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Ethiopia is working towards improving the quality of cotton used as a main raw material in textile sectors according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

A training was launched in Benshangul Gumuz Regional state for investors engaged in cotton development with this end in mind.

There are currently investors and organized farmers developing cotton on 124,000 hectares and the ministry aims to address challenges including shortage of expertise, capital, chemical, selected seeds and other materials said Haile-Mariam Kibret, Agro-investment Support with the MoA.

Ethiopia is to conduct the first national Inter-censal Population Survey announced the the Central Statistics Agency.

The Inter-censal survey is usually conducted between major population censuses explained Samia Zekaria, Director General of the CSA. Developing countries like Ethiopia, which carries out population and housing surveys every ten years, conduct inter-censal surveys in the middle to acquire population sample data to fill the information gap she said.

Mama Fresh Injera plc, Ethiopia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding and contract with the Erer Farmers Cooperative Union, the Oromia Regional Agriculture Bureau, the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency and the Oromia Regional Cooperative Promotion Agency.

The agreement will establish a partnership to launch and implement contract farming projects in Ad’a that will allow Mama Fresh Injera to source 730 MT of teff for the 2012 planting season. The agreement is planned to extend the collaboration for several years on the basis of the success of the effort and the lessons learned said the joint statement released by the stakeholders.

Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopia’s flag carrier, signed the 10th Collective agreement with its Labor Union. The agreement was signed last week between Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive of Ethiopian and Wondwossen Getaneh, Chairman of the Union to seal the collective bargaining.

The agreement is a testament to the good relationship between the labor union and the management of the airline and is reflective of the level of understanding and cooperation shown on both sides during the negotiations according to Tewolde.

The unity of purpose between management and the union will be a strong foundation for the airline to achieve its objectives as set out in its Vision 2025 he noted.