Agriculture News and Developments

[abesha]

Originally Posted by popa1980

I didnt realise Ethiopians dont eat rice.

But then they should be bringing in investors who want to produce crops that Ethiopians actually eat. That land could better serve the people of Ethiopia.

Half the commercial land investment deals of the past couple years are with Ethiopian investors, so I'm sure they are mindful of that.

Also, even if the produce is not traditionally eaten in the country, it doesn't mean there is no market for it. For instance, ever since strawberry farms arrived in Ethiopia, you find strawberries for really cheap in shops throughout the country. This is a fruit that was never consumed before, and the farms are primarily geared towards export. The same thing is seen with the flower industry. Flowers are found everywhere for cheap now, even though their primary market is the export market.
There is a market in Ethiopia for these producers (even foreign), so I'm pretty sure they'll sell their produce in the country.

[popa1980]

Originally Posted by abesha

Half the commercial land investment deals of the past couple years are with Ethiopian investors, so I'm sure they are mindful of that.

Also, even if the produce is not traditionally eaten in the country, it doesn't mean there is no market for it. For instance, ever since strawberry farms arrived in Ethiopia, you find strawberries for really cheap in shops throughout the country. This is a fruit that was never consumed before, and the farms are primarily geared towards export. The same thing is seen with the flower industry. Flowers are found everywhere for cheap now, even though their primary market is the export market.
There is a market in Ethiopia for these producers (even foreign), so I'm pretty sure they'll sell their produce in the country.

Thats a big advantage you guys have. A varied climate that can grow tropical foods in the lowlands- and temperate foods like strawberries, wheat and apples in the highland. Ethiopias agric potential is IMMENSE. Plus you have infertile, cash-rich markets like Saudi, closeby.

[abesha]

Absolutely. This is why it's so frustrating to me to see what previous governments have neglected.

Ethiopia is one of very few countries not only in Africa, but in the world, that can grow just about anything, from tropical, to temperate, to desert plants. We have something like 10 microclimatic zones.
We have the potential to feed the entire Middle East and most of Africa.

[popa1980]

Originally Posted by abesha

Absolutely. This is why it's so frustrating to me to see what previous governments have neglected.

Ethiopia is one of very few countries not only in Africa, but in the world, that can grow just about anything, from tropical, to temperate, to desert plants. We have something like 10 microclimatic zones.
We have the potential to feed the entire Middle East and most of Africa.

Theres certainly not many countries of Ethiopias size which have such a varied climate- Peru, Bolivia, Colombia are the ones I can think off. In Africa, maybe only SA and Kenya come close.

[Simfan34]

I once read Ethiopia could feed most of Europe.

[abesha]

http://www.diretube.com/diretube-exp...593531702.html

[abesha]

Performance report by ECX http://www.diretube.com/ethiopian-ne...176f92d73.html

[DZman]

Originally Posted by abesha

Performance report by ECX http://www.diretube.com/ethiopian-ne...176f92d73.html

That lady Eleni, she is not only the prettiest thing but also the smartest one.
I think I am in love with her.
Long live sista

[teklu]

Originally Posted by abesha

Half the commercial land investment deals of the past couple years are with Ethiopian investors, so I'm sure they are mindful of that.

This idea is way exaggerated, i try to see the figures and Ethiopian's investment except "star AG " of Almoumid are still limited to low scale commercial farming which requires less than 100ha.The figure explains only with respect to the numbers of investor engaged not the ha of land they leased. Only "kartuires" acquisition is way greater than the combined land acquired by the Ethiopian investor except star AG.

I wish the government puts some sort of specific requirement for pre-processing and marketing within Ethiopia, while giving the land for those investor and put minimum wage target on those companies. like forcing them to sell 30% of their product within Ethiopia or sth! putting a minimum requirement of Agro-processing before exporting

I don't think this land lease and sale is a cake walk as most of u in this form think, the investor came to take advantage of the very inhuman working wage and cheap land not for helping anybody. I guess, this is the gov't JOB to insure from being taken advantage of.

The worst think I noticed is most of them even did not brought capital to Ethiopia that much, they are using the capital provided by the gov't which ranges up to 70% through lone and lone guaranty. I notice some of them even failed to pay their lone and left the country. I am a bit concerned why this advantage is not taken by the Ethiopians investor. The government policy was supposed to give advantage to Ethiopian investor but instead the foreign ones are getting the advantage, is funny right?

For example when leasing land is frozen all over the country, still they are giving lands to those Indian investor.

I guess this is due to the bureaucracy because nobody hates making money and i don't believe Ethiopians are lazy!

[popa1980]

Originally Posted by teklu

This idea is way exaggerated, i try to see the figures and Ethiopian's investment except "star AG " of Almoumid are still limited to low scale commercial farming which requires less than 100ha.The figure explains only with respect to the numbers of investor engaged not the ha of land they leased. Only "kartuires" acquisition is way greater than the combined land acquired by the Ethiopian investor except star AG.

I wish the government puts some sort of specific requirement for pre-processing and marketing within Ethiopia, while giving the land for those investor and put minimum wage target on those companies. like forcing them to sell 30% of their product within Ethiopia or sth! putting a minimum requirement of Agro-processing before exporting

I don't think this land lease and sale is a cake walk as most of u in this form think, the investor came to take advantage of the very inhuman working wage and cheap land not for helping anybody. I guess, this is the gov't JOB to insure from being taken advantage of.

The worst think I noticed is most of them even did not brought capital to Ethiopia that much, they are using the capital provided by the gov't which ranges up to 70% through lone and lone guaranty. I notice some of them even failed to pay their lone and left the country. I am a bit concerned why this advantage is not taken by the Ethiopians investor. The government policy was supposed to give advantage to Ethiopian investor but instead the foreign ones are getting the advantage, is funny right?

For example when leasing land is frozen all over the country, still they are giving lands to those Indian investor.

I guess this is due to the bureaucracy because nobody hates making money and i don't believe Ethiopians are lazy!

Okay, so they dont mean half the hectarage but half the deals. So Im guessing Ethiopians are acquiring much smaller plots on average that international investors which will probably mean that most of the land sold had been to foreigners?

You are right, they should be forced to market a certain % of the food grown within Ethiopia.

So does someone actually have the hecterage breakdown?

[abesha]

Originally Posted by teklu

This idea is way exaggerated, i try to see the figures and Ethiopian's investment except "star AG " of Almoumid are still limited to low scale commercial farming which requires less than 100ha.The figure explains only with respect to the numbers of investor engaged not the ha of land they leased. Only "kartuires" acquisition is way greater than the combined land acquired by the Ethiopian investor except star AG.

I'm sure they mean deals as well, however the average Ethiopian investor does not have the money to acquire enormous amounts of land. That is not the government's fault. This is not some kind of conspiracy against Ethiopian investors. I'm sure if an Ethiopian can afford to lease land to the magnitude of Karuturi, they would be allowed to. We can't expect the country to stop and wait until Ethiopians who have the capital decide to get off their butt and start farms.

In terms of size of land, keep in mind that all our news comes from foreign sources, not Ethiopia, so because of that, they have a stake in showcasing the size of land acquired by foreigners. IOW, we don't know what Ethiopians are acquiring.

I wish the government puts some sort of specific requirement for pre-processing and marketing within Ethiopia, while giving the land for those investor and put minimum wage target on those companies. like forcing them to sell 30% of their product within Ethiopia or sth! putting a minimum requirement of Agro-processing before exporting

This I agree with.

I don't think this land lease and sale is a cake walk as most of u in this form think, the investor came to take advantage of the very inhuman working wage and cheap land not for helping anybody. I guess, this is the gov't JOB to insure from being taken advantage of.

No business is out to help people. Businesses are not charities and shouldn't be expected to act as such. They came to take advantage of low land prices, cheap labor, cheap water, etc. That in itself is not bad at all. That's what attracts FDI in countries like Ethiopia. You can't expect them to come to spend $15 an hour per employee. If they're going to pay that, they might as well go to countries with better infrastructure and with a huge already developed internal market.

The worst think I noticed is most of them even did not brought capital to Ethiopia that much, they are using the capital provided by the gov't which ranges up to 70% through lone and lone guaranty. I notice some of them even failed to pay their lone and left the country. I am a bit concerned why this advantage is not taken by the Ethiopians investor. The government policy was supposed to give advantage to Ethiopian investor but instead the foreign ones are getting the advantage, is funny right?

I think the point of the capital is to encourage them to come to the country. We are competing against dozens of other countries so it's basically a race to the bottom.

Ethiopians are a difficult breed. For instance, when I was back in Addis a few months ago, I also asked this same question to businessmen and others I met. The consensus was that Ethiopians were given a lot of land, but they never intended to develop them. They just hold on to it and wait years, as speculation basically. Eventually, the government gets fed up and takes back the land and gives it to someone else, usually a foreigner because they are serious about developing it.

You can see this attitude even in Addis. How many plots of land are there around the city in prime areas, fenced off for years, but not going anywhere? Then you see on the news that the government warns them to get started on the land or it will take it back.

There's not much the government can do here.

For example when leasing land is frozen all over the country, still they are giving lands to those Indian investor.

I guess this is due to the bureaucracy because nobody hates making money and i don't believe Ethiopians are lazy!

Where did you see that? I don't remember reading anything about that.

[Simfan34]

Originally Posted by abesha

You can see this attitude even in Addis. How many plots of land are there around the city in prime areas, fenced off for years, but not going anywhere?

You could say that again....

[Yoniii]

Addis Ababa, October 20, 2010 (Addis Ababa) -

The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) announced that Ethiopia is capable to ensure food security in the near future through utilizing its potential resources and conducting researches.

An ICARDA team visited various farm lands in Lume Ejere, Ade’a and Gimbichu in East Shoa Zone of Oromia State and also North Shoa Zone to observe expansion of agricultural technologies in Ethiopia.

ICARDA Director-General, Dr. Mahmoud Solh said in connection with the visit that improvement of livelihood of farmers indicates encouraging results gained through agricultural research in the country.

The country is the second largest beans producer next to China in the world, he said, adding, it has managed to export chickpea to more than 20 countries and this shows maximum potential of the country.

Its chickpea and lentil products are getting increased demand both in the foreign and local markets.

The director said Ethiopia will be a good example to neighboring countries with regard to agriculture development.

He lauded the Ethiopian government in its efforts to give prime attention to the agriculture sector.

The country, which he knows since 1972, has been registering encouraging results during the past 10 years, the director said, adding, the ICARDA will support Ethiopia’s efforts to ensure food security. - ENA

[popa1980]

The WB/IMF/UN and other insititutions have actulaly recommended that Africa follow nations like Thailand- with a focus on small farmers- than go down the Brazil commercial farming route which has caused a lot of friction and social problems.

Ghana has focused on small farmers with great success. You will have a better effecr on poverty this way.

[abesha]

Well there are a lot of projects for small farmers so I'm not worried about that. For instance, the massive irrigation project using the Tana Beles dam is almost done, so that will transform the lives of people in that region (who are recipients of aid).


However, it is inevitable that commercial farming will take over from them in the future, otherwise it's highly inefficient use of labor.

[Yoniii]

I think there's enough land for massive commercial farmings and smaller, local, projects.

Remember that Ethiopia has the same population as Germany, but it's three times it's size or almost 5x the UK.

[abesha]

For info on the commercial farming of the country, I suggest reading this comprehensive report by Access Capital, kindly posted by Yupes in another thread.
If you have time, read the entire report, it's completely worth it for those of us who are exhausted trying to gather proper information on the country.

As I posted in the other thread, notice the figures on land acquisitions in SNNP region, where out of the 60 000 ha leased to commercial developers, 12% went to 2 foreign companies, while the remaining 88% of the land went to local developers. For those of us concerned with the land deals, this should be an indication that Ethiopian investors are not as sidelined as we thought.

http://accesscapitalsc.com/downloads...dbook-2010.pdf

It starts on page 13/40 (page 9 of Handbook).

[abesha]

New Laboratory to Monitor Agriculture Quality

Ministry aims to ensure the quality and safety of agricultural commodities


The ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD) opened a laboratory for monitoring and testing the quality of agricultural products in the compound of the Ethiopian Quality and Standards Authority (EQSA) at a cost of two million dollars funded by the government, on Monday, October 18, 2010.

Equipped with gas chromatography, a mass spectrometer, a fluid management system, and a high-speed pressurised liquid extraction system, the laboratory is aimed at conducting high-level chemical and quality analysis of products in Ethiopia.

“The laboratory will be able to analyse organic constituents in agricultural products and ensure the quality and safety of agricultural commodities for both domestic and international consumption,” said Girma Selasie, project director of the laboratory. “Staffed with two PhD holders, the laboratory will also give training and hold workshops and seminars on good agricultural practices (GAP) to stakeholders so that they can tackle product quality challenges of exportable commodities.”

One of the pieces of equipment, the gas chromatography, is used for separating and analysing compounds that can be vaporised without decomposition. It tests the purity of a particular substance, separates different components of a mixture, can identify a compound, and prepare pure compounds from a mixture.

A mass spectrometer measures the mass-to-charge ratio of charged particles used for determining masses of particles, for determining the elemental composition of a sample or molecules, and for elucidating the chemical structures of molecules.

Able to run different tests and analysis with the equipment in the laboratory, MoARD aims to have it accredited.

“The next phase is to get accreditation so that our analyses are internationally accepted,” Girma told Fortune. “Then we can export products which have been certified by the laboratory.”

The Japanese Ministry of Health, World Health Organisation (WHO), and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) are among the first bodies from which MoARD wants to obtain approval of the tests run in the laboratory.

The laboratory has already started analysing and running tests on coffee and is expected to start the same with sesame seed in the next two months.

“We have the infrastructure now and we can give any type of service if there is a need for it,” Girma told Fortune. “We want to analyse honey because much of it is being exported these days.”

http://addisfortune.com/New%20Labora...%20Quality.htm

[abesha]

Commodity Exchange Rakes in 44m Br

The Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) registered 44 million Br in operational revenues during the 2009/10 fiscal year, an increase from 17.4 million Br in comparison with the previous year, it disclosed during its first National Stakeholders Forum, held at the Sheraton Addis on Thursday, October 21, 2010.

Ever since its establishment in 2008, the ECX has been extending its trading activities from one hour of trading per week to all day trading throughout the week. As a result, it has increased its monthly trade value from 83 million Br to 491 million Br in 2009.

“The revenues will be used to scale up the activities and expansion of the service,” said Eleni Gabre-Madhin (PhD), chief executive officer (CEO) of ECX.

The number of daily buyers and sellers has increased from 15 to 110 while that of daily trades has increased from less than 10 to 100. The trading volume reached 183,710tn, representing a value of 4.6 billion Br.

The ECX consistently maintained a zero default market guarantee and next day payment to any seller and buyer in the country.

“This has helped to stop a lengthy wait and to minimise the risk of defaults,” Eleni said.

Unwashed coffee accounted for 61pc of the total transactions, increasing the trade volume from 138,000tn to 221,000tn. This also increased the trade value from 2.7 billion Br to 6.7 billion Br, an increase of 148pc, to which the price increment in the international market contributed much, according to Eleni.

Most of the trading activities were conducted by 345 limited members with transactions made through seven banks working with the ECX. Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) made 42pc of the transactions.

Since its establishment, the ECX has increased its number of laboratories to 11 and its warehouses to 30.

“The number of warehouses is not enough to meet demand,” Eleni said. “The demand calls for the participation of the private sector to build specialised warehouses.”

To reduce the volume of humid coffee being stored and dried in the warehouses, ECX will start humidity loss adjustments before it receives the coffee, according to Eleni.

The ECX, which mainly trades coffee in large amounts, is expanding its trading operations. It aims to trade sesame seeds, maize, wheat, and white pea beans, which it currently trades, at the level it trades coffee, according to the CEO.

Earlier this year, the ECX made an agreement with World Food Program (WFP) to sell 40,000 metric tonnes of maize.

During the forum, the shortage of bags and quantity reduction of coffee due to poor measurement machines found in the regional states as well as infrastructural problems, were raised by the participants.

The ECX is studying a project to tag bags with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) System which can identify the type and source of the coffee, Eleni said.

The ECX was established on April 24, 2008, and traded in coffee. Out of 450 commercial market actors registered as members, 100 are founding members with the rest being limited members. It has 808,348 farmers represented as members through 874 farmers associations in 14 unions.

http://addisfortune.com/Commodity%20...2044m%20Br.htm

[Simfan34]

Originally Posted by abesha

Well there are a lot of projects for small farmers so I'm not worried about that. For instance, the massive irrigation project using the Tana Beles dam is almost done, so that will transform the lives of people in that region (who are recipients of aid).

I must say, there has to have been a better way to go about doing the first Tana dam.