"If the pepper is taken care of, it will be harvested many times, so it is like milking a cow," Abeje said.

Abeje Tegagaw, a resident of Sakurta village in Bebeks Kebele, Fogera Woreda, never dreamed of cultivating his fertile garden by using groundwater.

Abeje Tsega, a 65-year-old man, is married and has six children. He raised his family on a single hectare of land. When the Sustainable Vegetable Value Chain Project began to be implemented in his area, he benefited from the training he received from the project so that he could run an irrigational farm.

ORDA Ethiopia’s Sustainable Vegetable value Chain (SVVC) Project runs from 2019 - 2023 in 5 kebeles of Fogera woredas namely, Abua kokit, Bebekis, Kuhar Mikael, Sifatra, and Shina kebele with a total budget of 3.6 Million birrs secured through Development Fund (Funded from Norwegian Aid & Development) to be implemented with the consortium of SNV and Joytech Fresh. Farmer Tsegaw, a resident of among the beneficiary kebeles, received training in seed sewing & horticulture developments. He is growing peppers, which are freely supplied by the project, in irrigation by drawing water by a power generator. He has been selling peppers since October 2021. So far, he has earned 9,700 birrs from the sale of peppers. As a result, he is able to support his family financially.

Ato Abeje said his pepper is the best variety sown and can be harvested throughout the year if it is watered and cultivated well. "If the pepper is taken care of, it will be harvested many times, so it is like milking a cow," he said.

Generally, during the last two years of project operation, 545 households (65 in tomato cultivation, 406 in pepper cultivation, and 74 households in cabbage cultivation) have been supplied and are growing 1,400 best vegetable varieties each for better yields.