Asmara, 18 January 2024 – The Ministry of Agriculture has announced intensified efforts to expand date farming in Eritrea. Originating in the late 1990s with a few dedicated farmers in the Sheib sub-zone, date farming initially saw limited advancement.

However, a significant shift occurred in 2017 when the Ministry launched a major initiative to promote this agricultural sector in the Northern and Southern Red Sea regions. This initiative included providing specialized training to farmers and introducing high-quality date seedlings.

Mr. Musie Fekadu, Head of Bio-Technology at the National Agricultural Research Institute and coordinator of the date farming project, reported substantial progress. Approximately 23,000 date trees have been successfully planted and are currently thriving. Mr. Musie highlighted that each tree yields between 75 to 200 kilograms of dates.

Furthermore, Mr. Musie mentioned that at the 7th International Date Summit held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2022, Eritrea proudly became the 41st member of the Date Producing and Processing Countries, marking a significant milestone in its agricultural journey.

Looking ahead, Mr. Musie revealed ambitious plans to increase the number of date trees in the targeted regions to 300,000 by 2030. This expansion aims to bolster Eritrea’s position in the global date market and contribute significantly to the nation’s agricultural output.