The Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) said it has distributed 140 new crop species during the past nine months of the current Ethiopian Fiscal Year.

Deresse Teshome, Public Relations Directorate Director with Institute  told Walta Information Center that the stated number of crop species is among the 150 that the institute planned to distribute in this budget year.

Cereals, vegetables, fruits, oilseeds, pulses and bio-energy are among the new species distributed among beneficiaries, Deresse said.

The crop varieties distributed to beneficiaries from research centers is said to help boost productivity by up to fourfold, Deresse indicated.

The institute said, of the 863 new species that the institute planned to distribute in the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) period, it has so far distributed 387 species.

Source: Walta