The Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA) has conducted a gender-sensitive and inclusive training on the premises of Furra Institute of Development Studies and Education in Yirgalem, Sidama Region.
Designed to address both productive and personal dimensions of participants’ lives through holistic support, the latest training brought together representatives of horticulture producers, cooperative and union as well as regional and zonal gender committee members.
With prime focus on promoting equity, empowerment, and sustainable agricultural development, the training covered topics including, gender mainstreaming and gender-sensitive approaches in agricultural value chains, women’s and youth leadership development, horticulture and agribusiness ideas tailored specifically for women entrepreneurs.
Going well beyond farming and related technical skills, it also dwelt upon health related issues, particularly cervical cancer awareness, prevention, and management strategies.
The training is part of EHPEA’s implementation, in partnership with GIZ, of the Strengthening Rural Value Chains Phase II (SRVC II) project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The project aims to improve the market readiness, compliance, and operational performance of horticulture producers and cooperatives while fostering inclusive, climate-smart, and sustainable growth for all actors across the value chains.
While promoting sustainable and inclusive horticulture in the country, EHPEA remains committed to delivering tailored agribusiness mentorship, financial literacy, and leadership modules among others to women-led cooperatives and youth groups.
Ethiopia is often referred to as the sleeping-giant as long as horticulture industry is concerned though the country is ranked secondly in Africa’s floriculture while categorized among the top five flower exporting nations globally.
With ideal agro-ecological diversity, abundant water and irrigable land resources as well as competitive operational advantages, the East African country is yet to unleash its horticultural potential to enhance food system and boost export revenues to billions from over half a billion now.
As the country has launched and been implementing the 10-year national horticulture strategy and the 15-year avocado development program, with the Government’s several incentives, commercial farms are mobilizing huge investment resources to leverage the potential, thereby contributing to the success of the ambitious multibillion-dollar frameworks.
The recently inaugurated state-of-the-art beneficial insect mass-rearing facility by Red Fox Ethiopia Plc. (Dummen Orange) in Koka, the first in Ethiopia, is among the tangible demonstrations of the private sector’s dedicated engagement in the country’s horticulture through sustainable agricultural practices.
With ongoing investments in critical infrastructure and facilities, Luna Farm in Deramalo District, Gamo Zone of the South Ethiopia Region, is boosting its operation in producing different types of horticultural crops.
Operating with drip and pivot irrigation systems and refrigerated trucks, the Farm produces different types of fruits and vegetables, including, mango, banana, orange, avocado, watermelon, tomato, onion, beetroot as well as varieties of capscum, lettuce and cabbage among other types of horticultural crops.
Creating job opportunities for 600 people, the Farm provides them with subsidized meals and medical services among other benefits while continuously building their capacity through training and coaching.
During a recent joint mission to fruits and vegetable farms in southern parts of Ethiopia, team members from the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association – EHPEA and GIZ paid visit to Luna Farm, where a discussion was also held with its Management on horticultural practices, markets and value chains and challenges among others.
The Management at Luna said they would boost their operation also with foreign markets once the state-of-the-art pack-house and cold-room facilities go fully functional within few weeks.
The EHPEA Executive Director Tewodros Zewdie commends the Farm for its committed engagement in the subsector, contributing share to enhance Ethiopia’s vegetable export.
The Executive Director hails the role Luna plays in addressing the aspirations for nutritious, healthy, affordable and accessible fruits and vegetables. “The farm has the potential to transform the supply chain and quality production of fruits and vegetables in the surrounding areas as it has propagation facility, infrastructures, technology know-how and market,” says Tewodros.
A three-day joint field visit with team members from the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA) and GIZ has been undertaken to fruits and vegetable farms in southern parts of Ethiopia to have first-hand information while exploring ways and identifying areas for strategic interventions and impactful support to promote sustainable and resilient horticulture in the country.
The mission was undertaken from 15-17 June with the focus on learning their existing horticultural practices, measures of sustainability and resilience, markets and value chains while identifying bottlenecks that require strategic interventions and support of EHPEA to realize the required development of horticulture with scalability, in the country in general and to smallholder farmers in particular.
Facilitated by the Association with team members including among others, the EHPEA Executive Director Tewodros Zewdie as well as Jean-Bernard Lalanne and Sebsebe Zewde from GIZ-SRVC II (strengthening rural value chain) project, the field visit mission featured discussions with the management teams of the respective farms, primarily on the services and required interventions of EHPEA through which GIZ support is channeled.
In the first leg of the three-day field visit, the group on Monday landed in Lucy and Fri-El Farms in the Omorate cluster, where Lucy, also with a farm in Arba Minch, is engaged in the production of different types of horticultural crops while Fri-El Ethiopia primarily and massively produces high-quality bananas for local and foreign markets.
On the second day on Tuesday, the team paid a visit to Luna Farm in Deramalo Woreda, where the Farm grows variety of vegetables with final stage of the construction of a standard packing house and cold-room facility, to be functional shortly.
The mission was wrapped up Wednesday with a visit to Lucy Farm in Arba Minch, where the Company grows variety of fruits and vegetables, also with a new propagation greenhouses to be fully operational within two months.
The joint visit is an important venue for EHPEA and GIZ to identify areas of interventions that would allow them to further strengthen partnership to support horticultural farms and cooperatives towards sustainable, inclusive and resilient horticulture in Ethiopia, while promoting the country’s global competitiveness.
The Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA) has been awarded a Certificate by one of its members in recognition primarily of its dedicated catalytic role in advancing sustainable horticulture in the country.
As EHPEA remains committed to supporting its members and promoting the industry‘s sustainability through various strategic interventions, Red Fox Ethiopia Plc (Dümmen Orange) has recognized the Association for its pivotal role in promoting, implementing and driving the adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices across farms, while providing invaluable technical support and capacity-building training.
Red Fox Ethiopia Plc presented the Certificate to EHPEA during a ceremony the Company organize in Koka yesterday to inaugurate its dedicated, the first in Ethiopia, mass rearing facility of beneficial insects in Koka, East Shoa Zone of Oromia Regional State.
The Company has deeply appreciated EHPEA’s exceptional technical support and impactful training programs that continue to empower horticultural community in the country.
The EHPEA Executive Director Tewodros Zewdie says the Association has, over the last ten years, been working with its partners spearheading several mapping and research studies on pests, the major threat to the horticulture industry.
Tangible and encouraging results have been gained due to the course undertaken to promote improved pest control system and ensure industry sustainability, says Tewodros.
Through the Association’s specialized TVET, more than 32,500 industry workers have been trained in mapping, mass rearing and packaging beneficial insects, and over 95% of flower farms are now implementing IPM model, says the Executive Director.
Emphasizing on the need to expand the initiative at other farms, Tewodros hails the pioneering facility of Red Fox Ethiopia as it will have multifaceted contributions to the country’s horticulture, notably in reducing reliance on chemical pesticides and curbing residues on export cuttings, and thereby enhancing Ethiopia’s competitiveness in the global markets.
Red Fox Ethiopia Plc, operating under the global floriculture brand Dümmen Orange, today officially inaugurated Ethiopia’s first dedicated mass rearing facility of beneficial insects in Koka Negewo.
Rather than applying chemical pesticides, the facility enables Red Fox Ethiopia Plc to breed and use the natural pest control agents directly inside its greenhouses, an approach known as Integrated Pest Management (IPM) or biocontrol system.
The facility marks a decisive structural shift away from conventional chemical pest interventions, drastically reducing chemical footprints, safeguarding local ecosystems, enhancing workplace health and safety, and advancing climate-resilient agriculture.
Lowering the risk of pesticide residue on export flowers, it also highly supports the compliance with international market standards, particularly lucrative and stricter global markets.
Reiterating that the greatest challenge in the floriculture are pests that damage quality of cuttings, thereby threatening export and creating pressure to apply more chemical pesticides, Yordanos Jemal, General Manager of Red Fox Ethiopia Plc (Dummen Orange), highlights the great significance of the facility in curbing the problems while promoting smart and sustainable agriculture.
The facility makes the Company become the first Farm in Ethiopia to produce its own biological pest control agents.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, H.E. Dr. Sofia Kassa, the Ethiopian State Minister of Agriculture, commended the facility for its role in substituting imported products.
Stating that the initiative by Red Fox Ethiopia Plc (Dummen Orange) is highly encouraging and exemplary achievement, the State Minister has also called on others to follow same suit to realize such initiatives that would boost exports while reducing imports.
Speaking on his part, H.E. Ambassador Diriba Kuma, the Director General of the Ethiopian Agriculture Authority (EAA), hailed the facility a game-changing project that would have significant role in the transformation of Ethiopia’s horticulture industry.
Noting that Ethiopia’s horticulture is a national success story in generating hard currencies and creating job opportunities, the Director General said the facility would also contribute to Ethiopia’s national goals for sustainable, climate-smart and resilient growth.
Reiterating that the horticulture industry is demonstrating continuous growth with dedicated engagement of members and strategic interventions of the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association – EHPEA, Nega Mequanint, the EHPEA Board Chair, said the facility was launched at a time when the Association is undertaking various sustainable initiatives.
In her remarks on the occasion, H.E. Ambassador Christine Pirenne, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, congratulated the Company for achieving the milestone in Ethiopia’s horticulture by realizing the first facility in its kind for responsible and sustainable horticulture in the country.
Established in 2003 in the Oromia Region, Red Fox Ethiopia PLC has grown to become the largest farm within the global Dümmen Orange network. Spanning 100 hectares of land which includes 40 hectares of state-of-the-art, high-tech greenhouses the farm specializes in the high-quality cultivation of Pelargonia, Poinsettia, Calla Lily, and Rose Rootstock. With 2,500 employees at peak season, it drives significant economic impact, exporting over 120 million cuttings, stems, and tubers annually, and generating a vital foreign currency inflow for the Ethiopian economy.
With women making up massive portion, roughly 80%, of the workforce, ensuring gender-responsive horticulture through strategic interventions is an undisputable prioritized area of engagement to make the industry more productive, resilient, and sustainable.
Hence, the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association – EHPEA has been dedicatedly promoting impactful initiatives to ensure gender equality and to economically and socially empower women who are critical agents of change in the horticulture sector, for which Ethiopia is often referred to as a sleeping giant.
The EHPEA Executive Director Tewodros Zewdie says the intervention has been designed after the findings of an independent baseline survey and study commissioned years back to identify the challenges of gender issues in the horticulture sub-sector.
“The interventions not only focus on building the capacity of men and women workers of the industry but also equipping management of farms with gender lens,” says Tewodros, recalling the condition at which the committed move started also with the establishment of the Gender Department at EHPEA which is now part of the organogram of the Association.
With strategic initiatives, EHPEA has been intervening to promote safe working environment, equitable pay and leadership opportunities, while ensuring gender-sensitive services, programs and facilities.
Providing specialized training and technical support on gender-sensitive management practices is among EHPEA’s major interventions of the course.
Yesteryear Challenges
Due to the gaps in the creation, documentation, adoption, and implementation of workplace policies related to gender equality and employee welfare, the industry was once characterized by high employee turnover, absenteeism, and sick leave rates often linked to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) concerns, gender-based violence (GBV), harassment, and workplace conflicts.
In addition to lack of awareness among workers of their rights, workplace protections, and health-seeking behaviors, there was also limited technical capacity and commitment from the employer side, marked by inadequate mechanisms for addressing workplace grievances and promoting gender-responsive practices.
Sowing Game-Changing Seed
The farm-level Gender Committee initiative was, therefore, introduced in 2014 to respond to the critical gender-related gaps identified at both workplace and worker levels within the horticulture sector.
Established across EHPEA member farms, more than 800 gender committee members are now active representing diverse groups, including male workers, health professionals, management, trade union, general workers and other workplace committees.
This multi-stakeholder approach has been designed and implemented to ensure broad representation and promotes collective responsibility for creating safe and equitable workplaces.
Committed Course
Supported especially by continued capacity building programs of EHPEA, farm gender committees have been playing indispensable role in promoting farm workers’ rights, well-being, and workplace accountability.
They shoulder vital responsibilities ranging from handling workplace grievances and supporting case management processes to delivering peer-to-peer awareness and training sessions on gender-sensitive issues, social and economic matters.
Blooming Yields
As EHPEA continues to provide dedicated support, especially through specialized and tailored training interventions, member farms have made significant progresses in advancing gender-responsive horticulture.
It is tangibly witnessed at many farms, where gender committees have made substantial contributions to improved workers’ awareness of their rights, ensuring health and other support services, and enhanced reporting and handling workplace grievances and GBV-related concerns.
Employee retention and workforce stability have been improved in many farms as a result of reduced turnover and absenteeism due to increased employee satisfaction and trust in workplace systems.
Testimonials from Farms
Beredu Sitie of Herburg Rose and Meseret Tesfaye of Dummen Orange (Red Fox Ethiopia Plc) are chair and secretary of their respective farm gender committees. They laud the gender committees’ contributions to the social and business achievements of farms by addressing gender-sensitive issues.
Highlighting the achievements in addressing previously existing gender-based violence and harassment within the subsector, Beredu proudly notes that her Farm has won recognition by the community, while being acclaimed and securing several accolades from relevant local and international bodies for its championship on gender-responsive practices.
She further states that notable works have also been done in critical gender-sensitive areas like maternal leave and breast feeding related issues.
Beredu
“We operate with annual plans; we work in close collaboration with pertinent institutions; and there is also the support and assistance from the Association (EHPEA),” says Beredu.
Reiterating that gender-responsive practices have huge impacts on business success of farms, particularly to access lucrative markets, Meseret hails the role farm gender committees play in improving workplace condition and achieving success of farms.
“The gender committee has made substantial contribution to the creation of decent working environment at our Farm, while addressing employee turnover and achieving local and international compliance certifications,” says Meseret.
Meseret
Stating that there are a number of accomplishments in the area of gender-sensitive practices, both Meseret and Beredu note that there are established systems that facilitate conducive working environment as well as mechanisms that support, encourage and empower women at their respective Farms.
Reiterating that the concerted efforts deployed to implement gender intervention at the sub-sector level have resulted in concrete gains for the workers and the farms with better productivity and profitability, the Executive Director says EHPEA will remain committed and continue to work relentlessly to address the remaining grey areas.
Contact Info
Location : Mickey Leland St, on the Road to Atlas Hotel, NB Business Center; 6th floor; Room #603 Phone : +251 11 6636750 P.O.Box: 22241 Code 1000 Email: info@ehpea.org
