REVIEW ON CURRENT STATUS OF AVOCADO PRODUCTION IN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

 The study discusses the global significance of avocado as a nutritious fruit and economically important crop. It focuses on the increasing demand for avocados and the potential for their cultivation in Ethiopia's diverse agro-ecological zones. The review article examines a wide range of peer-reviewed studies, reports, and literature up to September 2022, using various sources including electronic databases and academic repositories. Grey literature and agricultural organization reports were also considered. The review findings show that avocado production in Ethiopia has been rapidly growing. In 2021, the country produced 245,336 metric tons of avocados across 30,585.70 hectares, with a yield of 80.2 quintals per hectare. Ethiopia exported 604.5 quintals of avocados in the same year. The favourable agro-ecological diversity of Ethiopia, spanning from lowlands to highlands, supports avocado cultivation. However, the industry is still young and faces challenges such as limited access to quality seeds, insufficient irrigation systems, and transportation issues. The post-harvest phase, processing, and marketing of avocados also present difficulties, leading to lower product quality and constrained market reach. The review covers global and local avocado production trends, avocado production and management practices, constraint of avocado production and future direction have been discussed.