Ethio- Admas Farm
We grow a variety of fruits and vegetables on our farms including onions, tomatoes,
chilies, lettuce, mango, orange,papaya, etc
Fruit and vegetable production
Fruits and vegetables like mango, orange, papaya, etc production is the other agro business proposed as part of this integrated farm proposal.
Fruits and Vegetables (F&V) is not a new sector in Ethiopia as the production of these crops has been undertaken for decades. The sector comprises large state farms supplying fruits and vegetables to the local market and for exports. There are few private companies involved in the production of vegetables mainly for the European market. In addition, there are numerous small producers growing a small range of vegetables for the local and regional export market. Apart from tropical fruits and few selected vegetables like onions, cabbage and tomatoes, local demand for horticultural produce is minimal. As a result, the horticultural exports compete only in few products (i.e. tropical fruits, tomatoes, onions and cabbage) with domestic supply. On the other hand, there is limited domestic market demand for produce that does not meet the high export quality
standards. In East African countries like Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the domestic vegetable market is much larger which serves as a development base for vegetable exports.
Demand: Fruit and vegetables are not common items in the Ethiopian diet. In particular, the fruit consumption, compared to other African countries, is low. Only one of every 5 Ethiopians eats fruits regularly. On average, the Ethiopian diet consists of 1.3 kg of fruit per person per year while that ranges from 11.9 to
39 kg in the other African countries.
Contrary to fruits, vegetables are more common in the Ethiopian diet. However, the quantity consumed per person is still one of the lowest compared to the other countries even though price per kilogram in Ethiopia is the lowest of all countries. Common available vegetables include onions, peppers, squash, and a cabbage similar to kale.
The Ethiopian size of the domestic market for fruit and vegetables is limited as is also clear from the very low consumption data. Export of fruit and vegetables can be categorized into three types. First, export of relatively high value perishable produce to Europe. Second, the export of low value produce cultivated predominantly in Eastern Ethiopia around Dire Dawa, to regional markets (mostly Djibouti) and, third, some processed and fresh produce to Middle East countries 8.
Risks related to fruits and vegetable productions are associated with diseases and the Federal Plant Quarantine and Phytosanitary Services in place to render the required control services.
Management concept behind the proposed integrated farm
The proposed integrated project will be built on the principle of sustainable agriculture, which will generate employment for the local people including women and will be based on the following principles:
Integrated
the activities within the farm will not be restricted to one
single crop or activity, but will be based on agriculture‐allied system of operations, Therefore, the activites will include agricultural horticulture, fishery and livestock. One activity of the farm will feed to other. For example, cultivation of fodder as an enterprise will feed to the dairy or beef animals in the farm, the dung of the animals feed to vermin composition production which feeds to cultivation of crops.
Sustainable
The farm is designed in such a way that three areas of sustainability will be achieved.
o The first one being the commercial sustainability, i.e. the farm should earn enough profits to manage its own operations and future investments.
o The second one being the environmental sustainability, wherein the farm will work towards using organic farming practices which does not affect environment.
o The third area being the institutional sustainability, i.e. the farm will work with community organisations so that these institutions can carry forward the activities over a long period of time.
Build the capacity of the local farming community
The proposed farm management will work on outsourcing eligible farm activities to the local community so that farm products eventually be managed by the community and to this effect the Self Help Groups (or any other farmers’ association such as Credit and Saving Groups, Community Based Organizations, etc) will be involved very closely in governance and operations of their own affairs to maximize productions per involved households due to tailor made technical assistance they will b e provided from the proposed farm.
Environment Impact Assessment
As the farm is going to produce organic fish, fruit & vegetable, meat and improved seed there is limited or no use of chemicals and fertilizers. The by products of the animal husbandry such as manure, bone mill, blood, etc are applied to the soil to increase its fertility. Therefore implementation of the project will not have any negative effect on the environment, human and animals.
