ADDIS ABABA – The national soil conservation and watershed management works have preserved over 28 million hectares of land from degradation, the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) announced.
Agriculture State Minister Eyasu Elias (Prof.) told The Ethiopian Herald that over 28 million hectares of land have been kept from erosion through annual efforts to conserve the environment and natural resources.
The soil conservation, watershed management, and reforestation programs are carried out by the people’s active participation and help the country to cover degraded lands with a variety of plant species. The state minister also mentioned that every year, around 20 to 25 million Ethiopians come out for 30 to 40 days to work on soil protection and watershed development. As a result, more than 2 to 2.5 million hectares of soil and water conservation work have been completed annually. Hence, the annual soil conservation and watershed management efforts are yielding results across the country, particularly in the east and west parts of Hararghe, in terms of mitigating climate change and food self-sufficiency.
With a view to promoting the success in environmental preservation and mitigation worldwide, the ministry is working tirelessly to publish the preservation of over 28 million hectares of land from degradation it in scholarly international journals and educate the public about climate change resilience.
“Besides, the country is also making significant efforts to remediate acidic soil to enhance soil fertility, prevent erosion, and boost output. Farmers are especially being urged to use a variety of techniques, such as preparing natural fertilizers, rotating their crops, and keeping some living crops and plants on the land with the aim of boosting soil fertility and avoiding acidification.”
Eyasu remembered that climate change is causing variations in monsoons in the world, recurrent droughts, decreased water levels, and disruptions to natural equilibrium. As a result, Ethiopia’s annual soil preservation and watershed projects play an important part in its efforts to cope with the negative impacts of climate change.
In addition to works in soil conservation and watershed management, small-scale irrigation development projects, and the annual building of expansive irrigation networks and optimizing irrigation operations are also underway. This not only helps the country to mitigate climate change, but it also makes progress in developing summer irrigation.
Due to the consolidated efforts of different stakeholders, Ethiopia is now able to produce and replace wheat that was previously imported for over one billion USD. Furthermore, large-scale fruit production has become conceivable, and local beer barley imports have been substituted. Furthermore, the country intends to replace imported rice with domestic production through irrigation expansion, improved soil and water conservation, and other measures, he elaborated.
BY EPHREM ANDARGACHEW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 29 JUNE 2024
