AGRA to provide $15.5 million to upgrade Ethiopian agriculture

Haile Mariam Desalegn, a former leader of Ethiopia, is the founder and president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa/AGRA, which claims to have allocated $15.5 million to improve Ethiopian agriculture.

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra) yesterday unveiled a plan that calls for modernising Ethiopia’s agriculture and ensuring food security.

Additionally, it was said that Ethiopia would implement the strategy within the following five years.

Haile Mariam Desalegn, a former prime minister of Ethiopia and the chairman of Agra, pledged that by modernising the agricultural sector, we will strive arduously to assure the public’s access to food.

The strategy will increase productivity and production, according to Ato Hailemariam’s declaration, by providing small-scale farmers with more equipment and resources.

It was also mentioned in the conference that Agra would work to protect food security and combat climate change by resolving concerns unique to the business.

In the forum, it was mentioned that he pledged $15.5 million to Ethiopia’s five-year strategy.

The policy revealed by Agra, according to the state’s minister of agriculture, Dr. Fikru Regasa, will dramatically modernise the agricultural sector.

The Minister of State went on to say that the agriculture sector has given 65% of Ethiopians access to employment opportunities.

Therefore, cooperation amongst all parties is essential if the agriculture industry is to expand.

The new strategy builds on AGRA’s work in the country that is focused on enhancing productivity, minimizing risks of crop failure and creating capacity to respond to shocks. AGRA hopes that through these interventions, it will help to reverse the recurrent climate shocks to improve production and productivity of strategic crops and government flagship priority commodities.
Speaking during an event to launch the strategy, AGRA’s Board Chair H.E. HailemariamDessalegnsaid: “Agriculture has always been top priority for Ethiopia as the country seeks to leverage on developing huge underutilised arable land, modernising production systems, developing irrigation infrastructure, improving uptake of technology, boosting agricultural export revenues and import substitution. We are committed to working with the government and the private sector to drive innovation and investment in the sector, ensuring that the benefits of agricultural transformation reach all Ethiopians.”

Over the next five years, AGRA will be seeking to increase productivity of small holder farmers, strengthen their resilience and boost the capacity of agricultural sector institutions. This will be achieved through investments in seed systems, sustainable farming, inclusive markets, and through progressive trade policy and enhancing the state’s capacity.
Ethiopia’s Minister of Agriculture, H.E Dr FikruRegassa said, “We appreciate the invaluable contribution that AGRA has made in our country. I am optimistic that together we can enhance food security in Ethiopia and address our country’s strategic decision to stop relying on imported seed.”
The strategy is aligned to the country’s long-term economic development blueprint, 2021-2030, that envisages building a climate-resilient green economy. Working together we will boost agricultural productivity in Ethiopia which currently contributes 32.7 percent of the country’s GDP and employs 65 percent of its 110 million people.
AGRA has invested over $15.5 million, with a focus on enhanced private sector involvement in seed production and distribution.The program built local capacity to train and mentor seed companies and strengthened local markets by increasing grain quality and reducing aflatoxin levels.

Founded in 2006, AGRA, formerly known as the Alliance for Green Revolution is an African-led African-based organization that seeks to catalyse Agriculture Transformation in Africa. AGRA is focused on putting smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a business that thrives. As the sector that employs the majority of Africa’s people, nearly all of them small-scale farmers, AGRA recognizes that developing smallholder agriculture into a productive, efficient, and sustainable system is essential to ensuring food security, lifting millions out of poverty, and driving equitable growth across the continent.