New Banana Introduced to Farmers in Gamo South Ethiopia

In the Gamo Zone of the South Ethiopia Regional State, 75,000 hectares of land are cultivated with bananas, creating employment opportunities in the sector for more than 28,000 people.

Bananas account for 63 percent of the total fruit cultivation in the zone. The area produces 312,000 tons of bananas per month, or 3.8 million tons annually.

The Head of the Gamo Zone Agriculture Department, Mageso Mashole, said that banana production from the zone is being supplied to the local community, the central market, and export markets.

The official noted that a number of activities are being carried out in the zone to increase banana production and productivity. These include promoting new varieties to farmers and encouraging the use of organic fertilizer.

Reports show that Ethiopia’s fresh banana production has grown significantly, rising from 898,355 metric tons in 2020 to an output nearing 7.3 million tons by 2026 when factoring in all local varieties. According to historical timelines tracked in the FAOSTAT Database, bananas dominate the national horticultural footprint, accounting for roughly 60% of the total fruit cultivation area.

While local tracking from agencies like the Ethiopian Press Agency via Capital Ethiopia reports massive regional cultivation capacity, the formal export volumes have historically remained low, bringing in $25 million over a recent five-year block. To capture broader global markets, the government is shifting away from informal distribution channels.

According to official state briefs from the Ethiopian News Agency, the Ministry of Agriculture has launched strict compliance frameworks aimed at meeting international phytosanitary requirements to hit a $700 million horticultural export target. Meeting these targets and scaling future yields depends on smallholder development.

Value-chain reports from the FAO AGRIS Repository highlight constraints like poor post-harvest handling and a lack of cold-chain transport. To bridge these gaps, international funding frameworks coordinated with agencies like the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) continue to target structural credit access for smallholders, which remains the single largest bottleneck for expanding production.