Addis Ababa: Ethiopia’s agriculture sector has been immensely contributing to the overall economic growth of the country, Minister of Agriculture Girma Amenti underscored. The review of the third-quarter performance for the 2017 Ethiopian fiscal year took place with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in attendance.

According to Ethiopian News Agency, Minister of Agriculture Girma Amenti noted that, during the past nine months, the agriculture sector has made substantial contributions to the country’s overall economic growth. He pointed out that 20.5 million hectares of land have been covered with seeds over the past Mehir farming season, which has an increment of 3 million hectares compared to the previous year.

The minister highlighted that the nation has produced 152 million quintals of wheat this year. He disclosed that the agriculture sector is expected to contribute 6.1 percent to the country’s national growth plan, which stands at 8.4 percent. The plan set in crop production has successfully been achieved over the past nine months.

Girma noted that efforts made in livestock development, particularly through the Bounty of the Basket initiative, have yielded significant successes. The initiative has led to impressive production levels achieved in milk, eggs, chicken, honey, and fish. The positive achievements being recorded in the agriculture sector have been contributing to easing the cost of living and inflation.

Moreover, Girma further stated that the agriculture sector has contributed to the nation’s export trade by enabling the country to secure 2.6 billion USD over the past nine months.