True, loose, moderately fertile, sandy as well as defined alluvial soils have been very suitable for the production of sesame, and it is quite resistant to moisture stress. Due to its tap roots, the plant is highly resistant to drought and can provide good harvests even when only stored soil water is available.
“Therefore, the oil is broadly exploited in paints, cosmetics, soap manufacturing, perfumes, pharmaceuticals, insecticides, and cooking and bakery products. Sesame oil also contains significant amount of important carbohydrates, fibers and some minerals such as potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium and sodium,” he added.
Sesame seeds are not only used for culinary purposes but also in traditional medicines for their nutritive, preventive and curative properties. The cake produced after the extraction of oil from un-hulled seeds is an excellent protein feed for poultry and ruminants. The oilseed sector in Ethiopia is one of the fastest growing sectors in the country, said Solomon.
The major sesame seed producing regions are situated in the North West and South West Ethiopian in Humera, North Gondar and Wellega. However, a small amount of sesame is currently produced in the Southern, Tigray and Oromia regions. Somali Regional State has also played good role in sesame production and is suitable for sesame production, too.
“Sesame has high agronomic importance as it has the ability to adapt to harsh environments. Hence, in many sesame growing regions the crop is indispensable not only for its economic importance but also for its suitability in such harsh areas. Therefore, developing improved sesame production technology is required to increase yields and establish stability in different growing areas. More productive sesame cultivars that have been adapted by breeding are expected to be the major strategy for increasing yield and establishing stability in Ethiopia,” he added.
The use of improved technologies in general is of paramount importance in solving the prevailing challenges thereby improving production potential as well as quality of sesame.
More productive sesame cultivars that have been adapted by breeding are expected to be the major strategy for increasing yield and establishing stability in Ethiopia, Solomon said.
Development of high yielding potential variety with improved quality traits could be made possible through application of modern breeding techniques, development of improved agronomic and management practices as well the implementation of improved inputs.
He said, “Sesame is indeed a highly adaptable crop that may be used for anything from subsistence to commercial output. Millions of growers and other market participants are employed throughout the oilseed value chain. Reduced sesame productivity, pests and diseases, and limited access to modern technologies are all severe supply-side constraints.”
According to Solomon, if the government, companies, investors, farmers, dealers and other stakeholders could hardly address the aforesaid hurdles strategically, the country may soon lose its competitiveness in the global sesame seed market.
In sum, sesame, the world’s oldest oil crop, has adapted to the tropics and subtropics all across the globe. Ethiopians have produced the crop for both oil and seed for millennia. Sesame oil is high-quality food oil with a distinct flavor and odor, and it is abundant in free fatty acids, and stearic acid containing trace levels of linoleic acid. It is definitely a multipurpose crop that grows both cultivated and wild in Ethiopia, with great variation in cultivated sesame.
Because of the growing awareness of sesame’s nutritional and health advantages, the consumption of sesame seeds and oil has been steadily rising. In Ethiopia, sesame is mainly produced for household food and as a source of cash, as to him. It is predominantly grown by smallholders and medium-to-large commercial farmers under rain-fed conditions.
Sesame production is primarily localized in the lowland areas of the country, where drought and heat stresses are common episodes. The productivity of sesame is low and stagnant in Ethiopia and other major sesame growing regions in sub-Saharan Africa because of many production constraints. The low yield of sesame is attributable to a lack of high-yielding and well-adapted varieties, the prevalence of biotic and abiotic stresses and a lack of modern production technologies such as optimal agronomic managing practices.
BY MENGESHA AMARE
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2023
