ETHIOPIA – The Ministry of Agriculture in Ethiopia has launched a 4-year plan to boost its annual poultry and dairy production in an effort to make products affordable to every household.
The Ministry has set a target to increase milk production from 5.8 billion litres recorded in 2021 to 10.3 billion litres per year after four years.
According to the Ministry, the current production is too low to meet the demand given that the country’s population is rapidly increasing.
The anticipated improvement will be achieved through reorganizing and strengthening institutions that support the dairy sector and creating an environment that allows for private sector participation.
To help achieve the goal, the government has already put in place some measures to improve dairy output,
These include the provision of inputs such as feed supply and veterinary services and training of farmers especially smallholders who dominate the dairy production market.
The State Minister of Agriculture in Ethiopia, Fikru Regassa, who is also in charge of animal resources development reported that chicken production is anticipated to increase from the current annual 90,000 tonnes to 240,000 tonnes in four years.
This target follows a report by the Taylor and Francis group of academic publishing in their 2018 census that the poultry population in Ethiopia was estimated to be 42 million.
The boost in the poultry sector is anticipated to improve the economy of the country as the sector provides an important means of livelihood and poverty alleviation for Ethiopians.
Fikru Regassa also indicated that the country plans to increase its annual egg production from 3.2 billion to 9.1 billion in a 4-year period.
According to the 2017 report from the Taylor and Francis group, the entire poultry population comprises 0.55% hybrid poultry, 2.34% exotic poultry and 96.61% indigenous poultry with a typical exotic layer being able to produce over 200 eggs per annum per hen.
Regassa further announced the country’s plans to increase its annual honey production from the current 147,000 tonnes reported to 296,000 tonnes over the next four years.
The report of the Ministry also shows that villages across the country have been identified to produce milk, egg, and honey in volume and quality.
This is part of the recently launched national plan of ‘Yelemat Turufat’, which ambitiously targeted to make affordable and accessible animal products at every household level in Ethiopia within four years.
For all the latest food industry news from Africa and the World, subscribe to our NEWSLETTER, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
