Ethiopia harvested above 218.5 million quintals over the main harvest season according to the Central Statistical Agency. The Ministry of Agriculture had targeted to harvest 205 million quintals of crops based on the projections made by the agency earlier in the year.
The crop yield was scientifically calculated from a sample of 2,273 taken from across the country said Samiya Zekariya, Head of the Agency.
The harvest is the total production of smallholder farmers and represents a growth of 7.4% annual growth in comparison to the same harvest period last year. The farmers were able to farm more than 12.8 million hectares of land to produce the current harvest with an average productivity of 18 quintals per hectare.
The highest contribution to the overall harvest came from cereals and oilseeds with cereals contributing 18% and oilseeds making up 15%. The growth in the production of cereals and oilseeds in comparison to other major food crops is an indication that farmers are being incentivized by market trends and producing higher value crops noted Samiya.The CSA is hopeful that the delay in the spring rains will not affect the smaller harvest season and that crops estimated at 18 million quintals will be harvested from both small holders and commercial farmers during that season. If the projected harvest is met than the annual crop production of the country will reach 237 million quintals.
Source: Capital
