A seminar review on red pepper (Capsicum) production and marketing in Ethiopia

Abstract

In Ethiopia, red pepper is cultivated in many parts of the country and it is an important source of income for smallholder producers. Since the larger proportion of the pepper produced is for the market, it takes a significant share of the national income from commodity export. Even though the country cultivates pepper but its share in the world was insignificant. The pepper sub-sector can be characterized as underdeveloped, unorganized, small scale, and inefficient. Furthermore, farmers output was faced constraints such as lack of improved seeds to satisfy producers demand, lack of advice and technical assistance, non-timely distribution of fertilizer, which leads to delay in sowing and harvesting, traditional way of cultivating, lack of training for experts and shortage of manuals, publications and guidelines for spice production largely hinder the red pepper production. The red pepper value chain suffers from low production, low quality, less value addition and irregularity of supply. The actors were input supplier, producer, merchant agent, processors, wholesaler, retailer, and consumer. These problems of low quality and quantity not only influence the international competitiveness of Ethiopian exporters but also the domestic market as well. The decline of red pepper production is also attributed to poor varieties, poor cultural practices, and diseases. Despite the fact that the significance of pepper in Ethiopian economy and current income-generating capacity of pepper as compared to others has not been given due attention. By 2050 the world’s population expected to be reached 9 billion and demand for food goes to 70% and 100%.