Ethiopia: The Ministry of Agriculture strives to edible oil import substitution

ADDIS ABABA -The Ministry of Agriculture said that it has been working on increasing oilseeds production to enable the nation cut importing edible oil through supplying local factories with required inputs. Agriculture State Minister Melese Mekonnen (PhD) told The Ethiopian Herald that Ethiopia has been focusing on increasing oilseed production to substitute edible oil locally. The sector is one of the government's priority areas in the ten years' flagship programs in the agriculture sector, he indicated. The objective is to produce inputs for local oil factories thereby cutting edible oil imports, Melese expressed. According to the State Minister, factories that produce cooking oil have been expanded in the country. Therefore, he said, the government has been working focusing on producing grass pea, sunflower and groundnut to supply these factories with necessary inputs. Currently, the country is producing grass pea widely though farmers are facing challenges related to market ...