BUSINESS & ECONOMY INDICATORS TRENDS FORTUNE+ VIDEO TENDERS JOBS SPONSORED CONTENTS FORTUNE AUDIO TRADE AFRICA new

COVID-19 UPDATES: All the stories and commentaries on Coronavirus, in one place

Eco Green Organic Liquid Fertiliser Producing PLC began production of organic liquid fertiliser on October 20, 2018 in Arsi, Oromia Regional State, in a ceremony organised by Eco Green, the Oromia Bureau of Agriculture and GIZ’s Green Innovation Centre program.

Eco Green Organic Liquid Fertiliser Producing PLC began production of organic liquid fertiliser on October 20, 2018 in Arsi, Oromia Regional State, in a ceremony organised by Eco Green, the Oromia Bureau of Agriculture and GIZ’s Green Innovation Centre program.

The company, founded in 2007 by Kebede Lakew as a research centre, sells organic liquid fertiliser in two-litre to 200-litre containers. The company has been providing training to farmers on how to use the fertiliser made from plant and animal wast products converted to liquid forms.

“It took us more than eight years to research and develop the product,” Kebede, winner of the 2015 UNDP Entrepreneur of the Year Award, said.

Eco Green collects and buys organic waste from nearby farmers and transforms them into liquid fertiliser through a fermentation process.



While organic fertilisers are generally preferred over chemical fertilisers for environmental concerns, liquid fertilisers add additional advantages, according to Kebede.

“It helps in controlling growth, has less effect on soil health and is easily absorbed by plants,” he said.


Initially, the company started by producing small quantities for free trial samples to smallholder farmers in Amhara and Oromia regional states. Now the company is growing its customer base and has vegetable, flower and fruit commercial farms as its clients.

Last year, Eco Green, a firm established with an initial capital of 13 million Br, produced about 300,000L of the product, most of which were produced as samples given away as promotional items for free. With a potential to produce 1.9 million litres annually, the company plans to produce a million litres this year.




Eco Green’s main plant is located in the Amhara Regional State, in the North Shoa Zone, about 60Km from Addis Abeba. Lying on a nine-hectare plot, the company's factory has 35 full-time and 50 part-time employees.

“Since public awareness of organic liquid fertilisers is still undeveloped, we are facing challenges selling the product,” Kebede said. “We are looking for partners to expand.”

One partner is Gonder Agricultural Research Centre, which is currently studying the product. Another is GIZ Ethiopia, which is working with Eco Green to offer small-holder farmers inputs such as environmentally-friendly liquid fertilisers under its Green Innovation Centre program.

The program, launched for a total of 560 million Br plans to reach 70,000 small-holder farmers.


Solomon Andualem (PhD), a lecturer at Bahir Dar University’s College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences, hails the initiative. He points out that it will have benefits in avoiding the side effects of chemical fertilisers currently in use in Ethiopia.

“Urea and Dap contain high levels of heavy metals such as lead that cause severe health issues,” he said. “It will also have the potential to save the country foreign currency it spends to import fertilisers.”

The nation imports seven types of fertilisers, with 1.2 million tonnes having been imported in the 2016/17 fiscal year. Almost half a billion dollars were spent on fertiliser imports in 2016.


PUBLISHED ON [ VOL 19 , NO 968]

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.



Related Posts

Put your comments here


Editors' Pick

Featured

Growing But Little Understood Business Afoot

March 27 , 2021 . By BAMLAK FIKADU

An application developer who has recently taken up hiking to get some exercise, Migno...

View From Arada

Nostalgic Arada Disappears Amidst Aluminum, Glass of Addis

February 13 , 2021 . By TADESSE TSEGAYE

In Arada, I stopped over by a hotel in front of Cinema Empire. I sat alone inside wit...

Fortune News

Council Establishes Corp. to Absorb Residual Debts

January 30 , 2021 . By FASIKA TADESSE

The Council of Ministers approved a regulation that will establish the Liability &...

Editorial

How to Counter Rising, Unbridled Nationalism

January 16 , 2021

It was a sunny day on September 12, 1974. A machine gun mounted on top of a tank was...

Commentaries

Done Right, Education System Can Extract Maximum Value with Limited Resources

Economic and political development go hand in hand with a good educational system. Th...

Despite Friendly Labour Law, Employees Contend with Arbitration

Arbitration is a means of dispute settlement that has gained world-wide attention mai...

Fineline

Leaders of the National . . .

Leaders of the National Election Board are in a charm offensive mood, of a sort. Last week, they organised a rare tour for members of the me...

When the country’s most. . .

When the country’s most senior diplomats and envoys return back to their posts after two-week debriefings, they leave behind a point or tw...

Editorial

Regional Fiscal Perfidy Stems from an Indulgent Fed. Alarming!

April 10 , 2021

It is not often the case for regional states' leaders to swallow their vanity and dec...

Bailout Needs to Contend with Original Sin of Political Corruption

April 3 , 2021

As an Auditor General, he was not the most conspicous of officials in the mainstream...

At Odds with Dev't Partners, Ethiopia Could Miss Out on Improving World Economy

March 27 , 2021

In an unprecedented turn of irony, just as Ethiopia began an attempt to open up to th...

With Limited Room for Maneuver, Gov't Should Tread Carefully with Oil Supply

March 20 , 2021

There is never a dull moment in the tense and combative relationship between regulato...

Gallery

2020 in Posterity

January 5 , 2021

With an election initially expected to be held in 2020, the past year was supposed to be eventful. It did not disappoint. In fact, it outpaced expectations. Much of 2020 was talked about, analysed and debated. And thanks to technology, it was caught...

TIGRAY VOTES DESPITE "NULL & VOID" THREAT

September 9 , 2020

IN-PICTURE: LAUREATE'S RECEPTION  

December 14 , 2019

PM Abiy Ahmed (PhD) at a Gala Dinner Called for the Awarding of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize

May 6 , 2019

Faces, Voices of Addis Abeba

April 26 , 2019

Mourning Nation, Grieving World

March 17 , 2019

Sunday With Eden

Everyone Needs to Answer for Ethiopia Predicaments

A few days ago, a friend told me an unnerving story – highly illustrative of Ethio...

COVID Makes Comeback: This Time Without Kidding Around

Over the weekend, among the people who lost their lives due to the Novel Coronavirus...

Life Matters

Don't Judge People by Their Tattoo

Do not judge a book by its cover, we say. But we still judge all the same. It is much worse when it comes to a living, breathing person. We...

Forgive Some Debt in Time of Hardship

It is often people somewhere near the middle of the socioeconomic ladder who lend money and give the borr...

In-Picture

Drop us a message

Or see contact page