BY KASSAHUN CHANIE
Ethiopia is working to double its wheat surplus as the country aims to be on top among largest wheat producers in Africa, says the country’s agriculture ministry.
Ethiopia, the continent's third-largest producer of wheat at the moment, will efficiently meet its domestic needs and export its produce to other markets as it continues to improve its irrigation infrastructure, according to Agriculture Minister Girma Amente, (PhD).
Ethiopia is producing wheat at extremely large scale, Girma told EBC World. This is happening because the government has focused on increasing wheat production and productivity in recent years to ensure food self-sufficiency for the domestic population and export to the regional community.
The minister specifically pointed out that during the winter of the previous fiscal year (2022/23), wheat covered 1.3 million hectares of land, enabling the government to collect almost 47 million quintals of produced wheat.
“At this point, we intend to use wheat cluster farming to cover roughly three million hectares. This suggests that the government has focused appropriately on advancing the industry to an extremely high degree. Since this plan calls for the production of over 30 quintals of wheat in the winter and over 40 quintals of wheat on average during the summer in the country.”
Minister of Agriculture Grima Amente (PhD) says that the next time you enjoy a slice, remember the complex network of circumstances that led to its arrival at everyone’s table.
“The Ministry has been working nonstop to utilize a wide range of technologies to modernize Ethiopia's agricultural system and boost output. As a result, the country is currently able to sell to its bordering regions. Even while winter precipitation may not be as abundant as it once was, we can still make up for it in the summer by working together, doubling down on our efforts, and keeping an eye on the industry. I can tell you without any exaggeration that, when totaling the wheat produced in the winter and summer, Ethiopia is capable of ranking first in Africa.”