1 Product Description: Seedlings are very young plants grow from seeds (not cut from trees and planted to grow). Seedlings re prepared in designated places for selling them after they reached a certain age. The seedlings could be trees for supplying timber, fruit trees for harvesting fruits, vegetables or plants wanted for their flowers. What ever their purpose, in advanced countries seedlings re grown and distributed on commercial basis
2 Market Potential: Prompted by the ever increasing deforestation going on in the country attempts are being made to restore and conserve the forest resource of the country. During the last 25-30 years, afforestation activities have been under taken in almost all parts of the country. State agencies at the local level have been responsible of supplying seedlings for the reforestation programmers. But seedlings provided by local state agencies have been limited both in number and variety. In almost all cases only seedlings of eucalyptus trees were supplied to farmers and other people involved in tree planting. In addition, not enough number of seedlings was produced for the reforestation activates. The fact that production and distribution of seedlings is limited to local state agencies has to some extent hampered the expansion of the reforestation activities in the countries. To increase the Varity of plant species to be planted and to increase the quality and quantity of seedlings to be produced, the private sector must be involved in the production and distribution of seedling on commercial scale.
Such commercial venture will be under taken as a small scale business enterprise and will operate in many localities through out the Amhara region.
The major consumers for seedlings will be peasant farmers, urban dwellers, schools, churches, municipalities, NGOs, state local agencies, fruits and vegetable growers, commercial farmers and any entity interested in the rehabilitation of the regions plant resources.
3 Sources of Raw materials:- In this case "raw materials" refers to seeds from which seedlings grow. These seeds (of different variety) will be obtained from local and foreign sources.
4 Process and Technology:- The process of establishing and operating a seedlings production and distribution enterprises includes acquisition plots of land (preferable near water sources), preparing and developing the plots, obtaining the seeds, planting , watering, and nurturing the young seedlings, uprooting and selling the seedlings. For operation a seedlings production farm different types of farm tools, small water pumps and other implements are required.
5 Estimated Investment: For establishing a fire hectare seedlings production farm, the investment requirement will be
§ Acquisition and preparation of land 20,000
§ Tools and equipment 50,000
§ Working capital 30,000
100,000
6 Benefits: Contributes to the rehabilitation of the regions plant resources, increases the supply of fruits and vegetables, increases the supply of timber
7 Location: localities through out the region