Although the yield of citrus in Eritrea is meritorious, the post-harvest management of products is not efficient. As a result a significant amount is lost during the post-harvest and marketing period. One of the ways to mitigate this problem is value addition to the products, and the MoA is working in collaboration with the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on value addition of citrus.
The plantation of citrus fruits was introduced to Eritrea at the beginning of the 20th century with the plantation of rotondo and ovale orange varieties at small farms around Filfil, Elabered and the Durfo valley near Asmara. Subsequently other varieties were imported from Italy and planted in areas like Elabered and Mai Ayni. Sweet orange varieties are said to have been introduced to Anseba and Southern regions in the 1940's by an Italian farmer named Denadai.
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