Being one of the country’s major economic pillars, the agriculture sector has registered remarkable progress during the past months of this fiscal year. Minister of Agriculture Girma Amente (PhD) presented the nine-month plan implementation report of his Ministry and the subordinate institutions to the Standing Committee on Agriculture Affairs of the House of Representatives. Among the issues presented by the Minister in his report were supply of fertilizer, summer irrigated wheat cultivation, ‘Yelemat Tirufat’ and green legacy.
According to his explanation, in the last nine months, 16.5 million quintals of fertilizer have arrived at the port of Djibouti; of this, 11.7 million quintals were transported to the center.
In addition, the Minister indicated that 50 million one-day-old chicks were planned to be distributed throughout the country and 57 million were distributed above plan set and the ‘Yelemat Tirufat’ program contributed to this success.
On the other hand, in the green legacy program for 2024, more than 7.3 million seedlings are prepared in 115,000 nurseries surpassing the plan set, according to Ethiopian Forestry Development. Nurturing the seedlings is over by now and preparation of transplanting areas is underway. Out of the seedlings nurtured, 3.2 billion are prepared for forestry development.
The standing committee on its part announced that while the production in the sector is maintained, the adjustment in procurement system applied to solve the problem of soil fertilizer supply witnessed in 2023 is encouraging. At the same time, Solomon Lale, Chairman of the Standing Committee said; in the last nine months, the Ministry and the subordinate institutions have carried out many effective and promising works.
The chairman mentioned that the Ministry is doubling its irrigated wheat cultivation work every year, indicating that it has achieved real results in the sector. He pointed out that there is still a lack of supply and rising prices of wheat and wheat products in urban areas. The Minister should solve the problem of mismatch between supply and demand coordinating with other relevant institutions, he stressed.
At the same time, the standing committee pointed out that in the field observation they made, they were able to observe that there are areas where no soil fertilizer has been applied beyond the purchase; For example, they mentioned that the distribution is not being carried out properly in the Amhara region, North Shewa and Gondar zones as well as in central Ethiopia and some areas. Therefore, the standing committee stressed that the Ministry of Agriculture should work on distribution.
They pointed out that the process of providing the purchased soil fertilizer in time and in sufficient quantity to the farmers and distributing it in a fair manner should be seen and the effectiveness and accessibility of the marketing system developed to avoid theft and illegality should be checked.
In addition, the standing committee said that due to various problems with the imported fertilizer, they were confirmed during the field observation that there is soil fertilizer dumped in warehouses in some unions and cooperatives; and pointed out that the Ministry should do concrete work in solving this problem and distributing it to the farmers as soon as possible.
The chairman pointed out that during the field observation, the standing committee has confirmed that there is a better rice preparation than last year in both autumn and summer irrigated wheat cultivation. He said that work should be focused on creating awareness so that the farmers can produce the best seeds sufficiently, and for the regions to prepare enough land for this.
As stated by the Chairman of the Standing Committee, the Ministry is expected to strengthen the reforms in Yelemat Tirufat, green legacy, summer irrigated wheat, vegetables and fruits and other fields. In these development fields, urgent solutions should be given by looking at gaps in soil fertilization and distribution of best seeds. Moreover, he explained that the standing committee’s field observation of Addis Ababa city and the cities of the Oromia region revealed that the urban agriculture extension package, which was started in the city, was not implemented, because of structural problems, lack of projects, lack of logistics and expertise. Therefore, in solving these problems, the Ministry should act as its next homework.
The Chairman emphasized that as encouraging results have been achieved in the cultivation of irrigated wheat, the same attention should be given to increasing the production of coffee. In order to help with this, he pointed out that there is a need to increase productivity by combining the best practices obtained from the regions and giving special attention to coffee cultivation. In order to better facilitate the trading system of coffee, which is one of the products that earns foreign exchange, it is necessary to work closely with the relevant stakeholders to bring about a better change.
On the other hand, he pointed out that there is a need to create awareness by introducing the technologies prepared for the sector to the emerging regions to enjoy the promising work done in connection with the food crop self-sufficiency campaign and ensuring food security.
“Regarding acidic soil, encouraging initiatives have been taken by the Ministry, but there is a need to create awareness so that the states can take ownership of it,” he said. He also stated that the work being done by the Ministry to treat acidic soils should be supported by the states.
The Minister of Agriculture explained that, by fixing the procurement system for this year’s season, 20 billion Birr was saved by purchasing soil fertilizer early. In doing so, the problem of supply of soil fertilizer witnessed in the 2023 crop season is solved. In the process so far, 16.5 million quintals of soil fertilizer has arrived at the port of Djibouti and compared to the same period last year, great improvements have been seen. Of the 11.7 million quintals of soil fertilizer imported into the country, 6.5 million quintals have been distributed to the farmers.
He pointed out that they have done many effective works in the nine months to achieve the goal of the year. “We will work to ensure Ethiopia’s food security by strengthening and focusing on the work we have started on increasing production and productivity by expanding model farmers,” he said. In addition, effective works have been done in the fiscal year to produce more seeds and make the best seeds available to the farmers. He also said that they will support the agricultural mechanization centers to be completed and put into operation.
In connection with this, regarding the distribution problem raised by the standing committee, he pointed out that the drivers are trying to overcome the security problem in the Amhara region and some areas to deliver fertilizer to the farmers despite the difficult conditions. At the same time, illegal activities are being faced during distribution and appropriate measures will be taken against those who carry out the activities.
At the same time, the work done to increase the production and productivity of coffee and tea has achieved encouraging results. In the horticulture sector, the work done to stabilize the market by increasing the production of vegetables and fruits has achieved results, he mentioned.
He further said that during the last harvest season, 17.5 million hectares of land was plowed and 506 million quintals were harvested. The Ministry will take the questions and recommendations raised by the standing committee and focus on remedial measures with the subordinate institutions, he confirmed.
By the same token, the Ministry has made possible price changes to occur, especially on vegetables and fruits, through its activities to increase production and productivity. There was a reduction in the price of chicken and eggs and they will work to increase the production and productivity of coffee and other crops by expanding the experiences on wheat and Yelemat Tirufat, he underlined.
On her part, State Minister of Agriculture, Sofia Kassa (PhD), recalled that 16.5 million quintals of fertilizer entered Djibouti during the current production season surpassing the last year’s same time performance which was 5.6 million quintals. She also stated that 11.7 million quintals of fertilizer have been transported from Djibouti to the country so far and 6.5 million quintals have been distributed as of May 13, 2024.
In this regard, she acknowledged the Standing Committee’s comment that there may be limitations associated with distribution. However, she said that she does not believe that there is any area where no fertilizer has been distributed. Even so, she explained that the Ministry will work hard to streamline the distribution.
BY BACHA ZEWDIE
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 24 MAY 2024
