A one-day consultative workshop titled ‘The Need for Sustainable and Inclusive Enset Production in Ethiopia: Challenges, Opportunities, and Collaborative Strategies’ was held on February 26, 2024, at the Panorama Hotel in Addis Ababa. The primary objective of this workshop was to address existing challenges and create an enabling environment for Enset, a strategic food crop in Ethiopia.
The opening speech was delivered by Dr. Feleke Weldeyes, the deputy director of the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute and an enset grower farmer.
During the workshop, four presentations were delivered by selected scholars. Participants engaged in discussions related to exploring opportunities, enhancing Enset production, value addition, simplified enset processing technologies, mainstreaming at the national agricultural extension level, stakeholder contributions, and the potential for expanding Enset cultivation across different regions of Ethiopia. Valuable insights were shared by various stakeholders, including the Agriculture Standing Committee of the House of Peoples’ Representatives, CSOs, EBI, academicians, researchers, and Enset grower farmers. Additionally, participants from the parliament pledged to prioritize enset during the 9-month parliamentary session discussion.
Enset Cultural foods were displayed during the tea break by enset grower farmers. Furthermore, the participants agreed to form a seven-member task force to advance follow-up on Enset-related issues. Some of the selected task force members include:
• Dr. Feleke Weldeyes from EBI
• Dr. Zerihun Yemataw from the Awassa Research Center
• Dr. Hailu Araya from PELUM Ethiopia
• Professor Sebsibe Demissew from AAU
• Dr. Fantahun from the Bio and Emerging Technology Institute
• Mr. Bekele from Bread for the World (PADD)
• Mr. Solomon Kebede from MELCA Ethiopia
The workshop received financial support from PADD, HUMUNDI, and ABN."