Read-out of the FAO Director-General’s meeting with His Excellency Girma Amente, Minister for Agriculture of the Federal Democratic Republic Of Ethiopia

Rome - Director-General QU Dongyu met today with H.E. Girma Amente, Minister for Agriculture of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia during which the newly appointed Minister thanked the Director-General and FAO for the ongoing support to Ethiopia, in particular to the government’s Home-Grown Economic Reform programme that prioritizes agriculture as a sector for boosting economic growth and reducing inequalities.

The Minister noted the importance of the agriculture sector in the country by highlighting that 35 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) is linked to agriculture, and that the sector employs and engages 80 percent of the population.  The Ministers outlined various national priorities and activities moving forward to enhance and increase agricultural production for both local consumption and export, while generating income and addressing the impacts of the climate crisis. These include the Green Legacy programme supporting natural resource management and conservation and Wheat production for food self-sufficiency programme, which has gained recognition in Africa and beyond.

The Director-General expressed his appreciation to the Minister, in particular for their upcoming official visit to Ethiopia where he is looking forward to meeting with H.E. Sahle-Work Zewde, President of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.  He also commended the government for the good progress made during the past four challenging years. The Director-General and the Minister also discussed the Green Cities initiate, and how FAO could further support countries through the Green Legacy programme to also promote agroforestry.