Ethiopia has commenced the construction of its second integrated agro industrial park in Humera town, Tigray State. Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Dessalegn, laid cornerstone on February 21, 2017 to mark the commencement of the project.

Humera Integrated Agro Industrial Park, is said to enhance the nation to process agricultural products and export value added items.

Speaking during the ceremony, Hailemariam said the park would enable Ethiopia to add value on its unprocessed products such as livestock, fruits and vegetables, cereals and oilseed products. The nation had been exporting raw agricultural products and the farmers supplying their products had been suffering from low returns, he added.

Hailemariam also stressed such kinds of parks would address the challenges and facilitates the way towards economic transformation.

Speaking on his part State Minister for Industry, Mebrehatu Meles, said the park would house 120 medium industries and employ 779,000 people.

When the industrial park goes fully operational, it would produce 700,000 tons of processed products that would enable Ethiopia earn 18 billion Birr per annum, Mebrehatu added.

In the aim of benefiting from the agriculture based economy, Ethiopia’s government intends to export processed agricultural products. It is to achieve this the country has started investing in agro processing parks that will enable it to export value added products that will ultimately benefit the farmer and develop the agriculture sector.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency