2merkato

USAID, the United States Agency for International Development has launched a new five year project in Ethiopia to support the national goal for growth in the agricultural sector.

The launch of the project was presided by Sileshi Getahun, Minister of State for Agriculture and Dennis Weller Director of Mission for USAID in Ethiopia as well as representatives from federal and regional government bodies, livestock sector representatives and implementing partners.

The project entitled ‘Livestock Market Development’ is expected to cost 38 million US dollars and will be launched in selected areas of the Amhara, Tigray, Oromia and Southern Regional States explained a statement released by the US Embassy in Ethiopia.

International logistics company, SEKO, has opened a local office in partnership with domestic company, Trade Path International.

The partnership with SEKO is a strategic one for Trade Path because the volume of trade the company used to get in offering logistic services to the flower sectors has decreased since Ethiopian Airlines took over the logistics of transporting flowers said Dawit Wubishet, Co-owner of the company.

Trade Path was able to secure the partnership with SEKO after a month long evaluation process which required the company to meet the standards established by SEKO said Dawit.

Dr. Mekonnen Hagos, President of Medco Bio Medical College and Vayugrid Marketplace Services plc signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the pilot production of the Pongomia plant trademarked and market as Vayusap.

The joint development agreement includes acquiring land for the pilot project to plant the pongomia trees for producing the Vayusap, with a plan to obtain additional land with the success of the pilot said Ashok Sharma, Vayugrid Coordinator for Africa.

The agreement stipulates that the cost of the project and the cost sharing mechanism of the two partners will depend on the lease price of the land to be acquired and the type of land that will be allocated noted Sharma.

An Ethiopian Horticulture Directory designed to include a comprehensive overview of all actors and relevant information in the sector is to be published by Initiative for Transformational Management International and the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine of Jimma University.

The directory is prepared in a manner that allows it to display all the necessary data required to fill an obvious informational gap in the sector explained Getamesay Geremew, Project Manager for ITM, speaking at a press conference held at the Addis Ababa Hilton Hotel. It is expected that the directory will play a significant role in developing the sector he added.

The new directory will be offered in both a published and digital format the latter to be accessed at the website designed for it explained Getamesay. It is also expected that the directory will be distributed across the world via Ethiopian Embassies he noted.