Challenges and Opportunities of Mango Production and Marketing in Assosa Zone of Benishangul Gumuz Region: Evidence from Ethiopia

In support of stimulating growth, economic development, food security and alleviating poverty in Benishangul-Gumuz region in particular mango fruits play an important role in an on-going or future fruit development plan. In spite of the importance of mango fruits in generating income for smallholders’ farmers, challenges and opportunities in mango production and marketing have not yet studied. As a result a cross sectional data was collected from 150 mango producer farmers. Moreover, focus group discussions using pre-tested semi structured questionnaires and checklists respectively and it was supplemented by secondary data collected from different published and unpublished sources. As a result, it provides basic and relevant information on production trends; marketing and consumption, access to governmental institutions, micro-finance, and technology transfer of mango improved varieties of the smallholder farmers were identified. Hence, developmental endeavors should be work on the identified gaps that could milk the opportunities and fill skills and knowledge gaps of smallholder farmers so as to improve their livelihoods. In this arena, emphasis should be given to improve effective production and marketing of mango. Keywords: Mango, challenges, opportunities, Benishangul Gumuz DOI: 10.7176/JMCR/53-0