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The Africa RISING project in Ethiopia recently conducted a participatory assessment and survey on the adoption and marketing of high value vegetables and fruits in its field sites.
The main results include:

• The crop-livestock systems of the Ethiopian highlands are predominantly cereal-based, with vegetable and fruits only recently introduced to the system.
• Access to surface irrigation water (springs, rivers) and use of water harvesting have become major incentives to growing vegetables and fruits.
• There is an increasing inclusion of vegetables in the diets of the rural community, which is expanding local market opportunities.
• Pests and diseases are already undermining the returns of horticultural investments.
• Lack of organized seed systems for vegetables and fruits is a major constraint.
• The concern fro quality, both in accessing quality planting materials but also to avail quality produce, requires the support of skilled extensionists and NGOs.

Download the report: http://hdl.handle.net/10568/67033