Addis Ababa, There is an untapped potential in Ethiopia to cultivate the moringa crop which could significantly contribute to nutrition and to earn foreign currency, Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) Senior Food and Nutrition Science Researcher Endale Amare said.
In an exclusive interview with ENA, Senior Food and Nutrition Researcher at Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), stressed that moringa contributes a lot to nutrition and food security.
The researcher stated that EPHI has been conducting research on moringa in collaboration with UNIDO and other partners since 2018, and it has developed various food products from moringa plant.
Moringa can be prepared and consumed as a cabbage at home, and used in different forms, including powder and liquid.
According to Endale, moringa tea is a very well known and popular beverage globally.
Noting the serious deficiency of nutrition in Ethiopian children, the researcher said that moringa can fill the gap as it is rich in calcium, zinc and iron.
EPHI has developed complementary food for children, particularly by fortifying moringa with the staple crops like maize, wheat, rice and others, it was learned.
The world is seeking to use moringa, which is very rich in protein, as an ingredient to different supplement foods, the researcher elaborated.
“As there is demand, in the western countries, we need to expand the production as well as value addition on moringa crops in which the country can earn foreign currency by exporting the indigenous resource.”
One of the challenges in using moringa is the fact that it is a perishable product difficult to transport from where it is cultivated to where it is demanded, Endale noted .
But we can add value to it through processing it into different forms, he added.
Even if there is a challenge in post-harvest loss, we can have huge potential if there is effort to add value to moringa, he stated, adding that the expansion of agro-industrial parks could be another opportunity for moringa valued added products.
Mentioning countries like India, Ghana, and Kenya that are very well known in terms of having commercial farming for moringa, the researcher said that Ethiopia does not have yet commercial farms for moringa crop.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency