Masa Farm Journal (ማሳ)

2022-07-02 15:00:08 Ethiopia Launches Strategy to Boost Coffee Production, Foreign Currency Earnings

Ethiopia has launched a comprehensive Coffee Development Strategy with a view to boosting the production and foreign currency earnings of the nation.

Coffee, which is the key source of livelihood for about 15 million Ethiopians, has been one of the major foreign exchange earning export commodities of the nation.

Ethiopia is also the biggest exporter of coffee in Africa with 95 percent of its organic coffee production.

#Coffee #Strategy #Export

To read more https://bit.ly/3P0pqdA ክፈት / አስተያየት ይስጡ

2022-07-02 11:40:19 Ethiopia's Plan to Cease Wheat Import by 2023 Deemed Unrealistic by the US Department of Agriculture

According to government data, Ethiopia imports approximately 27% of its grain requirements from Ukraine and 15% from Russia. The Ministry of Agriculture, as reported by Precise Consult, expects Ethiopia’s wheat output to increase by 70% in response to supply chain issues caused by the war in Ukraine and drought at home. The country anticipates harvesting 2.4 million tons of wheat this year, up from 1.42 million tons in 2021. After covering an additional 600,000 hectares with wheat, the ministry expects the national deficit to drop to 400,000 tons this year.

#wheat #import

To read more https://bit.ly/3acrRev ክፈት / አስተያየት ይስጡ

2022-07-01 14:02:00 With vast arable lands, why does Africa need to import grain?

Despite having vast amounts of arable land, nutritious indigenous crops and a booming agricultural sector, Africa still imports most of its grain.

The Russian army’s blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports and the ripple effects of Western sanctions against Moscow have raised international food and fuel prices, leaving millions of Africans facing an "unprecedented food emergency" this year, the World Food Programme has said.

#Africa #import #grain

To read more https://bit.ly/3OLNzF2 ክፈት / አስተያየት ይስጡ

2022-07-01 10:01:18 Reducing the amount of spilled milk caused by a toxin (Ethiopia)

Researchers at Michigan State University have won a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development to determine what level of aflatoxin M1 is safe to ingest from milk to prevent unnecessary waste.

Aflatoxins are a group of toxins produced by fungi (Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus) found in corn and tree nuts. Once a human or animal ingests aflatoxin B1, which is a known liver carcinogen, the body transforms the toxin into a metabolite (substance) called aflatoxin M1, or AFM1. AFM1 is secreted out of the body through urine or milk. While there are studies showing the link between aflatoxin B1 and liver cancer, the same studies do not exist for AFM1.

#Diary #Aflatoxin

To read more https://bit.ly/3OyJcx5 ክፈት / አስተያየት ይስጡ

2022-06-30 14:00:59 Govt to Set up Agriculture Mechanization Excellence Center

Ethiopia is set to establish an agricultural mechanization center of excellence to drive its effort to modernize the agriculture sector.

The construction project was a subject of discussion between State Minister of Agriculture Sophia Kassa and Kang Seok Hee, Ambassador to South Korea, the main backer of the project, on Wednesday.

Discussing the need for the center, State Minister Sophia said the agricultural sector is the driving engine of the Ethiopia economy and needs to be supported with modern agricultural mechanization equipment and new Agricultural technologies.

#Mechanization #Korea

To read more: https://bit.ly/3ubynJm ክፈት / አስተያየት ይስጡ

2022-06-30 10:00:09 Ethiopian Exporters Eye China’s Growing Sesame Market

Ethiopian sesame producers and exporters are keen to further penetrate the Chinese market amid growing demand among Chinese consumers.

China has recently been a major destination for Ethiopia’s sesame seed export. In the past decade, the East African nation reportedly shipped about 60 to 70% of its total sesame export to the Chinese market.

“For Ethiopia, the Chinese sesame market is a window to the global market,” said Sisay Asmare, President of Ethiopian Pulses, Oilseeds and Spices Processors-Exporters Association (EPOSPEA), speaking to the Xinhua news agency.

#Oilseed #Export #China

To read more: https://bit.ly/3OVxnRD ክፈት / አስተያየት ይስጡ

2022-06-28 14:00:47 Lowland irrigation uptake in water-rich Ethiopia claim more effort to secure food self sufficiency

Abdi Assefa, a farmer in the Central Gondar zone in Ethiopia’s Amhara State, earns more than one million Birr (about 19,200 USD) from garlic farming. He employs more than 200 youths on his three-hectare farm. Abdi irrigates his farm, especially during the dry season. He uses a generator to pump water to his farm.

“Water is the source of everything for us. However, this important resource on earth is reducing from time to time as supply and demand become unbalanced,” he explains, adding that the world must find all possible measures to preserve water sources for sustainable use.

The income Abdi gets from his farm enables him to cope with the high cost of fuel which is hindering many farmers in this region from practicing irrigation farming yet this is the primary way to survive with the current water scarcity and climate change crisis there.

#Irrigation #farming #nile

To read more https://bit.ly/3OOZlOR ክፈት / አስተያየት ይስጡ

2022-06-28 10:01:01 Fed Seals Costly Fertiliser Deal, Demand Remains Unmet

An Abu Dhabi-based firm has agreed to supply half a million tonnes of urea to Ethiopia following months of negotiations between federal authorities and executives of FertiGlobe.

It was a delicate process for both sides. The authorities had contracted FertiGlobe six months ago to supply Ethiopia with a half million tonnes of fertiliser at 710 dollars a tonne. However, the company terminated its contract claiming rising prices in the global market that jumped to 1,000 dollars in the early weeks of this year.

At the heart of the impending crisis is a combination of ascending prices in the international market and a dwindling foreign currency reserve that is enough to cover less than two months of Ethiopia's import bills. Fertiliser is one of the essential and strategic commodities Ethiopia imports, what may come with the cost.

#fertilizer #import #EABC

To read more https://bit.ly/38McFE5 ክፈት / አስተያየት ይስጡ

2022-06-27 14:00:28 Corporation Earns 600,000 USD from Incense, Natural Resins Exports in ten Months

The Ethiopian Agricultural Works Corporation disclosed that it has generated 600,000 USD from natural resins and incense exports in the past ten months of the current Ethiopian fiscal year.

The corporation, which is providing agricultural inputs and implementing integrated agricultural mechanization services to farmers as well as pastoralists at affordable prices, is enabling the country to earn foreign currency from the sector by supplying forest products such as incense, natural resins and myrrh to local and international markets.

The corporation buys these forest products at its own production site to add value and exports 90 percent of its products to associations and individuals engaged in the sector, it was learned.

#Export #EABC

To read more: https://bit.ly/3OE4zNa ክፈት / አስተያየት ይስጡ

2022-06-27 10:00:40 Price escalations, scarce working capital push Corporation to quadruple its paid up capital

The Ethiopian Agricultural Business Corporation (EABC) is awaiting approval to quadruple its capital to 9.76 billion birr. In second and third phases, the corporation strategized to increase the capital to 12 billion birr and 24 billion birr, respectively.

The corporation is currently forced to handle up to 50 billion birr in business transactions, disproportional to its paid-up capital.

“Following the price escalation of agricultural inputs in the international market, our business portfolio upshot to 50 billion birr, but our capital is very small. We could not take overdraft because the agricultural input prices are highly inflated now. This is affecting our working capital,” said Kifle Woldemariam, CEO of the corporation.

#EABC #government

To read more: https://bit.ly/3xVARfV ክፈት / አስተያየት ይስጡ