SAVI NEWSLETTER
Vol. 01 Issue 09
"Leading the sub-sector by sub-sector transformation of Ethiopian agriculture."
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The Ethiopian Mushroom Industry - A Case of Unmet Demand
For most Ethiopians in Addis Ababa chances are that they have witnessed the efforts of local kebeles to create jobs for unemployed youth and women by providing training and input for the operation of several small businesses such as liquid soap production and backyard urban farming. One of the businesses that was part of this effort was mushroom farming, with youth and women receiving training and obtaining inputs for the production of mushrooms. Although the status of the mushroom sector in Ethiopia is still in its nascent stage, these attempts offer insights as to why such products were chosen and the overall mushroom production potential of the country. Is mushroom production destined to be limited to small NGO-funded pilot projects and job creation schemes or does Ethiopia possess the local market demand and the production capacity to make mushroom farming a full fledged cash crop comparable to other vegetables and fruits?
What is Mushroom Farming?
Mushroom farming is a practice of cultivating edible and medicinal mushrooms that originate from fungi spores. In the production process mushroom spawns (the equivalent of seeds for mushrooms) are first purchased from specialized labs that grow the specific variety of spawns. After that, spawns are added to moist substrates on which they grow. Substrates are usually waste materials from any form of Agro-processing such as sugar cane bagasse, cotton seed, wheat straw, coffee pods, corn cobs, and even saw dust. The ability of mushrooms to convert waste in to edible food makes them one of the most sustainable foods on the planet but unlike conventional crop agriculture, mushroom farming requires shade, lower temperatures, and higher proportion of humidity. Farmers can use simple and cheap materials to construct growing rooms that provide a suitable environment for cultivating mushrooms. In some instances farmers can even grow mushrooms inside their homes using smaller setups.
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New Research Article Published - "Politics of Seed in Ethiopia's Agricultural Transformation: Pathways to Seed System Development"
Objective
This article analyzes current Ethiopian seed politics in light of the historical dynamics of national and international seed system politics and developments. Drawing on multiple power analysis approaches and employing the lens of “international seed regimes,” the article aims to characterize the historical pattern of seed regimes in Ethiopia.
Key takeaways
In the current conjuncture in the contemporary Ethiopian seed regime, four different approaches to pluralistic seed system development are competing:
- Government-led formalization
- Private-led formalization
- Farmer-based localization
- Community-based integrative seed system developments.
The Pluralistic Seed System Development Strategy (PSSDS) from 2013 is a uniquely diverse approach to seed system development internationally; however, it has yet to realize its equity and sustainability potential. This study shows that the agricultural modernization dependency and government-led formal seed systems development have sidelined opportunities to tap into the strength of other alternatives identified in the PSSDS.
Conclusion
An integrative and inclusive seed sector is possible if the government takes leadership and removes the current political, organizational, and economic barriers for developing a truly pluralistic seed system.
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Mushroom Farming … cont'd
Where We Are
Mushroom is not a common ingredient in the diets of most Ethiopians. This is reflected in the local mushroom production which has been historically low with only two specialized mushroom spawn producers in the entire country until 2015. Being public institutions, these spawn producers haven't had much of a financial incentive to meet stringent performance targets with staff turnover leading to production halts throughout the year. Local hotels and restaurants that use mushrooms in their menu have often resorted to importing mushrooms primarily from China to meet their needs. However, change was on the horizon.
In 2015 Silew Mushroom and Spawn Production, the first private mushroom spawn producer was established in Ethiopia with financial support obtained from infoDev-supported Ethiopia Climate Innovation Center (ECIC). This was followed by the cooperation between China and Ethiopia in 2019 on a mushroom project which established a standard mushroom spawn production, preservation and technology training center primarily responsible for mother spawn production and technology training. These developments have increased the ability of the sector to provide mushroom products to market and give training for other farmers who want to grow mushrooms. Increased participation of the private sector has improved the supply for hotels and restaurants. The dietary patterns and customer preferences towards mushrooms has not been assessed. Hence, demand for mushroom products for household consumption is unknown but there is a large gap even in meeting the demand of the hotel and restaurant industry.
The Opportunity
In terms of mushroom production, Ethiopia has the potential to transform the large amounts of agricultural by products in to a suitable food item but in terms of nutrition, one thing should be clear - Mushrooms are nowhere near meat or diary products in the protein and carbohydrates they provide. Despite mushrooms being pitched as a good protein source, mushrooms only contain 3% protein while delivering 22 calories per 100 grams compared to chicken which boasts 27% protein and 239 calories per 100 grams. So mushrooms are not replacements for any of the major grain, diary, and meat products in terms of protein or energy provided. However, mushrooms posses impressive amounts of nutrients, vitamins, and fiber with zero cholesterol. Hence opportunities to use mushrooms as side dish items that can improve the intake of vitamins and minerals in areas with low diet diversity could be feasible. This was evident in trials conducted by GIZ in selected regions of Tigray where households were supported in growing mushrooms inside their homes as supplementary food items for the family.
The expanding hotel and restaurant industry has led to increased demand with some hotels needing up to 25kg of mushroom per day. Farmers haven't been able to supply the required amount of product as evident in the 149% increase in the import of mushrooms between 2019 and 2020. Even if Ethiopia is far from producing enough to meet local demand, there is potential for supplying mushroom products to overseas customers that are part of the global mushroom market valued at 54 Billion USD. However, similar to other perishable food items intended for export, Ethiopia will face challenges in cold storage and transport of fresh mushroom products. With an average life of 6 days in the fridge, oyster mushrooms will certainly present challenges for exporters but alternative approaches and products such as dried mushrooms which can have a shelf life of up to a year could be a solution.
Ways Forward
Meeting the demands of urban hotels and restaurants requires the scaling of production through enabling each actors across the value chain. If the mushroom industry is to show substantial growth in Ethiopia and rise above small scale projects and trials, the largest demand which constitutes the hotel and restaurant industry must be the starting point as opposed to changing the dietary habits of consumers in order to increase household demand.
Currently, the main challenges the sector faces is the supply of mushroom spawns which is still limited and the lack of knowhow among farmers, youth, and women who can take advantage of this opportunity through low cost small scale production within their own households. Hence facilitating investments (both private and public) in the local production of high quality mushroom spawns along with technical trainings and awareness creation platforms that encourage entrepreneurs to join this industry are key to ensuring the growth of the industry in Ethiopia.
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Central Bank Grants Edible Oil Input Imports Top Priority in Forex Allocation
The central bank has changed the list of items imported to the country that are prioritized for foreign currency allocation from commercial banks. Inputs for edible oil production are included in the first tier alongside medicine, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and laboratory reagents.
The revised list officially reinstates petroleum products to top-priority status. The previous directive had downgraded fuel products to the second tier before the central bank issued a circular reversing the decision a few months later. Second priority items include inputs for agriculture (fertilizer, seeds, and pesticides) and manufacturing (raw materials and chemicals).
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About Sustainable Agro-industrial Value-network Innovation (SAVI)
SAVI works to innovate and implement market-led interventions to support the subsector-by-subsector transformation of Ethiopian agriculture. Using our proprietary model, 10 years in the works, we have set out to transform 10 high potential agro-industrial value networks by 2040, to fuel job creation, smallholder income increment, improve nutrition, and empower women.
For its first value-network, SAVI is focusing on poultry, mainly comprising of chicken meat and eggs, one of the most underutilized sectors in Ethiopian agriculture. In consequence grasping the attention of various stakeholders as improving its production creates cheaper and quality products providing high aptitudes for:
- Increasing the incomes of smallholders engaged in poultry production and more than 10 million farmers engaged in maize and soybean farming, used as inputs for poultry feed,
- Creating modern downstream jobs in small-scale poultry production and agro-processing with higher value added;
- Empowering women, particularly in rural areas, as poultry production is one of the few agricultural activities that requires low initial investment and can be easily carried out inside the household; and
- Improving the nutrition of the mass population as eggs and chicken meat are cheaper sources of protein with high turn-over rates in production.
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