By Anwar Hussen Mohammed – Established a year ago in the Cheha and Enmore bordering districts of Central Ethiopia Region, commercial maize farm by a domestic investor on an area of more than 2,000 hectares will soon be marketed, says the investor.
Mr. Daje Daba’s commercial farm is located at an average distance of 35 kilometers from Wolkite city around the Wabi River. The farm is surrounded by large rocks and waterfalls, and in the forest bordering the Hunke River.
In order to enter the forest which is surrounded by mountains that have never been explored before, the company has drilled through a mountain that is about ten meters tall and built a road of about 20 kilometers for vehicles and pedestrians.
The company has cleared the area of more than 10,000 hectares surrounded by mountains and made the area more than 4,000 hectares suitable for farming. Out of this, Lemmu, improved maize seed variety, was distributed to the farmers and planted on 1,000 hectares, corn on 2,000 hectares, and wheat on 800 hectares.
On 200 hectares, the company has planted oranges, lemons and tangerines of improved variety, according the owner of the farm, Daje Daba. The businessman took the land and carried out road works worth hundreds of millions of Ethiopian Birr and started operation in a short time. “ It is a good lesson for those who have got land but not started operation for years<” says Osman Surur, Deputy Head of Government, and cluster coordinator and head of the regional agriculture office in Central Ethiopia Region.
He said that the Dane Farm Development Company has not found as many workers as it needs during the weeding season. Although it currently has about 1,000 workers, since the corn harvest arrives fifteen days after the month, he is afraid that if he does not find enough workers to harvest the grain, the grain may spoil, and if he cannot get government support, he said, it will be difficult.
The company, which is engaged in mechanized farming with the help of tractors and various farming equipment, has been growing fruit since a year ago by securing land in Blate area.
The owner said that his company plans to cover the 10,000 hectares of land it has acquired with various food crops.
