Current Status, Potentials and Opportunities of Avocado Production as an Alternative Crop: the Case of Ethiopia: A Review

Abstract

The current diminishing farmland size and land productivity due to a population pressure, the decline in soil fertility and climate change is as major challenges in crop production making unsustainable necessitating some resilience mechanism. Crop diversification can be a useful strategy. Thus, avocado can be considered as an important alternative crop to the farmers in most areas in Ethiopia as there are high potential and suitability of the agro-ecologies, high domestic and export market potential. Avocado can provides multiple benefits to the farmers especially to improve farmers’ income, increase land productivity, sustainability and food security. Furthermore, it has complementary advantages for business and economic activities of growing towns in nearby areas. And avocado is a high yielder, the nitration value of avocado is recommendable for nutritional deficient people in developing countries including Ethiopia. However, currently, there is a large yield gap of avocado productivity in Ethiopia (about 4.2 t ha-1) as compared to the world (7tha-1) of which lack of improved avocado varieties has been a bottleneck. Because of this, recently some improved avocado varieties have been introduced and on distribution to small-scale farmers by the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with USAID. And for better achievement, it should be also supported by research to make more sustainable production and productivity. Therefore, a better understanding of avocado is essential. In this review article, world production and local avocado production trend, importance, potentials and opportunities, some constraints and future direction have been discussed.