The State of Eritrea

Ministry of Agriculture Newsletter

A Monthly Newsletter prepared by the Public Relations Division, Issue No 46, April 2022

Rapeseed cultivation: a promising initiative
towards oilseed production
The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA)
has assessed the pilot rapeseed
cultivation project which wasconducted in the previous seasonon 76 hectares across the Central
and Southern regions.

Ms. Merry Kahsay

to produce rapeseed for oil
production.
She also outlined that before
distributing the seed, which
was supplied by NARI, the MoA
conducted a series of publicawareness raising programs.
These covered numerous topics,
including rapeseed management,
fertilizer
andmoisturerequirement, sowing time, sowing
rate and methodology, weeding
and thinning, pests and diseases,and harvesting.
Subsequently, 58 hectares of landin six sub-regions of the Southernregion (Dubarwa, Medefera,EmniHayli, Dekemhare, Segeneyti
and Adi qeyih) and 18 hectaresof land in the Central region (subregions of Asmara, Galanefhi, andBerik) were piloted, Ms. Merry
indicated.

According to Ms. Merry Kahsay,
Agronomy expert at the CropandLivestock
Development
Division, the MoA began rapeseed
multiplication in 2010 through theNational Agricultural Research In total, 300 farmers participated in
Institute (NARI). Even though the project, including 32 females.
rapeseed cultivation in Eritrea goesback to 10 years, its introduction
to farmers has been delayedfor several reasons, particularly
because of post-harvest and oilprocessing issues.
During the rainy season of 2021,
the MoA undertook anotherinitiative to demonstrate rapeseed
cultivation in piloted areas ofCentral and Southern Region, Ms.
Merry explained. In line with thisinitiative, the MoA tested an oilextracting machine in its Kehawta
workshop to encourage farmers

1“Learning from the previous
challenges and experiences, theMinistry has a plan to expand
rapeseed multiplication vigorously
in the coming season to make it
one of the important oil crops,
like sesame and cotton, which arecultivated mostly in the Gash Barka
region,” Ms. Merry stated.
Mr. Tekle Teferi is aseniorresearcher
attheCrop
Improvement Division of theNARI. According to him, rapeseedcrop was primarily introduced inHalhale for trial purposes in 2010.
At that time, a number of improved
rapeseed varieties were imported
and a series of trials were carriedout to examine their climatic
adaptation and yield potential indifferent areas. Afterward, twovarieties which demonstrated
satisfactory performance wereselected for multiplication andthen distributed to farmers
through the Agricultural Extension
Department.

Mr. Tekle explained that the yield potential to be one of the most Mr. Kahsay Haile is one of theof rapeseed is greatly influenced important oil crops in the country. most progressive farmers in theby the availability of water andregion and he has been involvedclimatic suitability. The yield Experiences of Local Experts and in different agricultural activities
potential of the two selectedFarmers
since 1999. He described how
rapeseed varieties ranges from
Mendefera sub-region
he has been acquainted with oil
12-14 quintals per hectare underplants, like olive trees, for many
rainfed farming and 18-20 quintals Mr. Mihreteab Negash is a crop years.
production expert in the subregion of Mendefera. He explainedthat the sub-region is famous for
its multi-crop variety cultivation,
which includes field crops,
pulses, oil crops, and fruits andvegetables. Livestock production
andbeekeeping
arealsocommonly practiced. He recalledthat rapeseed was cultivated ona trial basis five years ago andwent on to note that, “This year,Mr. Kahsay Haile
Mr. Tekle Teferi
we tried to cultivate it among six
per hectare if supplemented exemplary farmers, and the yield “When I was asked by thewith irrigation. The crop reaches was promising.” He concluded that Ministry of Agriculture to cultivate
harvest between 90-120 days anddoes better in clay and clay loam
soil with good drainage.

Mr. Tekle underscored thatrapeseed is an oil crop that has
around 35 percent oil content.
Moreover, it has a number ofadvantages in that it is a good
and attractive source of pollen
Mr. Mihreteab Negashfor honey bees and its bagasse
and cake are also good fodder other farmers are also motivatedfor animals. Overall, if rapeseed to join the initiative if they can findis properly managed, it can be a a market for their harvest.
rewarding cash crop and has great

rapeseed in the previous summer,
I didn’t hesitate because I have anambition to focus on oil seeds forcommercial purposes. That’s why I
cultivated a number of olive trees
in the past. Currently, my olive
trees have began bearing fruits,”
he explained.

Commenting on management
practices and harvest, he indicatedthat the sub-region of Mendefera
possesses
suitableclimatic
conditions for rapeseed cultivation.
After he had irrigated his farmland,
he harvested around 23 quintals
per hectare. Looking forward, Mr.
Kahsay also stated that he will
expand his activities further in the
coming rainy season.
Segeneyti sub-region
Mr. Iyassu Asefaw is head of theAgriculture Office in the sub-regionof Segeneyti, an area with a large
number of farmers involved in therapeseed cultivation initiative.
Mr. Iyassu explained that there2

first experience, we will strive during its initial growth stages,
to improve performance in the while harvesting is laborious andcoming year.”.
susceptible to bird attack.
To encourage farmers, thegovernment
purchasedtheharvested seed at approximately
25 percent higher than the actual
market price.

Mr. Iyassu Asefaw

Furthermore,Mr.
Iyassudescribed how the initiative
has expanded awareness andbrought farmers together
toshare their experiences. Now,
morefarmers
understandthat rapeseed is important forbiodiversity improvement. With
bees especially drawn to its
flowers, many beekeepers arealso motivated to cultivate it in
the coming season.

were 113 farmers from 18 villages
involved in the iniatitive, working
on more than 26 hectares of land.
“We received 210 kilograms ofseed and were recommended toplant 8 kilograms of rapeseed per
hectare. Since it was our first time
and we were aiming to multiply
seeds, around 20 hectares werecultivatedunderirrigation.
The rest were cultivated under
Finally, Mr. Iyassu stated that there
rainfed conditions” he explained,
were some minor challenges in
before adding, “Even though wethat the crop was repeatedly
didn’t meet the ideal yield in our
attacked by weeds, especially

Mr. Teame Ghebreslasie is avegetable farmer residing in AdiBaekel, Segeneyti sub-zone. He isa successful farmer, particularly
when it comes to wheat and potato
seeds multiplication.
Mr. Teame explained that before
planting rapeseed, training andsupport was provided by experts
from the regional and central MoAoffices.
He described his experience,stating, “I cultivated the seed on ahalf hectare of land and harvested
around 2.33 quintals. While theyield could have been better, I am
convinced that with experienceand proper management it caneasily be cultivated in our area. I
have learnt a lot with regards to
its management practices and will

Mr. Teame Ghebreslasie, harvesting his rapeseed crop3

cultivate it in a more organized way
in the coming season.”experience he gained fromparticipating in this pilot project
would serve as a stepping stone tohis future plans.

Mr. Teame also mentioned its
importance as a bee forage, andthanked the MoA for the initiativeand support.
Another participant in the initiative
was Priest Mehari Habtetsion, a
farmer living in Degra-Merieto who
cultivates vegetables and crops.
He recalled that he was slightly
hesitant about the initiative
because he lacked experience withcultivating rapeseed. “However,after I received adequate guidancePriest Mehari Habtetsion
and information from the Ministry,
I joined the initiative. I cultivated ahalf hectare of land and harvested
around 3 quintals,” he explained.
He also pointed out that theGlobal records indicate that
following soya bean and palmoil, rapeseed is the third mostimportant source of vegetableoil in the world. Its oil content
ranges from 33-40 percent The
oil extractor machine modified byengineers from the MoA has beenable to extract about 30 percent
oil from previously harvested local
seeds.
***

Editor-In-Chief
Ermias Solomon, Director of Public Relations Division
Email:- ersohab@gmail.com, Tel: 182225/ 07143877, P.O.Box 1048, Asmara, Eritrea
Assistant-Editor-In-Chief
Filmawit Measho, Public Relations Division, Information and Protocol Unit HeadEmail:- fili.megeb@gmail.com, Tel: 182225/ 07182662, Asmara, Eritrea
Editorial BoardHara Weldetnsae, Shushan Okbay, Andemeskel BerhePhoto credit: Aradom Bereket, Habteab Andemariam, Thomas Mehari4