Addis Ababa, 21 may 2015 (WIC) – The Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research said that Ethiopia has huge potential for high quality apple cultivation in medium mild climatic environment.
At a field visit held Saturday at Jeldu Test Centre Institute Director General Dr. Fantahun Mengistu said that apple is well-known in the world and has enormous healthy and economic significance in addition to holding the first place in the contribution of ensuring food security. The government incorporates a strategy on adapting highland fruits in the country to maximize the benefit of the people for local consumption and to increase foreign currency from exporting high yields, he added.
Dr. Fantahun also said that Holata Agricultural Research Centre undertakes value added crops to improve the livelihood of the farmers and to increase the income of the growers. Currently, apple and other highland fruits are under experimentation in some parts of the country. While the temperature here in Jeldu is very conducive for highland fruits, good quality apple is being produced in different areas of the country, he said.
According to him, the Institute instantly works on providing training to impart knowledge for farmers on adapting the crops in suitable environment to ensure high apple productivity in the country. “If we develop our production through distributing quality seed variety and handling skilled human power, we will terminate importing apple yields after some years,” he added.
Dr. Fantahun also said: “Our further direction is to strengthen the production of apple at all potential areas of the country. We will not face challenges of market access, if we are able to produce quality apple we can substitute what we import. “(Ethiopian AGRi Research)