Addis Ababa: The achievements, being witnessed in Ethiopia’s wheat farming development, demonstrates the transformation of agriculture sector and entering a new phase, Minister of Agriculture, Girma Amente remarked
Agriculture Minister Girma Amente and heads regional agriculture bureau visited the development of wheat cluster farming activities being underway on 1,800 hectares clusters of land in Arsi Zone, Oromia region.
On the occasion, the Minister said that Ethiopia’s wheat development endeavors, which have been registering impressive productivity, are not only changing the nation but also signaling the entry of the agriculture sector into a new era of the modern system.
Several modern farming system including cluster farming, mechanized farming and supply of agricultural inputs have been successfully implemented in the process of the nation’s wheat farming activities, he noted.
Ethiopia has currently been able to harvest 36 quintals of wheat per hectare in average, which is the average production ra
te of wheat at the international level, the minister pointed out.
He added that over 4 million hectares of land has currently been covered with wheat seeds across Ethiopia out of which 70 percent is cultivated through cluster farming system.
Ethiopia’s successful move in wheat development has enabled the country export wheat abroad that has made the country receive attention in Africa, he explained, adding that Ethiopia has started a journey of freeing the agriculture sector from dependency of rain and able to produce three times a year.
He stressed that technology driven agricultural mechanization will continue to be strengthened to speed up the transformation of agriculture into higher level of agricultural system, modernized agriculture.
The minister pointed out that about 20 percent of Ethiopia’s farming system is now carried out through mechanization, assuring the commitment of the government to intensify mechanization with a view to fully transform the system and abandon backward ploughing system.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency