Addis Ababa, — The development of irrigated rice farms being underway in Ethiopia is bountiful even for the neighboring countries, Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen Tiruneh remarked.
The Deputy Prime Minister remarked that rice development project in Somali region of Ethiopia does not only benefits the population in the region but is also advantageous for the neighboring countries.
It is to be recalled that developing irrigated rice farms was started in Berano district, Shebele Zone of Somali Region in March 2024 at national level.
This year developing irrigated rice farms have been commenced in the region on 3,000 hectares of land as a showcase for national rice farms development program.
Commenting upon the startup of harvesting rice that was planted before several months back, the Deputy Prime Minister commended the Somali Regional Administration for taking up such initiative at national level.
He noted that a number of initiatives have taken in developing irrigated wheat farms during the dry season and Green Legacy Initiative, which developed from smaller projects to huge farmlands have come to fruition, adding that now the nation has been able to engage in full development of wheat production substituting imports.
Development of irrigated rice production on Shebelle River in Somali region is a planned national project aimed at repeating the encouraging achievements registered in irrigated wheat production, the deputy premier added.
He further noted that the project is advantageous not only for the region but also for those in the lowland areas who feed on rice in the adjacent countries.
As the population in Somali Region is mostly pastoral, developing irrigated rice farms will be an eye opening project for the residents in the region, Temesgen underscored.
As the Shebele is a perennial river flowing all year around, the initiative taken in developing irrigated rice farms on the fertile soil in the area indicates the country's commitment to ensuring sustainable development in the sector, he further added.
DPM Temesgen has also mentioned that the government will continue to support the pastoralist population in the region to engage in agriculture development projects to ascertain food self-sufficiency.
The Regional Administrator of Somali Region, Mustefe Mohammed remarked that the irrigated rice development program in the region indicates that it is possible to achieve more successes in the region.
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He added that the regional government is fully committed to developing the irrigated rice production that has started and is planning to extend it to developing on over 40,000 hectares of irrigated rice farms.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister of Agriculture, Girma Amante said that Ethiopia has a vast expanse of land for rice production but unfortunately we are still importing a considerable amount of rice.
He added that up to 2022, Ethiopia was producing only 20 per cent of its rice national consumption but was importing 80 per cent from abroad but since last year; the country has managed to produce 50 percent of national rice consumption within the country.
The Minister said that in two years' time Ethiopia will be able to fully substitute imported rice by producing rice in the country.
He remarked that the irrigated rice production that started in Somali region will be expanded to the regions across the country over time.
