Beeco Agro Industry PLC is advancing sustainable and modern horticulture in producing premium fresh strawberries for international markets, thereby contributing to Ethiopia’s economic growth and agricultural transformation among other positive social impacts.
Specializing in the production and export of premium fresh strawberries with its Farm in Holeta, Oromia Regional State, the Company is driving its horticultural operation through innovation, responsible farming, and strict adherence to international standards, thereby establishing itself as a trusted supplier of high-quality strawberries to global markets.
Guided by its motto, “From Ethiopia’s Fields to the World’s Tables,” Beeco operates on 24.6 hectares of land, with approximately 12 hectares currently under strawberry production using modern greenhouse and tunnel technologies.
Beeco is certified to internationally recognized standards, including GLOBALG.A.P., SMETA, BASIS, and FACT, demonstrating its commitment to food safety, environmental sustainability, ethical business practices, and workers welfare.
As part of EHPEA’s dedicated engagement in supporting Member Farms and promoting sustainable horticulture through various interventions, a team led by Tewodros Zewdie, Executive Director of the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA), recently visited Beeco’s farm during a field tour to member farms in the Holeta Cluster.
“Continuous investment in improved varieties, precision irrigation, and modern crop management are among the key factors that have enabled the Company to deliver consistently high-quality fruit,” says Tamirat Adugna, General Manager and Co-Founder of Beeco Agro Industry PLC.
“Our mission is to produce world-class strawberries while contributing to sustainable economic development, environmental stewardship, and community well-being,” says the General Manager.
The Company currently employs 314 permanent staff, the majority of whom are women, and recruits more than 100 seasonal workers during peak periods, thereby increasing the number of workforce to nearly 500 people.
Beeco exports premium fresh strawberries to Singapore, Europe, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, and several African countries, generating foreign hard currencies while strengthening Ethiopia’s position in the global horticulture industry.
“Our priority is to improve productivity, expand export markets, and maintain the highest international standards of food safety, quality, and ethical business practices. We continuously introduce improved strawberry varieties to enhance yield, fruit quality, shelf life, and sustainability,” explains Tamirat.
Making Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) an integral part of its business philosophy, the Company has invested ETB 6.5 million in constructing a 1.5-kilometre gravel road, improving access for local communities and supporting the Holeta City Administration’s corridor development programs.
In addition, Beeco has provided clean drinking water to surrounding communities, and it supports school feeding programmes, while contributing to community health insurance initiatives, and participating in other social and environmental development activities.
“At Beeco Agro Industry PLC, we believe sustainable business success goes hand in hand with social responsibility,” says Tamirat, adding, “Through innovation, responsible farming, internationally recognized certifications, and strong community partnerships, we are committed to producing premium-quality strawberries while improving livelihoods and promoting Ethiopia as a trusted supplier of high-value horticultural products.”
A high-level consultative meeting was convened today on the premises of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), deliberating on ways of increasing the performance of the country’s horticultural subsector.
Presided over by H.E. Dr. Sofia Kassa, State Minister of Agriculture, the meeting dwelt upon the achievements on the subsector performance and important issues already addressed and also the way forward to augment horticultural productivity and forex generation among other social and economic gains.
As a follow-up on a series engagement, the consultative meeting featured two presentations: the 2025/2026 Horticulture Subsector Performance and the Plan for the 2026/2027 budget year by Dr. Dereje Abebe, Lead Executive Officer of Agricultural Investment and Product Marketing at MoA; and recent achievements on important issues of the subsector and the way forward by Tewodros Zewdie, Executive Director of the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA).
Stating that several measures have been taken with tangible results in important areas, the State Minister has reiterated her Ministry’s committed support to the horticulture subsector, paving ways and facilitating conducive environment for the private sector, and thereby collaboratively driving the growth of the industry.
Speaking during the discussion, Nega Mequanint, EHPEA Board Chair, commended the Ministry for its continued support in addressing spectrum of issues that are critical to the smooth business operation of the EHPEA Member Farms.
Hailing the role of the consultative meeting in identifying and discussing critical areas that require combined engagement, the Board Chair also underlined the need to employ committed joint efforts of all stakeholders to build on the achievements and address other issues towards realizing the expected gains out of the subsector.
Meeting participants brought up variety of pertinent issues and discussed them at length.
A consultative meeting was convened today at Afriflower Farm on ways of fast-tracking the process of launching formal and meaningful partnership between commercial farms and Holeta Polytechnic College (HPC) to drive mutually beneficial horticultural development through exchanges and leveraging reciprocally-owned resources.
The Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA) has been spearheading and dedicatedly supporting initiatives that foster TVET-industry linkage meant to effectively cultivate the country’s horticultural potential towards enhanced gains out of the subsector.
During a recently held joint event of EHPEA and the Ministry of Labor and Skills (MoLS) at the College, a course was initiated to create potential collaboration and catalyze strategic partnership between HPC and EHPEA Member Farms within the Holeta Cluster, in Oromia Regional State.
The proposed initiative aims at fostering strategic collaboration between HPC and commercial farms through sharing knowledge and experience, creating opportunities for apprenticeship and employment as well as leveraging reciprocally-owned resources.
Today’s meeting dwelt upon the exchanges made in-between and deliberated on ways of fast-tracking the ongoing process to wrap it up with successful creation of the formal partnership between the two sides.
Representatives of HPC, EHPEA and some EHPEA Member Farms, including Afriflower, Metrolux, Ethio Agri-CEFT and Hansa Group attended the meeting accompanied by tours to facilities of Afriflower Farm.
The participants have held fruitful discussion that significantly helps the process culminate with tangible results within a couple of weeks.
Hana Deyas, 32, is currently working at Export Department of Zuqualla Horti Plc. (Zuqualla Farm) which produces high quality ornamental cuttings and strawberry cultivated using innovative gutter system in Lume Woreda of East Shoa Zone, Oromia Regional State.
Hana, a mother of two, was born and grew up in rural Bika Kebele of Lume Woreda, where Zuqualla Farm operates hydroponic strawberry cultivation for local and export markets. Hana still remembers her early years at Bika Primary School (Upto Grade 8), which lacked standard facilities at that time.
Most African and other developing countries shared similar past story, whereby learning environment and educational facilities used to be below standard, and thereby making students less interested in education, and significantly contributing to school drop outs.
Hana’s current workplace is a walking distance from Bika Primary School. Along with her colleagues, she nowadays frequents to the School where Zuqualla Horti PLC has been making significant contribution as part of its committed corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement.
The Company built five standard classrooms for Bika Primary School in the years 2024 and 2025, and equipped them with the essential facilities, while it is now progressing with the construction of four additional classrooms, which are going to be completed and go functional in September at the beginning of the new academic year in Ethiopia.
Wearing smiles on her face, Hana says she is very happy about the current condition of her primary school where her employer Company has also constructed Kindergarten classrooms with the necessary amenities, including outdoor playing facilities.
Zuqualla Horti Plc has enabled the Bika Primary School and the Kindergarten to access water from the proximate facility wherefrom some local people in the neighborhood can easily have the access to the water.
Operating on 42 hectares of farm land, Zuqualla Horti PLC has created job opportunities for 385 permanent employees and 109 seasonal workforces. During peak season, the total number of the workforce grows to 600.
Generating social and economic opportunities for the local communities, Zuqualla Horti PLC is also blossoming with its CSR projects in Muda Kebele, adjacent to Bika, where it is currently constructing a three-classroom standard Kindergarten and a 1.1km-road that improves accessibility and links a village to the main road.
Zequalla Horti PLC has also installed a new borehole water pump in Muda Kebele, where it restored the access to clean water by the local communities after the previous system had been out of service for many years. It has also donated two 5,000-liter water tanks to ensure a reliable water supply to the community.
Without being confined to contribution of building social facilities, the Company also donates school material every year to students from less fortunate families at Bika and Muda Schools and other low-income families in the Woreda.
While providing continuous educational support for five orphaned children at the neighboring Desta Foundation childcare center, Zuqualla Horti PLC also spreads its CSR wings to reach a School of Visually Impaired Students in Bishoftu and Sedekiyas Elderly Charity Organization in Adama, supporting education opportunities for visually impaired students and also assistances to elderly people respectively.
The Company’s workers also actively participate in voluntary blood donation campaigns, contributing to local healthcare services and supporting patients in need of lifesaving blood transfusions.
With these and other projects including contribution to development of water and sanitation facilities in the Woreda, Zuqualla Horti PLC has continued its strategic CSR interventions, demonstrating its long-term commitment to creating positive social impact and contributing to the sustainable development of the communities in which it is operating.
The Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA) champions CSR interventions and initiatives by guiding its member Farms through progressive multi-tiered Code of Practice (CoP), with Gold, Silver and Bronze Level Certifications.
The Gold Level Certification is the highest level of compliance and it is awarded to Farms recognized for their baseline-exceeded performance with exceptional commitment to profound environmental and social responsibility among others.
Zuqualla is one of the Gold-certified Farms that establish strong, proactive cultures of worker investment, community support and environmental responsibility that go far beyond standard compliance.
Operating in two large scale fields in South Ethiopia Regional Sate, Lucy Farm keeps diversifying its market and horticultural production while focusing on modernizing its agricultural practices with precision farming.
With 3,500 hectares in Omorate, Dasenech District and 1,535 hectares of field in Sille, Arba Minch Zuria District, Lucy grows various horticultural crops including among others, banana, orange, mango, avocado, and different varieties of vegetables for both local and export markets.
As part of two recent events: a joint field mission of EHPEA & GIZ aimed at exploring ways of strengthening sustainable horticultural value chains of fruits and vegetables, and secondly in connection with the horticulture subsector stakeholders meeting in Arba Minch, the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA) facilitated field visits to some member farms in the South Ethiopia Regional State, including Lucy Farm.
With close to five hundred permanent employees, Lucy creates seasonal employments for local people ranging between 2,500 and 3,000, while generating strategic social and economic opportunities for local communities through outgrowing schemes, training, and market linkage among other social and environmental interventions, whereby it contributed 6 million Ethiopian Birr in the year 2025/26 only for different social development programs.
During the visit to Lucy Farm in Sille, participants learned that the Farm is in final stage of preparation to commence operation of a newly constructed propagation facility for varied types of demand-driven vegetables to be supplied to local smallholder growers.
“We follow sustainable farming with organic production process and have established an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) system,” says Mekonnen Zeage, Deputy Manager of Lucy Agricultural Development Plc., indicating that Lucy is now focusing on market and product diversification as well as on precision farming.
As the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA) is dedicatedly engaged in spearheading and supporting strategic initiatives and impactful interventions to promote the nation’s horticulture sustainably, key stakeholders are committedly reinforcing the course with committed support and collaboration.
While commercial farms are operating with increasing investments on modern and sustainable horticultural production, some for diversified high-value crops, the Government and development partners are accompanying them by strategic supportive tools, with EHPEA playing a central role in facilitating essential venues where energies from the wide array of actors are converged to drive growth of resilient and productive horticulture industry.
The practical gestures and tangible commitment witnessed these days with the subsector key stakeholders are vivid demonstrations of each actor’s meaningful engagement meant to awaken the horticultural sleeping-giant, the second largest floriculture hub in Africa.
While Ethiopia is among the five top flower producing and exporting countries globally, strenuous efforts are well underway through collaboration and committed engagement of key stakeholders: the public sector, private investors, the Association, and development partners, leveling the venue to unleash the country’s immense, yet untapped, horticultural potential.
Speaking at Horticulture Subsector Stakeholders Consultative Meeting in Arba Minch, South Ethiopia Regional State few days backs, H.E. Dr. Sofia Kassa, State Minister of Agriculture, underlined the need to further strengthen the joint efforts of stakeholders with commitment of each key actor to realize mutual gains from the industry’s growth.
The Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA) has been successful in its endeavors of advocating for strategic policy as well as in promoting sustainable and global market-compliant horticultural operation in Ethiopia. EHPEA’s dedicated engagement with relevant actors in courses to ensure conducive business environment and enhance the industry’s global competitiveness has earned victories in critical issues related to land, customs, tax, logistics, capacity building and global market compliance among others. This has also enabled the country’s horticulture to flourish with growing private investments in sustainable agricultural operation, thereby increasing employment opportunities and hard currency earnings.
Having successfully organized ten editions of the HortiFlora Expo, an annual premier international horticulture and floriculture trade fair in Africa, EHPEA has been able to strategically promote Ethiopia’s rapidly growing horticulture industry and enhance the country’s global position in the subsector.
Through its specialized TVET Center, EHPEA has been driving industry capacity, by training commercial farm workers and others with practical skills in Global Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Integrated Pest Management (IPM), compliance and postharvest handling among others.
The Association has been implementing various partnership initiatives to promote the country’s horticulture with sustainability, also with its three-level Code of Practice Certification guiding its member farms through social and environmental-conscious operations incorporating strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) interventions that foster long-term economic resilience and social progress of local communities.
The Ministry of Agriculture has, in recent times, taken strategic measures and launched key initiatives to transform the horticulture industry, especially to replicate the country’s success of floriculture in fruits and vegetables, thereby boosting decent employments and industry export earnings from currently hundreds of millions to billions of dollars in few years period.
To this end, the Ministry launched the 10-Year National Horticulture Strategy in 2024 and the 15-Year Avocado Development Program in 2025, and various measures are being taken at different levels towards their successful implementation.
In addition to ensuring effective implementation of industry incentives and benefit packages, the Ministry has been convening, with the attendance of the Minister of Agriculture H.E. Ato Addisu Arega, and the State Minister H.E. Dr. Sofia Kassa among others, painstaking stakeholders’ consultative meetings and field visits to horticulture farms at different times, which have indeed been serving as crucial platforms to identify and address critical issues of the industry.
The Ministry has also committedly supported the effect of the long-standing quest of horticultural farms demanding land for expansion, whereby over 30,000 hectares of land has now been designated for horticulture development in different regions across the country.
With the Ministry’s committed support and attentive direction, Regional Governments and highly relevant public offices at different levels have been taking their respective strategic measures to address important issues, thereby meaningfully supporting the country’s second largest hard currency earner within the agriculture sector after coffee.
The recent measures taken in making land availability for both expansion and new projects in some regions, addressing issues related to customs, title deeds and land registration as well as incoterms and crucial incentives among others are vital to drive the industry’s growth and its competitiveness globally. Regions, including Oromia, Central Ethiopia, and South Ethiopia Regions have recently decided and made thousands of hectares of land available for both expansion and new projects of horticulture development, while relevant public offices at the federal, regional, zonal and local levels have taken key measures that significantly support the industry growth.
With consistent and active participation in the stakeholders consultative meetings, relevant public offices of investment, revenue, customs, development infrastructure, power and water utilities, telecom and other services have also been working closely with the Ministry and EHPEA to address issues that are critical to the success of the country’s horticulture subsector. All these committed engagements are, of course, facilitating conducive investment environment and ensuring ease of business doing within the industry, and thereby greatly contributing to the subsector’s promotion and Ethiopia’s competitiveness globally.
Recent events portray that commercial farms in the country are increasingly investing in diversification of high-value crops, improved technology and solutions as well as modern agricultural facilities and operation aiming at boosting sustainable production with increased earnings and decent employment opportunities. Many farms are being observed investing in operations compliant to standards and requirements of global markets, whereby a number of EHPEA member farms are increasingly certified with EHPEA’s highest level compliance, Gold-Level Certification that demonstrates their unwavering commitment to international standards, environmental stewardship and profound social responsibility.
The recently inaugurated mass rearing facility for biological pest control agents by Red Fox Ethiopia Plc (Dummen Orange) in Koka, Oromia Regional State, is a milestone in Ethiopia’s horticulture, and along with other related measures in adopting Integrated Pest Management (IPM) system by other growers, the move demonstrates that commercial farms are committedly mobilizing huge investments to run responsible and sustainable horticultural production in the country.
The dedicated expansion from just 3 hectares to 120 hectares of fields, relatively within short period of time, for sustainable production of varied summer flowers by Klaver Flowers as well as investments being witnessed currently with Luna and Lucy Farms among others in modern agricultural facilities and operation for diversified high-value horticultural crops in South Ethiopia Region are also examples of committed engagement of commercial farms in the country’s subsector development.
While creating social and economic opportunities for local people, many other EHPEA member farms at different clusters are being observed in investing and running responsible operation by facilitating conducive working environments, empowering local communities and supporting smallholder farmers and livelihoods through various strategic CSR interventions.
Lucy Farm says it has finalized preparation to launch operation of a newly constructed propagation facility for varied types of vegetables at its site in Arba Minch, South Ethiopia Regional State
The Ministry of Agriculture, the South Ethiopia Region Investment Commission, and the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA) on July 10, 2026, jointly organized a stakeholders’ consultative meeting in Arba Minch town deliberating on ways of boosting horticultural investment in the Region.
Having wrapped up the consultative meeting held with the attendance of State Minister of Agriculture, H.E. Dr. Sofia Kassa, participants of the consultative meeting paid a visit to Lucy Farms in Arba Minch.
Warmly welcoming the guests with impressive hospitality, the Farm facilitated for the visitors to participate in transplanting of different horticultural seedlings at a purpose-designated site.
Lucy Farm is one of EHPEA’s members, along with Fri-El Ethiopia and Luna Farms among others, operating in the South Ethiopia Region with modern agricultural practices for growing variety of fruits for both local and export markets.
Lucy Farm produces and supplies to both local and foreign markets variety of horticultural crops, including banana, avocado, apple mango, papaya and watermelon as well as different types of vegetables.
In addition to farming fields of banana and apple mangos, the participants visited a newly constructed propagation facility of the Farm, where Lucy plans to propagate and distribute variety of demand-driven seedlings to local growers.
The Ministry of Agriculture, the South Ethiopia Region Investment Commission, and the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA) today jointly organized a stakeholders’ consultative meeting in Arba Minch town deliberating on ways of boosting horticultural investment in the Region through attracting new investors and expanding existing operations.
The consultative meeting was convened with the attendance of State Minister of Agriculture, H.E. Dr. Sofia Kassa, South Ethiopia Investment Commissioner Atsede Ayiza, Wolaita Sodo Mayor Etagegn Hailemariam, officials and representatives of relevant offices from different levels as well as EHPEA Executive Committee Chair and Vice Chair Persons, EHPEA Executive Director and EHPEA member farms operating in the Region.
Hailing the crucial role the horticulture is playing in generating foreign currencies, creating employment opportunities and transferring knowledge and technology among others, H.E. the State Minister called on new and existing investors in the country to exploit the investment opportunities and the vast horticultural potential in the South Ethiopia Region.
She has also applauded private farm investments in the Region and called on more engagement that would also further strengthen positive impacts on smallholder farmers and the livelihood of local communities.
EHPEA members, including Fri-El Ethiopia, Luna and Lucy Farms among others are operating in the Region with modern agricultural practices for growing variety of horticultural crops for both local and export markets.
Reiterating the Ministry’s continued commitment to supporting the sub-sector, H.E. the State Minister emphasized on the need to drive committed collaborations of all stakeholders to unleash the huge horticultural potential in the country and address challenges facing the industry through joint efforts.
Stating that the Region is highly suitable for fruits and vegetables development, the South Ethiopia Region Investment Commissioner Atsede Ayiza noted that strategic measures have been taken to facilitate conducive investment environment for both new and existing investors who are keen to operate in the Region.
In his presentation on recent events and key areas related to the industry, the EHPEA Executive Director Tewodros Zewdie said that notable achievements have been gained in addressing issues that are critical to promote the country’s second largest hard currency earner in the agriculture sector after coffee.
The Executive Director has appreciated the decisions and measures taken primarily by the Ministry of Agriculture, other relevant Offices and Regional Governments in dealing with those critical issues related to making lands available for expansion and new projects, incoterms, title deeds and land registry, customs and duty free matters among others.
The meeting also raised other important issues on which the stakeholders deliberated at length, with emphasis on the need to work closely and employ collaborative efforts to jointly promote the industry for enhanced mutual gains.
Operating with 2,300 employees on its 120-hectare fields in Hawassa, Sidama Regional State, Klaver Flowers keeps growing with increasing farm expansion and sustainable production, thereby creating decent employments and boosting export earning of quality summer flower varieties.
Facilitated by the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA), State Minister of Agriculture, H.E. Dr. Sofia Kassa, today paid a field visit to the largest Gypsophilia producing Farm in Africa.
The State Minister’s field visit is a practical demonstration of the Ministry’s continued commitment to supporting the private sector in the industry, and thereby promoting the horticulture subsector and enhancing the country’s global competitiveness.
Using in-house produced seedlings, which were previously imported from overseas, the Farm is exploiting its potential fully, also with dedicated engagement to bolster its production to 100 million stems from 70 million stems of diverse summer flower now, says the Farm Manager Gulilat Bekele.
Starting with the humble plots of three hectares in 2013, the Farm, due to favorable and supportive investment environment, currently operates on increased hectares of land with keen interest of expansion to boost its multi-million-dollar export of cut flowers of Gypsophilia, Limonium, Craspedia, Molucella, Veronica, Sunflower and Lepidium to European and Middle East markets.
Accompanied by the EHPEA Executive Committee Chair and Vice Chair Person and the EHPEA Executive Director among others, H.E. the State Minister visited farm fields and different facilities, including modern propagation and fertilizer houses among others.
The State Minister applauded the dedicated expansion investment of the Farm, its community support, and operation that helps knowledge and technology transfer.
She also called on and encouraged the Company for further strengthened initiatives to empower the local community, particularly to strategically support smallholder farmers in the neighborhoods.
As part of its corporate social responsibility engagement, the Farm consistently provides the necessary supports to 50 students, from KG to University level, and a local clinic among other social and environmental interventions.
The EHPEA Silver Standard has successfully completed the benchmarking process for the primary production scope under the SSCI’s Social Criteria, which was set up to ensure that the relevant social sustainability topics are being covered.
During the SSCI benchmarking process, EHPEA carried out several actions to align its Silver Standard with the SSCI benchmark, including improvements to:
● Governance and oversight procedures; ● Complaints and appeals handling processes; ● Audit oversight and record management; ● Risk and liability management; ● Labour and occupational health and safety requirements.
Mr. Tewodros Zewdie, Executive Director of EHPEA, said, “We are proud that the EHPEA Code of Practice for Sustainable Flower Production has received official recognition from the Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative. This achievement reflects our strong commitment to sustainability, ethical business practices, and continuous improvement across Ethiopia’s floriculture sector. It is a testament to the dedication of our member farms and reinforces our position as a trusted supplier in global markets.”
The SSCI benchmarks social and environmental sustainability schemes against a robust global baseline giving consumer goods companies the clarity needed to optimise their sourcing decisions and confidently meet industry and regulatory expectations.
This conditional recognition means that companies can source from EHPEA-certified farms with the understanding that the standard meets the strict requirements of the SSCI Social Criteria.
Didier Bergeret, Director of Sustainability at the CGF said, “By welcoming the EHPEA into our community of recognised schemes, we’re helping consumer goods companies source horticultural products more responsibly from Ethiopia.”
