Oromia Aspires to Cultivate Wheat on 607,000 Ha. of Land through Irrigation in Dry Season

Addis Ababa, December, 03,2021 (ENA) The Oromia regional state is striving to cultivate wheat on more than 600,000 hectares of land through irrigation during this dry season.

Oromia Chief Administrator, Shimelis Abdisa visited today irrigation based wheat farming in the region.

During the visit, he said the regional state has been recently giving attention to wheat cluster farming to enhance productivity and production.

Accordingly, the region plans to develop wheat over 600,000 hectares of land through irrigation, the chief administrator stated, adding that so far 82,000 hectares have been covered by adapting  a cluster farming system.

Encouraged by the wheat farming carried out in the region on 7,000 hectares over the past three years, it is now working to cover 607,000 hectares of land in two rounds before July, 2022, Shimelis elaborated.

The regional state has been providing the necessary support for farmers engaged in cluster farming, including agricultural inputs, fertilizers and pumps, among others.  

Moreover, the chief administrator stated that efforts have been intensified to expand irrigation development and address the economic pressures caused by the conflict in the country and to ensure food security.

Cluster farming has been contributing to bring farmers together and work in collaboration to  produce more wheat, it was learned.

Farmers have been highly motivated to engage in the sector, he said, adding that the region is committed to scale up cluster farming and ensure adequate supply of modern agricultural inputs.

Ethiopia has been aggressively working to replace wheat imports with local production prioritizing irrigation farming.