HortiGreen

🌱 Strengthening Ethiopia's Seed Sector: Key Takeaways from the National Discussion Forum 🌱

On March 21-22, 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), in collaboration with the Ethiopian Seed Partnership (ESP), hosted a national forum in Adama to discuss seed production planning, performance, and sector coordination.

Performance Transformation Coordination Dialogue

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Kenya: Avocado demand creates business opportunities
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Demand for avocados has soared globally in recent years as consumers become aware of their health benefits. Kenya is now Africa’s largest producer of avocados exporting about 80,000 tons annually. The country ships produce to Europe, the Middle East and also trades with other African countries including Egypt and South Africa.
Farmers in Kenya are starting to shift from traditionally grown maize to avocados because of their better prices and yields. Small-scale farmers are shifting to avocados because of poor maize sales and changing weather patterns. Also, these farmers are able to harvest the crop continuously for eight months.
The country has also ventured into the Asian market in August this year, becoming the first African country to export fresh avocados to China. Kenya offers a favorable climate to grow avocados with many farmers investing in the Hass variety for export which tolerates different rainfall conditions and diseases. The variety is also easy to propagate.
Source: tvpworld.com

Ethiopia: Trade Ministry Pulls ECX into Contract Farming
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A new directive issued by officials at the Ministry of Trade & Regional Integration instructs that all cash crops produced under-investment or contract farming schemes go through the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) for weighing. Investors engaged in contract farming are compelled to weigh their cash crops at the Exchange before having them registered by the Trade Ministry and made ready for market. They retain the privilege to sell their commodities on the ECX trading floor. The ECX is mandated to validate the weight of oilseeds and cereals produced through the two schemes, conduct measurements while the commodities are still loaded on trucks, and provide the information to the Ministry. A couple of months ago, Trade officials added six commodities under the contract farming scheme, including niger seeds, groundnut, and chickpeas.