Cold Chain Expansion, Hybrid Sorghum Drive to Boost Ethiopia's Agricultural Transformation: ATI

Addis Ababa, July 22, 2026 (ENA) — Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) affirmed it has been committed in expanding cold chain infrastructure and promoting hybrid sorghum production as part of a broader effort to reduce post-harvest losses, improve productivity and increase farmers' income.

Speaking to ENA, Chief Executive Officer Mandefro Nigussie said ATI is pursuing a two-pronged strategy that focuses on minimizing losses along the agricultural value chain while increasing the production of strategic crops.

"The losses are significant when you take fruits and vegetables. Grains are better, but still you have post-harvest losses," he said.

To address the challenge, ATI has begun introducing refrigerated transport and storage facilities in major fruit and vegetable producing areas.

"We are establishing cold chains in areas where it is produced. So, in areas where we produce vegetables and fruits, we introduced cold chains. It has a cooling system and zero damage in terms of destruction," Mandefro said.

He explained that conventional trucks used to transport grain are unsuitable for perishable products, making specialized refrigerated vehicles essential.

"For fruits and vegetables, you need special trucks that have controlled temperature and built in cooling systems so that they preserve the fruit or the vegetable without damaging it," he said.

According to the CEO, pilot cold chain interventions launched in Ethiopia's Rift Valley have produced encouraging results and will be expanded to other major production corridors across the country.

Alongside improving post-harvest handling, ATI is also implementing a comprehensive roadmap to transform Ethiopia's sorghum sector by tackling challenges across the entire value chain.

"The first thing done in the country is the roadmap development, the flagship program document development," Mandefro said.

He noted that the roadmap identifies key bottlenecks while clearly assigning responsibilities to institutions involved in seed multiplication, production, processing, marketing and domestic and international trade. The coordinated approach is expected to improve productivity, strengthen food security and enhance farmers' earnings.

Mandefro also highlighted the success of ATI's cluster farming model for sorghum, which demonstrated higher productivity and increased overall production during the previous farming season.

"Last year, we were able to demonstrate that cluster farming using sorghum is highly productive, can give better productivity and total production. We proved that," he said, adding that ATI plans to expand both the cultivated area and the number of participating farmers this season.

A key component of the expansion is the introduction of hybrid sorghum seed, which ATI believes can transform the crop in the same way hybrid maize revolutionized maize production in Ethiopia.

"The hybrid sorghum is like hybrid maize. The hybrid maize is what revolutionized maize productivity and maize production. So, we are going to repeat the same model of change like maize in sorghum," Mandefro said.

The ATI chief emphasized that the combined interventions, reducing post-harvest losses through cold chain systems and increasing yields through hybrid sorghum technology, are expected to strengthen national food security, raise farmers' incomes and expand opportunities for both domestic and export markets for Ethiopian agricultural products.