Fruit Production and Marketing in North East Ethiopia:

Cultivation of fruit trees in degraded areas has two-fold importance, improves food security & conserves soil & water. The study area, Habru is in N/Wollo Administrative Zone of Amhara Region & one of the degraded areas in N/Eastern Ethiopia with good potential of fruit production. This study is conducted to identify major fruit production & marketing challenges & opportunities of the study area by using a value chain analysis. Data from 160 sample households, middlemen & key informants is analysed using descriptive statistics & market performance measurment techniques. Fruits from the area reaches at the terminal & different Amhara and Tigray region markets. Total gross marketing margin of the fruits ranged from 20-90%. This high range resulted in significant variation in the producers' share of the consumers' price among farmers. The lowest producers' share from consumers' price, 11 %, is for guava. Fruit producers & market middlemen faced a number of production & marketing challanges. Access to irrigation & road, endowment of preffered guava variety, existence of community based organizations are the major opportunities.