MoWE readies 15,000 ha for irrigation development
Ethiopia has readied nearly 15,000 hectares of land for irrigation development, Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE) has said.
The ministry aims to develop the land through irrigation in the Growth and Transformation Plan period.
“The ministry has prepared 14,998 ha plot for irrigation development,” Bizuneh Tolcha, director of public relations and communications directorate with the MoWE said.
Ethiopia has a huge irrigation potential with 5.3 million ha land suitable for such development. So far, the country has developed not more than 60,000 ha through large and medium scale irrigation projects.
The director believes more needs to be done to harness the irrigation potential of the country. In the GTP period, Ethiopia targets to harness 15 percent of its irrigation potential.
“Our ministry is striving to achieve that,” said Bizuneh. He said the ministry is undertaking 10 irrigation projects with a cost of 14.4 billion birr in various parts of the country.
When completed, these projects will benefit 153, 810 farmers and pastoralists as well as the Metehara and Kesem & Tendaho sugar factories.