A successful initiative to use summer irrigation for wheat cultivation in the Oromia region of Ethiopia has been successful, resulting in a harvest of more than 68.6 million quintals. These figures were confirmed by representatives of the regional agricultural bureau.

The head of the bureau, Getu Gemchu, together with other government officials visited farmers’ fields in Agarfa district where farmers are adopting groundwater irrigation techniques to grow wheat.

Getu expressed the regional government’s support for exploring different ways of utilising water for agriculture. This is reported by
ENA.

More than 2.8 million hectares have been put under summer irrigated wheat in the region as part of the food security and market development strategy. So far, 68.6 million quintals have been harvested from 1.9 million hectares of land. Getu Gemchu expressed his intention to reach a production of 105 million quintals, given the environmental conditions of the region.

Farmers noted significant improvements in their operations by utilising local water sources and learning irrigation techniques. One farmer noted yields of up to 45 quintals per hectare due to the government’s provision of long-term loans for infrastructure development.

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