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Over quarter million farmers to engage in irrigation development in Tigray state |
| Mekele, December 23,2005 (WIC)- The Tigray state Agriculture and Rural Development Bureau has begun activities that would enable more than 250,000 farmers in the state to become beneficiaries of irrigation development. Irrigation Development Department Head with the Bureau, Mulugeta Balema said integrated irrigation work has been launched on 27,950 hectares of land to ensure food security in the state. He said favorable situation is created to carry out irrigation at this particular juncture owing to the availability of enough water following the even distribution of rainfall during the last rainy season. According to Mulugeta, the Bureau, in cooperation with non-governmental organizations, had distributed 1,760 water pumping generators to farmers and is also planning to distribute 500 generators on credit this fiscal year. Some 1.8 million seedlings of mango, avocado, pineapple ,banana and other fruits were also distributed to the beneficiaries of irrigation development and two million additional seedlings are now also readied for distribution. According to the Head, 85 percent of the land to be irrigated in the state would be covered by backyard vegetables, fruits and cereals. Farmers engaged in irrigation development in 25 woredas of the state last Ethiopian year by cultivating 18,000 hectares of land have secured a total of 180 million birr, it was learnt |
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