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Africa needs agriculture to eradicate hunger & up sustainable food production
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Agriculture must become the engine for growth needed by Africa to eradicate hunger and boost sustainable food production, as stated at an event on the margins of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa by José Graziano da Silva, director general, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Stating that more than one out of every five Africans was still denied the right to food, he called on the region to step up its efforts, because it had the power to change the situation. He noted that a majority of the world’s ten fastest-growing economies were those of African nations.
”The challenge for Africa was to make economic growth more inclusive by targeting agricultural and rural development, women and young people,” da Silva said. About 75 per cent of Africans are 25 years old or younger, and the population is expected to remain largely rural for the next 35 years, with women heading many households.
“Agriculture is the only sector of the economy which is capable of absorbing this workforce,” the director general stated, adding that there was no inclusive and sustainable way forward for the world’s second-largest continent without women, youth and agriculture.
African Year of Agri & Food Security
Governments would have the opportunity to renew their support for agricultural development in 2014, which would be observed as the African Year of Agriculture and Food Security, which would be launched during the African Union Summit, slated to take place in the Ethiopian capital this week.
“The launch of the African Year of Agriculture and Food Security is a step towards a hunger-free and sustainable Africa that Nelson Mandela and many others dreamed of and fought for,” da Silva said, adding that it would build on the efforts of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), launched in 2003.
The African Year of Agriculture and Food Security is being observed parallel to the United Nations’ International Year of Family Farming. “For many years, and in many parts of the world, small-scale farmers, pastoralist families and fisherfolk were viewed as a part of the problem of hunger,” FAO’s director general said.
“That could not be further from the truth. Family farmers are already the main food producers in most countries, and they can do even more with the right kind of support,” he added. Improving access to financial services, training, mechanization and technology could transform subsistence farmers into efficient producers.
”Through methods that increase production and, at the same time, preserve natural resources, family farming would provide a sustainable alternative to input-intensive technologies that have resulted in damage to soil quality, land, water and biodiversity,” da Silva added.
2025 Zero Hunger target
Da Silva praised what he described as “the commitment, at the highest level, of an entire continent” to end hunger in Africa by 2025. The African Union Summit is due to adopt the target this week, in line with the Zero Hunger Challenge launched by United Nations’ secretary-general Ban Ki-moon in 2012.
http://www.fnbnews.com/article/detnews.asp?articleid=34972§ionid=1
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Ethiopia-India partnership need to fill trade gap: Ambassador
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Ethiopia and India have long-standing relations in history, culture and people-to-people. Nowadays, the relationship has become more defined in trade, economic and development spheres. But, filling the gap in trade still requires more effort Indian Ambassador Sanjay Verma said.
In an exclusive interview with The Ethiopian Herald, Ambassador Verma said that India is among the top three or four trade partners with Ethiopia. “That is why, trade relations between the two countries reached approximately 1.2 billion USD.”
He also stated that enhancing the trade and economic elements of the relationship is vital which requires more investment in Ethiopia. Moreover, making sure that Ethiopia starts exporting to India because the trade gap is a lot that has to be corrected, the Ambassador added.
In the case of India, for instance, the import is greater than export. India, every year, imports much petroleum, which costs almost 120 billion USD. Thus, this affects the trade balance, he noted.
Likewise, Ethiopia is no different in this aspect and on essential commodities. Because, Ethiopia is a newly developing economy. When the nation start producing, the import substitution may happen, so that the gap offset reducing.
Pertaining to this, Ethiopia might benefit a lot from hydro-electric power, agricultural products, leather and food processing in employing these for import substitution which increasingly contributes immensely to the national economy. With regard to developmental partnership, the Ambassador noted that Indian investors invest almost 3 billion USD. Moreover, the Indian government assists development activities. Predominantly, it is active in providing scholarships, e-network, telemedicine, interlinked with Black Lion Hospital to deliver health services, among others. The cooperation area also includes the defence sector, leather and textile industry, he added.
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Official says Ethiopia remains Italy’s strategic partner
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Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign AffairsLapo Pistelli
Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Lapo Pistelli who attended the 24th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union said that Ethiopia remains strategic partner in dealing with regional, international affairs and his country is ready to broaden areas of cooperation.
In an exclusive interview with The Ethiopian Herald, Pistelli said: “It is clear that Italy and Ethiopia have longstanding bilateral relations. Addis Ababa is not only the capital city of one of the emerging new power of Africa but also a city where the AU is headquartered. Therefore, Ethiopia is playing significant dual role in bilateral partnerships and serving as a hub of multilateral diplomacy of the continent. Ethiopia is our priority country in terms of cooperation and aid policy. Italy provides largest packages of financial support to Ethiopia, Pistelli added.
According to him, Italy considers Ethiopia as the emerging player from the economic perspectives. “Numbers are not that much big in terms of trade volume between the two countries. Thus we are looking forward to re-launch the inter-trade between the two countries.”
In the next couples of weeks, the Deputy Minister of the Italian Economic Development would visit Ethiopia in order to promote areas of cooperation and accommodate new Italian companies to be engaged in the country’s development drive, Pistelli added.
The Deputy Minister underlined that Italy is having strategic cooperation with Ethiopia in regional and international issues. It is a key player in helping the international community to deal with regional crisis particularly in neighbouring countries, he said.
He further indicated that it is interesting that Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD) has emerged as a multilateral fora to deal with regional crises. “There are some other big actors like United Nation (UN) and European Union (EU) in resolving conflicts. But through time, these organizations are aware of having regional mechanism to deal with crisis efficiently and effectively IGAD being used as proper mechanism to resolve crisis.”
In this regard, the Italian government is co-chairing the IGAD Partners Forum with Ethiopia giving Italy a role in convincing other actors how IGAD plays a relevant role in conflict resolution, he said.
Pistelli also noted that both countries see the world in different perspectives, but they believe that multilateral diplomacy is the best way to deal with complex crisis. “The cooperation shown by both countries at the IGAD Partners Forum held last September was indicative of the existence of closer bilateral ties between the two countries.”
The Deputy Minister underlined that Ethiopia and Italy also take the same stance that the crises in Somalia would be resolved sustainable manner only if countries help from a civilian government defeating Al-shabaab not only from military but political perspectives.
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AfDB adopts new gender strategy
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The Board of the African Development Bank Group last Thursday announced that it has approved its new Gender Strategy for the period 2014-2018
The new strategy provides “genuinely equal opportunity for men and women – in both their contribution to and their benefits from Africa’s economic transformation”.
“This represents a major milestone for the Bank, and it puts in place one of the critical foundations for realizing the ‘Africa at 50’ and ‘post-2015’ development agendas,” said Ms Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, the Bank’s newly appointed Special Envoy on Gender.
According to Fraser-Moleketi, what is new in the strategy is not just the recognition that “gender equality is a human right, but that development will not happen unless women are fully included in the process”.
The Bank said the gender strategy is closely aligned with its overarching 2013-2022 Strategy, and its core objective of promoting inclusive growth which will broaden the opportunities for both women and men.
The AfDB explains the strategy is built around three mutually reinforcing pillars which were identified as being key to addressing the underlying causes of gender inequalities in Africa. These are strengthening women’s legal and property rights; promoting women’s economic empowerment; and enhancing knowledge management and capacity building on gender equality.
http://www.ethpress.gov.et/herald/index.php/herald/news/5769-afdb-adopts-new-gender-strategy
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Ethiopia’s renewable energy revolution shouldn’t fail to empower its poor
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Large-scale clean energy projects shouldn’t eclipse the urgent need to provide electricity to low-income and rural communities
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Katie Auth in Washington, DC
The 84 wind turbines erected just south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia‘s capital, tower above an arid landscape of grassland and unpaved roads, inhabited mostly by small-scale farmers, who – along with 77% of population – lack access to electricity.
The Ashegoda wind farm, launched in November, will produce an estimated 400 GWh of electricity per year, and forms just one piece of the Ethiopian government’s strategy to harness indigenous energy resources for development. When – and to what extent – the country’s rural population will benefit depends on striking a balance between investing in new grid-connected generation and effective strategies for expanding access.
Ethiopia today stands at a crossroads. In 2012, it had the world’s 12th fastest growing economy (pdf). Unlike many industrialised nations, however, Ethiopia has made clear that renewable energy will be a key economic driver, emphasising green growth and clean energy as integral to growth and transformation plan (pdf), a five-year strategy to reduce poverty and spur national development. Recognising electricity as a vital enabler of economic growth and human development, the plan aims to minimise the gap between demand and supply, increase per capita consumption, and generate power for export. Specifically, it sets goals to increase hydropower capacity from 2000 MW to 10,000 MW, double the number of electricity customers, and raise the national electrification rate to 75%. Although its energy transformation has only just begun, two factors critical to Ethiopia’s early success are worth highlighting:
A diverse renewable energy portfolio
Diversification plays a critical role in reducing vulnerability, not only to supply disruptions and oil price hikes, but also to climate change.
Ethiopia is highly vulnerable to extreme weather variability, particularly erratic rainfall. According to a World Bank study (pdf), climate change will likely increase the frequency of both flooding and droughts in Ethiopia, posing a significant challenge to agriculture, infrastructure, and hydropower generation. Although hydro provides cheap baseload power, over-dependence on the resource can make a country more vulnerable to drought conditions. Ethiopia has committed to developing wind and solar alongside its massive hydropower plants as guarantors against power shortages, especially during the dry season, while investments in geothermal and biofuels complement the intermittent resources.
Committed government partners
Through investment and policy reform, the Ethiopian government has played a crucial role in these early accomplishments. The country currently has the third highest public investment rate in the world (pdf), financed through a combination of restrained government spending and increased borrowing. Although Ethiopia generally struggles to attract investment, renewable project developers have recently noted the government’s willingness to facilitate co-operation. Prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn has said that trade and investment have a most lasting impact than traditional aid. The government also ratified an energy proclamation in November 2013 that has eased access for private investors. However, some have criticised the government’s lack of policy support mechanisms, which would provide developers with a more solid framework and financial guarantee.
Renewable energy in sub-Saharan Africa
Despite its recent successes, Ethiopia’s energy push has run up against several major challenges. The Grand Renaissance dam, for example, raises environmental, social, and geopolitical concerns. According to the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation, approximately 700 farmers lost some or all of their land during construction and development, and some claim government compensation was inadequate. Egypt, meanwhile, worries that the dam will curtail its own water supply, harming agricultural production and reducing electricity output from the Aswan dam – widely considered a symbol of Egyptian achievement.
The greatest challenge, however, will be to ensure that Ethiopia’s current focus on developing large-scale renewable generation projects does not eclipse the urgent need to expand electricity access in low-income and rural communities. Globally, energy access is considered crucial to reducing poverty and facilitating improvements in education, health, and economic productivity. Citing energy access as a prerequisite for achieving the millennium development goals, the United Nations has designed 2014-2024 the ‘Decade of sustainable energy for all‘.
Renewable energy development is gaining momentum throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Aside from hydro, however, much of the focus has been on technologies like small-scale solar for off-grid communities. In contrast, Ethiopia seems to indicate a potential shift towards utility-scale renewables. This large-scale approach – particularly when combined with Ethiopia’s focus on electricity for export – raises crucial questions about the future of electricity access. Even where people do have access, it can often be unaffordable or unreliable. A strategy that combines the kind of large-scale investment seen recently in Ethiopia with small-scale and distributed generation approaches – such as microgrids – could help ensure a more balanced result that will make Ethiopia a model for sustainable development.
Katie Auth is a research associate at Climate and Energy Worldwatch Institute. Follow @Worldwatch on Twitter
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Symposium discusses democratic developmental state concepts
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The Symposium brought together scholars, media management and practitioners,
opposition political party members as well as government officials
A day-long symposium on Democratic Developmental State and Mass Media Nexus organized by the Addis Ababa University (AAU) School of Journalism and Communication 2014 Post Graduate class yesterday discussed democratic developmental state concepts.
In his opening remark, AAU President Dr. Admasu Tsegaye said that the University, alongside with its regular duties, has been organizing various symposiums and public forum to discuss current national economic and political issues. It has also held various platforms to nurturing culture debate thereby reach at national consensus on various issues in the effort to assist in the democratization effort. The government and stakeholders as well as media houses are expected to play their due role in the effort to develop culture discussion, Dr. Admasu added.
What is more, the President said that a similar symposium was conducted on the Nile River in connection with the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. “We found that the symposium was very important to disseminate knowledge about Eastern Nile Basin and issues related to the dam. We are now trying to conduct a similar symposium in Khartoum March 8- 10, 2014 in collaboration with the Khartoum University.”
The core objective of the Khartoum symposium is to start working with Khartoum University on the Eastern Nile Basin. “We are planning to establish academic collaboration with the Universality to work on developmental issue of the Eastern Nile Basin,” Dr. Admasu said .
School of Journalism and Communication Head Dr. Abdissa Zerai told this reporter that the objective of the symposium is trying to see what is comparable and incomparable, to understand various perspectives of the diverse group of people coming from different biological tribes.
“We believe that universities are knowledge-generating institutions. It is one of the tasks of universities to look at very critically how the new concept of democratic development can actually meshes together. It is very important for us to go beyond the sloganeering. What are the problems and challenges in a country where we practice multiparty democracy,” Dr. Abdissa said.
In his presentation: ‘Freedom of the Press in the Environment of Democratic Development State’, Mushe Semu From the Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP) said the previous press law relatively was good but the current one is very vague and very ambiguous. It violates the public the right to access to information.”
The Symposium, held at Intercontinental Hotel, brought together scholars, media management and practitioners, opposition political party members as well as government officials.
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State Minister Ambassador Berhane meets the Vice Foreign Minister of Japan
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State Minister Ambassador Berhane Gebre-Christos met with Noro Mitsuiya, Vice Foreign Minister of Japan, on Thursday (January 30).
Ambassador Berhane welcomed the Vice Foreign Minister, recalling the recent successful official visit of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (January 13-14) to Ethiopia to enhance bilateral ties in areas of economic development, industrialization and institutional development and with the Japan’s private sector. Ethiopia, he said, was broadening and accelerating bilateral cooperation in all areas of common interest and concern.
Noro Mitsuiya underlined that Prime Minister Abe’s visit would encourage continuous development of the long-time Ethio-Japanese relationship. Japan, he said, attached great importance to Ethiopia’s efforts to safeguard peace and stability in the Horn of Africa.
Ambassador Berhane pointed out that Ethiopia was committed to help the two parties of the South Sudan resolve their problems for the wellbeing of their people and for the Horn in general.
http://www.mfa.gov.et/news/more.php?newsid=2970
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State Minister Ambassador Berhane Gebre-Christos meets with China’s Special Representative on UN Affairs
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State Minister Ambassador Berhane met with Yang Tao, China’s Special Representative on UN Affairs on Thursday (January 30).
The theme of their discussions focused on bilateral relations and regional issues. Ambassador Berhane emphasized that Ethiopia was dedicated to strengthen and deepen its strategic partnership and cooperation for the welfare of the peoples of the two countries. He stressed that Ethiopia would continue to play a major role in promoting and finding ways of dialogue, negotiation and cooperation to restore peace and reconciliation in South Sudan. Yang Tao commended Ethiopia’s efforts to encourage the parties of South Sudan to resolve their problems.
He applauded the country’s commitment to strengthen and deepen bilateral ties and its comprehensive strategic partnership with China. He also pointed out that China would continue to boost its bilateral relations with Ethiopia in the future. He also said China would broaden its cooperation with Ethiopia on issues of solidarity, unity and climate change. Ambassador Berhane assured Yang Tao that Ethiopia was ready to join hands with China and other friendly nations to reduce the impact of climate change and to maintain the unity and solidarity of the two peoples, affirmed it would promote and speed up people-to-people relations in order to encourage the feelings of unity between them.
http://www.mfa.gov.et/news/more.php?newsid=2969
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State Minister Ambassador Berhane meets the Kazakhstan Ambassador
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On the margins of the 22nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, State Minister Ambassador Berhane met the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Egypt and Morocco, and Permanent Representative to the AU and ISESCO, Ambassador Berik Aryn.
The Kazakh Ambassador recalled the official visit of the Kazakhstan Foreign Minister to Ethiopia and noted this had been both successful and fruitful. Ambassador Berik highlighted the similarities between Kazakhstan and Ethiopia, especially their multiethnic composition. He indicated bilateral agreements were being prepared to cover political consultations, trade, investment, education and culture.
Ambassador Berhane welcomed the decision by Kazakhstan government to open an Embassy in Ethiopia and assured the Ambassador that Ethiopian government will give attention and support to its incoming personnel. State Minister Berhane emphasized Ethiopia’s wish to strengthen economic ties with Kazakhstan and pointed out that this decision came at a crucial time as Africa’s economic growth was advancing. He added that the opening of the Embassy would strengthen bilateral relations as well as provide greater access for other African governments.
http://www.mfa.gov.et/news/more.php?newsid=2971
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Ethiopia elected as member of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union
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The Executive Council of the African Union in its 24th ordinary session conducted the election of the 10 members of the Peace and Security Council (PSC).
Ethiopia and Tanzania are elected as members of the PSC for the next two years from the East Africa Region. Burundi, Chad from Central African Region, Guinea, Gambia, and Niger from West African region, Libya, from North Africa and South Africa and Namibia from Southern African Region are also elected.
49 member countries voted out of the 51 member countries since Egypt, Central Africa and Guinea-Bissau were not eligible to due to suspension of membership.
The PSC composed of 15 members of which five members are elected for a three year term while the 10 members are elected for five year term.
According to the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the PSC, the criteria for election includes, contribution to the promotion and maintenance of peace and security in Africa in this respect, experience in peace support operations would be an added advantage; capacity and commitment to shoulder the responsibility the membership entails and participation in conflict resolution, peacemaking and peace building operations in Africa.
http://www.mfa.gov.et/news/more.php?newsid=2965
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Road construction: promising but sluggish
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The House of Peoples’ Representatives urged different bodies working on the road projects Thursday to run various activities keeping the required quality and the set time frame with a view to meeting the desired change in the country regarding the sector. As learned from the House, though a number of road projects are being carried out across the nation, the projects are suffering from lack of quality and not being readied for service at the intended time interval.
The very sluggish pace witnessed in due course of running road construction has, apart from incurring the public and the government huge cost, the roads get the public desperate enough. Here, the Ethiopian Roads Authority and the Ministry of Transport to which the former is accountable are expected to attach due emphasis to the issue. The road projects susceptible to a quite sluggish pace for instance include the Jimma—Bonga—Mizan—Humbo—Arba Minchi, those which are exposed to a serious lack of quality are also comprise Ginde-Woin—Mekane-Selam—Kombolcha—Shire-Endesellasie—Shiraro—Wukoro—Zalambessa. Worse even, the projects incorporating Ambo — Woliso—Muketuri—Alem Ketma—Hamusit—Estie—Debarq—Limalimo have not yet been started.
If the situation keeps at the same rate, it would be impossible to achieve the intended goals in the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) with respect to new road construction, up-grading and maintenance.
Non-accomplishment of road projects, problems of quality, time lag to commence planned road projects and failing to maintain old roads were questions, among others, from members of the house to the ministry.
According to the Ministry, efforts are being made to address the problems encountered related to weak performance of the contractors and other factors. In some cases, the topography of the road site and the society request to modify the original grades of the roads cause unexpected delays. It is also stated that currently, 224 road projects are underway of 140 are well in progress even beyond the plan while 20 projects are running with very slow pace that require stringent effort to bring to workable pace. True, more than 62 per cent of road has been accomplished over the past three and half years including upgrading, maintenance and new road construction while the rest will be done in the remaining one and half year to meet the GTP.
In fact, the topic of construction broadly encompasses the issues relevant to the process of road construction and maintenance, including the design, contracting, implementation, supervision, and maintenance of roads and related structures, such as bridges and interchanges. In many parts of the project sites, not only are cost high and quality low, it is common for suppliers of construction materials and services to have monopoly power, further increasing inefficiency and lowering quality. First, in these situations, it is a combination of transferring work from the public to the private sector and the introduction of competition into operations that is often the best way to decrease inefficiency and improve quality. Second, the contracting out of the works function requires the introduction of competition into the operation of road agencies themselves, either by the greater use of existing private contractors, or by allowing public sector agencies to compete with the private sector.
The road construction needs to be given due emphasis as it has been compromised many failed contractors coming up with poor planning, poor budgeting, and poor resource management. To overcome these problems, risks must be properly defined and the remedies associated with them spelled out in a way that eliminates the incentive of the contractor to bid other than at his best price.
There are options for creating an enabling environment for the road construction, thus leading to more involvement of private contractors and consultants in improved management of road assets. The process, which is of particular importance for economies in transition such as ours, begins with separating the functions of planning and management from implementation of road works. These methods not only help produce gravel roads of equal quality to those produced using equipment-based methods, but they also generate rural employment in a cost-effective manner.
Undeniably, proper road maintenance contributes to reliable transport at reduced cost, as there is a direct link between road condition and vehicle operating costs. On the contrary, an improperly maintained road can represent an increased safety hazard to the user, leading to more accidents, with their associated human and property costs. Generally, roads have significant impacts on both nearby communities and the natural environment.
In sum, it is important to note that keeping the quality of roads and completing them as per the schedule is of paramount importance in helping the nation meets its intended target particularly with regard to the road sector as well as helps the entire society to enjoy modern life wherever they travel.
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NEPAD accentuates African infrastructural development
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Peer review mechanism session underway
Prime Minister Haile- Mariam Dessalegn said NEPAD has undoubtedly transformed the global debate about Africa by putting at front and centre the notion of the need for the continent to forge mutually beneficial partnership with the developed and emerging nations.
Addressing the 49th Meeting of NEPAD Steering Committee here yesterday, Prime Minister Haile-Mariam said the journey of the last decade has indeed been particularly rewarding for Africa though, obviously, a lot remains to be done.
“That is why we should continue to further enhance Africa’s collective endeavour to find ways and means to address the seemingly perennial economic, social and political challenges that our continent faces and do so in a manner that will ensure promoting the interest of our peoples,” he said.
The Premier said that assessments of impact and future of Africa’s partnership engagements with traditional partners as well as emerging ones should also be addressed.
“In doing so, it is important that we are mindful of the need to remain focused on making the best out of our partnership and the promotion of the interest of our continent,” Haile-Mariam said.
The Premier also said the need to bring on board newly emerging players whose partnership would go a long way in further solidifying the gains NEPAD has made possible for the continent cannot be overemphasized.
“While appraising and taking stock of the progress thus far made, we should also focus on unblocking policy legislative and regulatory challenges that are standing in the way of enhancing investment and infrastructure,” he said
According to the Premier, attention also needs to be paid to the issue of mobilizing domestic financial resources in the quest to realize ambitious infrastructural development goals.
Dr. Carlos Lopes UN Under Secretary–General and ECA Executive Secretary also said there is no need to emphasize infrastructure in Africa’s transformation agenda as this is now clearly accepted by all.
He noted that infrastructural development could enhance the ability of African countries to establish competitive industrial sectors and promote greater industrial linkages.
“There is also compelling evidence of the huge impact of road improvements of doubling of agricultural production in rural areas,” he added.
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More news:
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- 29 January 2014 Development News Roll
- 27 January 2014 News Round Up
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Filed under: Ag Related Tagged: Addis Ababa, Africa, African Union, Agriculture, Business, China, East Africa, Economic growth, Ethiopia, Ethiopian government, Hailemariam Desalegn, India, Investment, Millennium Development Goals, Politics of Ethiopia, Sub-Saharan Africa, tag1 
