Mendefera — As a result of strong effort of the farmers coupled with abundant rainfall, an encouraging harvest has been collected in the Southern Region. The report was made at an assessment meeting conducted on 14 January in Mendefera.

Mr. Yemane Abay, Director General of Agriculture and Land in the region, said that the harvest, compared to that of last year, has increased by 6%. He also commended the strong effort exerted by farmers until the harvest was collected.

Mr. Yemane went on to say that out of the 159 thousand hectares cultivated, 89% was allocated to crops, while the remaining area was oilseeds.

Mr. Yemane also said that over 500 quintals of improved wheat seeds and 140 quintals of improved corn seeds, products of the Halhale National Agricultural Research Center, have been distributed to farmers and have registered encouraging results. Additionally, 95 thousand chickens have been distributed to farmers.

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According to Mr. Yemane, extensive water and soil conservation activities have been conducted, and the construction of dams in Adetal, Hadida, and Adi-Etket has been finalized.

The participants conducted extensive discussions on the report presented and adopted various recommendations. The recommendations include strengthening efforts to expand small and productive farm plots, as well as ensuring the timely distribution of improved seeds to farmers.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Habteab Tesfatsion, Governor of the region, called for coordinated efforts to upgrade the capacity of agricultural experts and strengthen water and soil conservation activities.