Agro Industry in the Making
ዘይተበከለ (ኦርጋኒክ) ፍሩታታት ኣብ ዕዳጋ ኣስመራ። ኣራንቺ፥ ማንጉስ (ማንጎ) ፓፓያ፥ ዘይቱን፥ ኩኽ፥ ቱፋሕ፥ በናና፥ ኣቮካዶ፥ ናርገ ከምኡውን በለስ።
By: Berhane Woldu
You see people on a sunny day out one their farm, proudly showing off row after row of blossoming orange trees, separated by dandelion-dotted shrubs. Eritrea, has a very healthy climate: warm temperature in the lowlands & Mediterranean climate in the highlands, gives it a has high agricultural potential and rapidly developing small scale industrial infrastructure.
Eritreans, love to farm. Love alone won't make a difference though, without intervention. To achieve food sufficiency, the government made the agriculture sector a priority. Inorder to modernize agriculture and its products, the Government opened the Hamelmalo College of Agriculture. The college, is the main source of agricultural experts. It was incepted, in 2005. Since its formation, the collage has had thirteen graduations & a total of 5,145 graduates. With some graduates going overseas, for further education.
These 5,145 college graduates, have been the main drivers of changes in the agricultural sector. The Ministry of Agriculture recently stated, that farming has taken a new turn in Eritrea. The traditional farming is being replaced, by modernized farming. From small scale farming to large scale farms, have expanded tremendously. Vegetable and fruits farming have swelled & the number of farmers have increased, seven fold. Due to the increase in the number of farmers, the output of vegetables and fruits have grown double fold. To promote the Vegetable and fruit farming sector and increase output, the Ministry of Agriculture is introducing natural compost fertilizers and selected seeds; that resist pesticides and drought with high volume of output. In-addition to supporting the farming sector, the Ministry has trained over 100,000 farmers and 5,000 experts. To secure water, the Government has built several dams of different sizes.
Understanding the value and demand for water in all developmental projects; such as agriculture, mining, the manufacturing industry and housing projects, the Government built an aggregate 785 dams. Additional 200 small size dams that hold under ten thousand cubic meters of water, are accommodating herders and cattle ranchers. In Eritrea, there are reserved areas for grazing animals for water supply and veterinary clinics. Today, 85% of the Eritrean population drinks clean water.
One out of the many modern farms that are presently at work is in Gash Barka region, is known as Gerset. Gash Barka, is one of the six administrative regions of Eritrea. Its size is 34,500 sq. Km., compromising 160,347 households. The livelihood of most of the population, is based on farming and pastoral activities. Presently 250,000 hectars of land is cultivated, that produces 1.2 to 1.8 million tons of cereals. Vegetables and fruits are produced on 12,000 hectars and 4,000 hectars, have been reserved for grazing animals. There are 178 small and 17 large dams, that hold ample amount of water for animal and farming. Gerset is the largest farming site in the Gash Barka region that started growing different kind of fruits and vegetables, 15 years ago. Most of the farmers were trained in nurseries locally and some studied horticulture at universities, out of the country. The farm employs 2,000 local people, in the pruning seasons and for harvest. Gerset tomatoes, are one of Eritrea’s most successful export products. Hoping to in future compete, as one of the biggest tomatoe exporters in the Horn. 1/3 of Eritrea’s crop production or about 1.2M tones will go abroad, with neighboring countries taking 57% of the total product. Eritrea’s entire farm sector, from cereals to meat production is surging ahead. Last year, agro-food imports were insignificant compared to earlier years; that were worth 1 billion Nakfa. A total of 77.5% decrease, since 1994. The agro-industry of Eritrea has shown a 31% increase, since 2002.
Agriculture, is probably the biggest single beneficiary in Eritrea’s membership of the many African Community orgs. Eritrea joined early, the Community of Sahel-Saharian States (CEN-SAD), the Common Market for Eastern & Southern Africa (COMESA) and many other entities. Farmers were in for a happy surprise, when money started rolling in. The industry received a bountiful, of Government assistance. Thanks to those interventions, farmers’ incomes have on average tripled since. Bigger farmers, have modernized and have become more efficient. Over the past ten years, Eritrea has doubled its poultry production and is becoming one of Africa’s leading producer of soft fruits.
In Eritrea, the small farming community has favorable social-security system; as well as some of the tax advantages they enjoy. The government has a program called Integrated Family Farming, whereby the farm households get material support. The rural population, makes up 95% of the total. The small farmers are building a strong coalition. Eritrea's farmers most immediate worry, is about increasing output and to develop export markets.
I for one am optimistic for Eritrea, because of the big pool of university graduates coming out and the consequent betterment of the quality of life that I'm seeing. 70% of Eritreans have gained, from country’s recent agro transformation. Whenever Eritrea was enjoying a peaceful & prosperous period, it soon seemed to come to a brutal end; often through invasions and foreign intervention. Since 1991, it had achieved unprecedented levels of income and quality of life that was interrupted by the TPLF and their sponsors. Eritrea, is prospering once again! It has also gained an important diplomatic role, in East Africa and the Gulf.
All long term projection shows, that Eritrea will continue to grow faster. In an optimistic assessment of “
Eritrea’s Golden Age” Economists predict that Eritrea’s GDP will grow by an average 7.5%/year, between 2021 and 2030. Optimists are keeping their fingers crossed, that the rising income of eritreans and betterment of the quality of life will bring back some of the Eritrean diaspora.
_________________________
Adding Value to Citrus Fruits in Eritrea (By Habtom Tesfamichael)
https://shabait.com/2021/07/21/adding-v ... n-eritrea/
_______________
High-School Students Summer Greening Programme is in full swing, these days. In the Central Region alone, over 7.4 K students are carrying out seed-planting and terracing work in 37 sub-stations. The month-long programme will continue, until mid-August next month.
Yemane G. Meskel: @hawelti
ሰሙናዊ መደባት ምግራብ ሃገራዊ ኮንፈደረሽን ሰራሕተኛታት ኤርትራ ይቕጽል፡፡ ሓሙስ 22 ሓምለ 2021 ኣብ ከባቢ በለዛ፡፡
Abraham: @AbrahamNCEW
Ambassador to the State of Eritrea 
