Institute to Grow Wheat on Lowlands for Experiment

Oct 5 , 2019


The Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research is set to grow two million quintals of wheat in the lowlands in a new agricultural experiment. The wheat, which usually grows only in the highlands, will be grown on 50,000ha of land and is expected to be harvested in the coming five months. The project, which in its first phase, aims to utilise 450,000ha of irrigable land to fill the 17 million quintals of annual wheat deficit that is imported every year. The study states that Ethiopia can on average produce 44ql of wheat a hectare by utilising lowland irrigated land, while the current highland rain-fed wheat production is 28ql a hectare. Wheat is one of the major cereal crops produced by 4.6 million smallholder farmers on 1.8 million hectares of land with an estimated annual production of five million tonnes on average.


Radar

Parliament Overhauls Three Key Sectors

Parliament approved two key proclamations last week seeking to strengthen the justice system and civil registration processes. The first re-establishes the Federal Justice & Legal Institute under the Federal Supreme Court. The Institute will provide mandatory training for law graduates and professional development for judges, aiming to improve the competence and efficiency of legal professionals. Parliamentarians emphasized the importance of centralized pre-service training for all justice p...


Radar

CBE Hits Deposits Record

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) achieved a record 303 billion Br in deposits in the first seven months of the budget year—the largest deposit amount in the Bank's history. Total deposits now sit at over 1.4 trillion Br. The CBE attained 147.6pc of forecasts and now accounts for 58.3pc of the sector's total. The total amount of loans provided by the Bank has reached over 1.3 trillion Br, with 88pc of the 153.32 billion Br in loans disbursed by the mid-budget year going to the private s...


Radar

Revenue Bureau Cracks Down on Alleged Tax Evaders

Addis Abeba Revenue Bureau introduced a debt tracking system that would trace tax evaders. As a result, five vehicles were seized and sold to recover tax debts, generating 10.9 million Br. Currently, 13 additional vehicles and one residential property are in the process of being auctioned. In collaboration with the Financial Intelligence Service (FIS), the Bureau has been tracking taxpayers who try to escape the tax net. The Bureau has also announced that the deadline for submitting req...