South-South Cooperation improves food security in Ethiopia

18/02/2014 - 

The South-South Cooperation Program (SSCP) is improving agricultural production and food security in Ethiopia, asserted the Ministry of Agriculture and FAO this month.

In a review workshop organised in Adama town of Oromiya National Regional State, on 10 February, 2014, Modibo Traore, FAO sub regional Coordinator for Eastern Africa and Representative in Ethiopia, to the African Union and the UN Economic Commission for Africa, said 30 Chinese Agricultural experts and technicians who were deployed in different parts of the country under the SSCP are helping the government and people of Ethiopia to improve agricultural production and food security in the country.

“The results obtained from the program are exemplary and need further follow up with both Chinese and Ethiopian experts,” Traore said.

Among others, Chinese experts have assisted farmers with farming tools and with technologies which included trials of a variety of crops, cash crops, horticulture, and other vegetables. Besides these, Chinese technologies including transplanting, double- ridge, double seeds, reasonable density & watering, ridging, up-cirrus and topping and changing salt affected soils have been applied together with farmers in Amhara, Oromiya, SNNP and Tigray regions.

Mr. Regassa Bayesa, Director of Finance and Property Administration Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture for his part said that the program is improving agricultural productivity and production through skills transfer.

South-South Cooperation Program

SSCP started in May 2013 with the deployment of 30 Chinese experts and technicians in Amhara, Oromiya, Tigray and SNNP National Regional States.

The Chinese technicians and experts were trained in small-scale irrigation, agricultural extension, crop production and protection, horticulture development, livestock production, post-harvest and processing technologies and farm mechanization. The experts are working with Ethiopian farmers in the four regions.

Aimed at providing technical assistance to enhance agricultural production and productivity through small-scale irrigation, strengthening post-harvest technologies and household agro-processing technologies through support to the Agriculture Growth Program, it also aims to increase household’s income and attain food security using Farmer Training Centers to improve agricultural extension system.

Besides these, the program will  also enable reduce rural poverty and ensure food security of the targeted population by reducing rural malnutrition rate, increasing cereal and vegetable production, increasing the net incomes of farms, increasing the knowledge and skill of small-scale irrigation utilization and by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of agriculture extension services.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the review workshop critically evaluated  progress to date, the recommendations of the high level mission and has agreed on major issues to further improve delivery of the programme.

Mr. Xiangxi Wei, the CT Leader observed that the high level mission had both motivated  Chinese experts and technicians and that most challenges identified during the high level mission had already been solved. 

 

Submitted by: Tewodros Negash
FAO Office: FAO Ethiopia
Strategic Objective: Reduce Rural Poverty
Country: China, Ethiopia