One of the agro-industries with promising prospects in Eritrea today is the Elabered Estate. Located 68 Km north-west of Asmara, it is operated by the Eritrean Crops and Livestock Corporation.
Elabered Estate was originally established in 1893 by an Italian entrepreneur on around 12 Ha growing vegetables, sisal and tobacco, among others. It later grew into a complex agro-industry. It was heavily damaged during the war for independence and had to be rebuilt in 1998.
The Elabered Estate sits on about 1,200 ha of which 350 ha is under cultivation, 108 ha is used for various kinds of civil works, 22 ha is occupied by ponds, dams and canals, while the remaining 570 ha is primarily steep, covered with trees, vegetation and stones. It uses the Anseba River as the main source of water through diversion systems, and it applies a mechanized type of farming.
Of the 300 ha of arable land about 84 ha is cultivated with perennial crops while 86 ha is cultivated with vegetables and fodder crops. Portions of the remaining irrigable land have recently been developed while the rest are not utilized primarily for crop rotation and future expansion of fruit and vegetable farms. Out of the 570 ha about 100 ha serves as grazing land during the rainy season.
The farms at the Estate are currently covered with cereals, vegetables, fruit trees such as oranges, lemons, papayas, mangoes, guavas, avocadoes and olives, as well as animal food such as alpha -alpha.
The Estate has five departments: vegetables, fruits, crop disease prevention, livestock and dairy products and animal food. Fruits, vegetables and dairy products are supplied to Asmara daily. In addition to the milk sold locally, around 4,000 liters of milk is delivered weekly to Asmara. The milk processing plant at the Elabered Estate processes milk from Elabered and Halhale dairy farms. The tomato processing plant at the Estate is being renovated.
Currently, there is a lot of focus on the reproduction of animals at the Estate, where 300 cows, 100 sheep and 900 pigs are being raised. The dung of the animals is used as fertilizer, helping save expenses.
One of the goals of the Elabered Estate is to stabilize market prices of agricultural products such as vegetables, fruits, meat and dairy products. It has also created employment opportunities for hundreds of the local people, who work at the Estate’s farms and food processing plants.
For optimum results the Estate works in collaboration with institutions in the country, such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Hamelmalo Agricultural College, and the National Agricultural Research Institution of Halhale. Most of the Estate’s staff have been trained at these institutions.
The Government established seed banks, research stations and laboratories with a view to assisting farmers. Applied research on livestock, forestry, horticulture and plant pests are in progress. It has created platforms for farmers to get training periodically with a view to helping them improve their entrepreneurial and farm management skills.
The agro food sector of the Estate offers significant potential for expansion, and with the introduction of modern technology such as drip irrigation and sprinklers would enable the Estate to save water and intensify its production.