You don’t need an excuse to eat avocado every day. Avocado has been proven to have many health benefits. This is why avocado consumption around the world has been on a steady rise as well as its price.
Avocado Production in Ethiopia
Although avocado has been produced in Ethiopia for a relatively short time, it has quickly expanded in recent years. Avocado was introduced to Ethiopia in 1938 by private orchard owners in Hirna, east of Ethiopia and Wondo Genet, south west of Ethiopia. Since then, avocado growing has spread to other parts of the country. For instance, Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JRC) planted the first avocado orchard in southwestern Ethiopia in 1969 with seedlings from Wondo Genet and Bishoftu.
Consumption of Ethiopian avocado from 2017 to 2019 was too low to be recorded. Here is the export volume of avocados from Ethiopia between 2011 and 2020:
Avocado is the most promising fruit crops in production in Ethiopia. According to figures from the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA) Agricultural Survey, 17% of the total acreage of fruit crops is under avocados. Avocado is the second most widely produced fruit in Ethiopia after banana.
Here is the estimated area under avocado production in Ethiopia between 2009 and 2016:
- 5,694 hectares in 2009
- 7,212 hectares in 2010
- 11,000 hectares in 2013
- 14,000 hectares in 2014
- 14,000 hectares in 2015
- 18,000 hectares in 2016
Here is the total volume of avocado production in Ethiopia between 2009 and 2016:
- 37,650.9 tons in 2009
- 57,299 tons in 2010
- 18,000 tons in 2013
- 54,000 tons in 2014
- 54,000 tons in 2015
- 65,000 tons in 2016
As of 2020, 84,793.7 tons of avocado was produced on an estimated area of 19,758.8 hectares.
Avocado Growing Areas in Ethiopia
Although avocados do well in different areas, the south western part of Ethiopia, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNP), is the key production belt. The other major avocado producing regions are Oromia and Amhara. Avocado growing is mainly concentrated in the following areas:
- Wolayta Zone
- Sidama Zone
- Jimma Zone
- East Shewa Zone
- West Gojjam Zone
- East Hararghe Zone
One of the biggest avocado production ventures in Ethiopia is a project dubbed Smallholder Horticulture Project (SHP). SHP, which is supported by Ethiopia’s Ministry of Agriculture, USAID and Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation (MASHAV) is giving avocado farmers a chance to produce for export.
The Hass avocado project is in five districts spread across the four regions of Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and SNNP. So far 66 smallholder farmers have grown and exported 45 tons of avocados in the last four years. The joint project has managed to increase the number of smallholder farmers who are growing Hass avocado to around 2,600.
In 2021, farmers in nine agricultural clusters in Amhara region cultivated 200 hectares of Hass avocado. The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) says out of the 447 farmers in West Gojjam Zone, 156 of them shipped nearly 160 tons to markets abroad.
Another big avocado production project in Ethiopia is run by a foreign NGO in partnership with MASHAV. They established a two hectare avocado orchard in 2016 at Kallamino Farm in Tigray Region.
Avocado Production in Oromia
In 2021, farmers in the Oromia Region exported 16 tons of avocado to foreign markets.
The vast majority of Ethiopian avocado farmers work individually but there has been a push by the government of Ethiopia for them to form small co-operatives known as agricultural commercialization clusters. The main reason why ATA is encouraging more farmers to do cluster farming is for them to acquire Global G.A.P certification so as to gain from the export of their produce.