From the total watermelon production area in Ethiopia, Koka takes the biggest share. Farmers in the area started producing watermelon a long time ago, but the production has never been that satisfying since they are using seed that is not hybrid and has an unknown seed source.
When we demonstrated our hybrid watermelon called Avallon F1, the intention was to address the problems they were facing related to lower yields, a higher risk of disease, a shorter shelf life, and low market acceptance because of the taste of the watermelon fruit. Therefore, we successfully introduced Avallon F1 for the first time, where there is a huge production of watermelon year-round that can replace the gap that the farmer had before.
