News: New bill to modernize fruit, vegetable production

Addis Abeba – The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) is collaborating with the Agricultural Transformation Institution to develop a new bill that will regulate the production, trading, and export of fruits and vegetables.

This legislation is expected to modernize the operations of fruit and vegetable farmers and strengthen the value chain, as stated by Alemayehu Gebreselassie, the MoA’s head of horticulture. According to the most recent survey conducted by the Ethiopian Statistics Service, over 14 million small-scale farmers produced approximately 390,000 quintals of fruits and vegetables last year.

The official also mentioned that the law aims to enhance the competitiveness of fruit and vegetable exporters, who currently face challenges related to low production quality and logistical bottlenecks. Despite the high international demand, Ethiopia currently exports only a limited variety of fruits and vegetables, with Djibouti serving as the primary destination, accounting for more than 70% of total shipments.

In the previous year, these exports generated around $90 million in revenue for the country. After gathering input from stakeholders, the MoA intends to introduce this legislation by the end of the current Ethiopian fiscal year. AS