By Yetneberk Tadele Fortune Staff Writer
Speaking at the launching of the program, Jason D. Fraser, deputy mission director of USAID Ethiopia, left, Gary Robbins, chief officer of Economic Growth and Transformation Office, centre, in the presence of Tadesse Haile, state minister of Industry, confirmed that Ethiopia will see the benefits of increased quality of processed as a result of the project.
USAID, in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry (MoI), launched the African Alliance for Food Processing Project in Ethiopia on Thursday, April 18, 2013.
The project is designed to increase the quality and competitiveness of Ethiopia’s food processing sector and to expand the availability of affordable and nutritious foods.
Food processing is among the oldest of the country’s manufacturing industries. Bakeries, grain and oil mills have been operating since as early as 1906 and the first processing plant, Kaliti Food Factory, was established in 1938.
In 2007 there were 330 large and medium scale firms in the food processing industry. There are about 200, mostly large scale, flour mills supplying the local consumer market and pasta and biscuits factories.
The project will offer customized technical assistance to 20 medium and large millers and wheat processers “to implement quality management systems, meet national standards and certification requirements, develop processes and products tailored to market demand, strengthen financial systems and improve business efficiencies,” according to a USAID press release.
“The project complements the policies of the Ethiopian government, especially the wheat value chain highlighted in the government’s Agricultural Growth Program and the promotion of safe fortified foods emphasized by the National Nutrition program,” said Jason Fraser, deputy mission director of USAID Ethiopia.
Although Ethiopia has the potential to produce a surplus of agricultural crops, the government is importing millions of quintals of wheat every year to satisfy demand from processing industries and household consumption.
In 2011,Ethiopia imported 728,487tns of wheat for 259.3 million dollars, and in 2012, 548,484tns for 162.3 million dollars. Its production in the 2010/11 fiscal year was 2.8 million tonnes and in 2011/12, 2.9 million tonnes.
“The food processing industries are facing a number of challenges like capacity under-utilization due mainly to raw material sourcing and lack of technical skills,” said Tadesse Haile, state minister for Industry.” The Africa Alliance for Improved Food Processing Project plays a great role in addressing the capacity constraints not only at company level but also at a sector level.”
The African Alliance for Improved Food project is supported the US government‘s 250 million dollar Feed the Future Initiative.
The project is already being implemented in Kenya,Zambia,Tanzania, and Malawi.Ethiopia’s the fifth country in Africa for the Alliance.
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