Ministry planning to import 23mln Q fertilizers for next growing season

Addis Ababa, October 20, 2023 (FBC) – Ministry of Agriculture stated that the country is making significant undertakings in cluster farming so far and needs to do more on agricultural mechanization in the future.

During his presser, Girma Amente, Agriculture Minister, said the seasonal cultivations are going well in Ethiopia so far.

The country was able to cover 17.5 million hectares of land with seeds of different crops in the past Meher growing season, a little bit over the projected 17.4 target.

He said, out of the total cultivation, 8.6 million hectares of land was cultivated in cluster farming.

Some 2.4 million hectares of land was planned to be cultivated during the Belg season and able to attain more than 2.7 hectares, according to the Minister.

However, half of the cluster farms used mechanized farming, Girm asserted while stressing the need to bolster mechanization in the sector, in that regard.

The ministry is planning to import 23 million quintals of soil fertilizers for Ethiopian year 2016/17 grwowing seasons, he said, noting that it purchased over 13 million quintals of the fertilizer last month.