Potato farm, Liben Union
The Liben and Robe Berga unions in Oromia are halfway through a major business make-over, with 2SCALE providing technical advice and business linkages. The unions, which earlier focused on cereals, are now growing potatoes for the Addis Ababa market; and planning not just for 2018 but for 2019 as well.
A governance meeting in March focused on how to ensure sustainability after 2SCALE phases out in December 2018. The district office of trade and marketing will take over information dissemination activities, which are currently led by 2SCALE. The federal cooperative agency will manage the internal capitalization initiative, the office of agriculture and the Holeta Agricultural Research Center will coordinate seed multiplication and distribution. The two unions (which already fund 70% of cluster activities) will fund training and coaching programs.
Marketing support (e.g. participation in business fairs and exhibitions) has helped both unions identify large-scale buyers. So far this year, they have sold more than 200 tons of ware potato and 100 tons of seed potato. Both unions are also planning to set up small processing plants to make crisps and chips. Construction of factory sheds is complete, procurement of equipment is ongoing. Both plants will begin operating later in 2018.