Dagne Dhaba Agricultural Products Exporter has announced that it has expanded to the Gurage Zone in Central Ethiopia region. The firm’s new farm, located in this zone, intends to grow one million orange seedlings. The company has already had success on its farms in the Welayta Zone in South Ethiopia region, situated on the western bank of the Bilate River and the northeastern border of Abaya Lake, for the past three years.
Over the past year and a half, Dagne Dhaba has been working on the newly acquired property in the Gurage Zone. Tasks performed included cleaning and building roads, as well as planting and other various activities.
During the previous dry season, orange, lemon, and mandarin trees were planted on 200 hectares of land. Additionally, vegetables, beans, and other grain products were grown using an irrigation scheme. The company is currently growing maize on 2,000 hectares for the local and export markets, along with hybrid maize seeds that will be given to farmers.
The aim is to produce one million citrus trees at the farm located in Enemor and Cheha woredas in the coming year. Currently, citrus seedlings are being raised to plant on approximately 700 hectares. The goal is to eventually expand the plantation to one million new trees. In addition to expanding the international market, the main target is to produce ample oranges for the local market, which currently relies on imports.
Ethiopia’s climate is conducive to producing high-quality fruits that meet international standards. This is why the decision was made to cultivate high-value fruits on the company’s farms. The new farm, located around 190 km west of Addis Ababa on the eastern bank of the Gilgel Gibe River, is strategically positioned and easily accessible from key market places, including neighboring nations.
With over 4,000 hectares under cultivation, the farm has plans to expand to 10,000 hectares in the near future. Experts predict that the increased orange production will have a significant impact on the market, which also imports oranges due to relatively low domestic production.
Meanwhile, the company is hesitant to disclose the total amount it spent at the farm. Billions of birr were allocated to various tasks, including the construction of over 50 km of internal access roads, undergrowth trimming, drip irrigation installation, and daily machinery allocation.
“Our machines require approximately 6,000 liters of fuel for daily operations,” clarified Dagne.
According to him, banking firms do not provide loans for his venture.
The investor stated that a main challenge faced by the venture is a shortage of motivated staff.
“We have more than 1,000 employees, but the actual demand exceeds three times our current capacity,” the investor asserted.
Currently, the farm in the Abaya and Bilate regions covers approximately 2,500 hectares of land.
The farm is now home to one million avocado trees, 1.5 million banana plants, 500,000 papaya trees, 30,000 orange trees, and other crops such as pomegranate.
“We provided one million improved banana seedlings to farmers in various areas last year,” the proprietor stated.
Apart from a trial period for supplying avocado products to the European market, the company’s fruits now dominate the local market.
Usman Surur, Head of the Bureau of Agriculture and the Coordinator of the Agriculture and Rural Development Cluster in the Central Ethiopia region, commended the company’s initiative as an exemplary model for other investors to follow in the agriculture sector towards national prosperity.
“Despite only having the land for a short time, the farm has produced a range of agricultural products, including industrial inputs, in less than a year,” he stated.
Usman said, “That is why we handed over this land to the investor,” referring to the investor’s success in Bilate and Abaya.
According to him, the investor played a key role in providing banana seedlings to farmers at a low cost. “Farmers in our region and others will have a great opportunity to obtain improved fruit seedlings through this investment,” he continued.
To attract more workers to the farm, he mentioned that his administration will organize awareness-raising events in the region.
