Most locally cultivated rice varieties in Ethiopia have low physical (low head rice yield, high broken rice yield, and high percentage of chalkiness) and cooking qualities (low water uptake ratio and swelling ratio). Parboiling, a process which involves soaking, steaming, and drying, has been identified as a key technique to improve cooking and milling quality of rice. The current study is aimed at elucidating the effect of parboiling on physical and cooking qualities of three rice varieties (Gumara, Edget, and Narica4) collected from Fogera National Rice Research and Training Center, Amhara region, Ethiopia. Each rice variety was subjected to different soaking temperatures (40°C, 50°C, 60°C, 70°C, and 80°C) and steaming time (10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 minutes). The treatment effect results indicated that parboiling has a significant effect (P<0.05) on head rice yield and percentage of broken rice with increased soaking temperature and steaming time as compared to the control. For instance, percent head rice yield increased as soaking temperature (from 40 to 80°C) and steaming time (from 10 to 50 min) increased: for Gumara, from 4.07 to 93.6%, for Edget, 9.47 to 96.53, and from 3.20 to 91.67 for Narica4. Percentage chalkiness had decreased as soaking temperature and steaming time increased: 97.33% to 0.00% for Gumara, 97.80% to 0.00% for Edget, and 100.00% to 0.13% for Narica4 as compared to 100% for control of all varieties. The minimum cooking time was identified as 16-23 min for Gumara, 16-23 min for Edget, and 15-20 min for Narica4 rice varieties. The result of the present study clearly showed that parboiling with high soaking temperature and steaming time increased the head rice yield, water uptake ratio, decreased percentage chalkiness, and enhanced the overall quality of the rice varieties.

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is a strong-flavoured vegetable consumed in different ways and its distinctive flavor or simply pungency. Onion has also important natural compounds effective for medical functions. Its importance is directly related with high content of high organosulphur compounds. Shelf life of fresh onion bulb is short enough due to the presence of high moisture content where postharvest loss of onion bulb reaches up to 50% in the production season.

Fishery provides a multitude of benefi ts ranging from employment to food security. Investigating the factors affecting fi shing income and the fi shing environment are crucial entry points for effi ciency maximization intervention. A survey was conducted in all Woredas' adjacent to Lake Tana. Data was gathered using household survey and focus group discussions and analyzed by a linear regression model. The results indicated that the fi shery in Lake Tana is comprised of diverse individuals in relation to occupation, engagement intensity and membership to cooperatives. Fish related income was positively correlated to years of schooling and ownership of motorized boat while negatively correlated to membership to fi sh cooperatives. Interventions aimed at improving the market infrastructure, delivery of major fi shery inputs, training on processing and use of by-products, revising the membership requirements and enforcement of fi shery related laws are critical for sustainability of the fi shery resource.

Triticale is breed of wheat and rye and can grow in poor soil fertility. The nutritional quality of triticale is similar to that of wheat and rye. But the presence of anti-nutritional factors especially tannin and phytate reduce the nutrient utilization and/or food intake products when used as human foods. Anti-nutritional factors are chemical compounds synthesized in natural food and or feedstuffs by the normal metabolism of plant species or may be formed during heat/alkaline processing of foods. In this study, different anti-nutritional factor reduction techniques (malting and blanching) were evaluated and remarkable reduction in antinutritional factor was found. Finally, these techniques (malting and blanching) were demonstrated at triticale potential farmers of the Amhara region in Degadamot and Fareta district.

Onion is one of the most cultivated and consumed vegetable in Ethiopia. It is widely grown in several parts of the country especially in irrigated areas. In Amhara region, Fogera woreda is one of the place at which onion is cultivated extensively using irrigation. Although there is high onion blub production in this area, about 40% post-harvest losses observed in the district. Consequentially Onion bulb had extreme variable market price during production and off season. To reduce these post-harvest losses and stabilize market fluctuation during the production and off season, onion drying technology was evaluated. At the time of use the onion flake would be rehydrated using warm water. Physicochemical properties of fresh and dried onion were analyzed by sensory analysis. Panel results confirmed onion flake had similar sensory attributes as compared to that of fresh onion. Finally, this onion processing technology was demonstrated in selected potential farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs in food processing at Fogera district and promising feed-backs were obtained.