Horticultural Crops Research and Development in Ethiopia: Review on Current Status

Abstract

Ethiopia is a country with great variety of climate and soil types that can grow diverse horticultural crops for home consumption and foreign markets. Currently, the majority of the horticultural crops product comes from the smallholder farms. However, their areas of production and their contribution to the country's total agricultural output were not well known. The development and expansion of horticulture sector is constrained with various production and research related problems and does not support efforts to transform the smallholder subsistence irrigated horticultural sector to a more market-oriented to contribute to the new Growth and transformation plan set by the country. The crops are very diverse and it has different constraints in every step along the value chain. Among several constraints, lack of high yielding and high quality cultivars for local market and export, appropriate management techniques, appropriate disease and insect pest control measures, quality seed supply, availability of inputs, lack of proper post-harvest technology, trained manpower and research facilities, lack of marketing and production infrastructure; and lack of seed production and distribution scheme are the major once.  Despite the existing potentials the sector did not contribute as it supposed to be. This is mainly because of the limited resource allocation to research and development including the extension services. Therefore, diagnosis of problems and opportunities of the horticultural crops production in Ethiopia necessitates identifying, prioritizing and well document them at national level for possible recommendations, action research and intervention works. In addition, the existence of many actors and stakeholders in the horticulture value chain desires strong and dedicated institutional set up for successful development of horticulture in the country. Moreover, little or no actions are implemented in creating and strengthening linkages with local and international actors along the value chain of horticultural research and development. This paper summarizes the current horticultural crops research and development status; its achievements and challenges and suggests possible future actions that sustain the development of the sector in the country with special emphasis on fruit, vegetable and root and tuber crops.

Keywords: Horticulture, Root and Tuber, Vegetables, Fruits

DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/9-13-01

Publication date:July 31^st 2019