ADDIS ABABA – Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared on Wednesday that Ethiopia’s summer wheat cultivation has delivered “remarkable gains,” moving the country closer to its goal of ending dependency on grain imports.
During a field visit to Sululta Woreda in the Oromia Region, Abiy inspected 2,150 hectares of wheat farmland. He revealed that combined summer and winter wheat production has surpassed 330 million quintals this year, an increase of 50 million quintals over the previous season.
“Land should not be left fallow; we must free ourselves from dependency,” Abiy told reporters. He noted that the total land under wheat cultivation has expanded to more than 8 million hectares.
While Ethiopia has transitioned from a wheat importer to an occasional exporter, critics point out that regional conflicts and displacement in parts of Amhara and Tigray continue to threaten the stability of the food supply chain.
However, the government insists that irrigation-led agricultural transformation remains the central pillar of its economic resilience strategy.
