Thousands of farmers will gain access to improved fertilizers, blended with micronutrients to increase agriculture productivity in Tigray

May 28, 2015. Mekele, Tigray—The Enderta Farmer Cooperative Union in partnership with the Agriculture Transformation Agency (ATA), the World Bank and the USAID AGP-Agribusiness Market Development program inaugurated Tigray’s first blended fertilizer plant in Mekele, which will provide smallholder farmers access to much-needed improved inputs that match soil and crop requirements.

Both the Minister of Agriculture, Ato Tefera Derebew, and the President of the Tigray Region, Abay Woldu, were on hand to cut the ribbon and speak at the facility’s inauguration.

The obligatory ribbon cutting.

The fertilizer blending plant, worth approximately $1.2mn USD, was funded by the World Bank in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and the ATA and the Enderta Union.

USAID AGP-AMDe is providing Enderta with international and local management contract services to optimize operations and ensure maximum quality and delivery to the smallholder farmers. Under the contract—worth $230,000 USD—Enderta leaders and staff will receive hands-on skills, experience and management training over the next nine months.

The Enderta FCU has 23 full time employees, represents 20 Primary Cooperatives and 42,120 farmers and actively supplies inputs in southern Tigray. Every year, the FCU sells on average 19,000 MT of fertilizer to area farmers. Thanks to the new plant, Enderta FCU expects the demand for blended fertilizer in Tigray to exceed 300,000 MT annually and benefit hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers by 2016.

“Demand could reach as high as 600,000 MT per year. Initially, some 300,000 farmers will benefit in Tigray. We are also making links with the sesame investors in the Western Zone, which would increase the demand,” says Tadesse Aragawi, the FCU’s Deputy Manager.

Plant Employees Stacking Fertilizer

At full capacity, the plant can produce 400 MT of blended fertilizer per day, each fertilizer customized with different levels of nutrients depending on soil types, deficiencies and agro-ecologies. AGP-AMDe activities will provide technical support to farmers using blended fertilizer in Southern Tigray on over 20,000 hectares of wheat.

The Government of Ethiopia, World Bank and USAID have collaborated to erect five such factories in Ethiopia, each in a strategic location serving a large population of farmers in Tigray, Amhara, SNNPR and Oromia. In addition, the Government of Ethiopia has plans to expand the fertilizer blending operation to 12 more sites over several years.

“Last year, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Transformation Agency in partnership with key stakeholders launched the program to deliver blended fertilizers to Ethiopia’s most important agricultural areas. Through our partnerships, we plan to address and introduce blended fertilizers to the majority of our farmers in the next couple of years,” explains State Minister and Soil Fertility Expert, Tekalign Mamo.

For years farmers have relied on traditional fertilizers like DAP and urea. Results from soil fertility tests show Ethiopia’s soil is deficient in sulfur, boron, potassium, zinc and copper, hence a need for blended fertilizer. Since 2012, Enderta, with USAID support, has conducted 36 multi-nutrient fertilizer demonstrations and 20 fertilizer popularization campaigns among wheat and sesame farmer cooperatives in Tigray. The results of these trials and 120 soil samples data from 40 sites has been collected and shared with Tigray’s Bureau of Agriculture, regional research institutions and the AGP coordination office.

In addition to funding professional management services, USAID AGP-AMDe sponsored international study tours to five fertilizer blending facilities in Malawi and Zambia for FCU management and regional agricultural officials as well as commercial demonstrations of blended fertilizers with Ethiopian seed companies.

Putting it in the bag

Soil Health

Since 2013, the Agriculture Transformation Agency—under the Ministry of Agriculture—has sent over 45,000 soils samples to certified soil laboratories in Europe to once and for all map Ethiopia’s soil needs. The campaign to better understand the country’s soil is a critical component of the fertilizer campaign.

“Ethiopia has a varied topography and has suffered heavy erosion for many years. Farmers also tend to remove all crops from their soil leaving little to no bio-material behind to decompose into the soil. Knowing the overall carbon status for Ethiopia’s soil will be a huge step towards improved agriculture practices and long term sustainability,” explains Tegbaru Bellete, ATA senior technical expert.

ATA is also working with partners to carry out fertilizer demonstrations in the same areas sampled. The initial mapping of the soil will inform the recommendation for the types of fertilizers needed, and through demonstrations, farmers will witness which fertilizer works best.

“Once the farmers in a certain area realize what they need, we hope that knowledge will become institutionalized and create demand for the improved fertilizers that are being blended in these factories,” says Tegbaru.

Starbucks announces an exclusive licensed partnership with Taste Holdings for the opening of stores in South Africa, the first in sub‐Saharan Africa

First store will open in Johannesburg in the first half of 2016, with more locations to follow

Johannesburg, South Africa, July 2015 – Starbucks Coffee Company and Taste Holdings today announced a licensed partnership that will see Starbucks stores open across South Africa. For the first time in Sub-Saharan Africa, Starbucks will open full‐format stores bringing the entire range of its food and beverages.

“We are proud to be bringing Starbucks to South Africa next year,” said Kris Engskov, president, Starbucks Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). “Working with Taste, our partner, we’re going to deliver a great Starbucks experience. The coffee market here is vibrant and growing fast – we want to be part of that growth, bringing the passion and energy of this remarkable country into the design of our first store and our first barista team. We can’t wait to get started.”

Starbucks operates in about 66 countries with over 22,000 retail stores.

The Starbucks deal includes rights to other African countries, Taste said, without giving specifics.

Starbucks currently sources coffee from nine African countries: Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Cameroon, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya.

“Young people are the key to our success. The majority of our workforce is aged between 17 and 25 so talented youth has always been a priority and we will equip our new partners with the skills necessary to succeed in today’s economy. We look forward to using our partnership to leverage Taste’s strong track record of creating jobs and developing great people,” said Engskov. “Starbucks sources a considerable amount of its global, high‐quality coffee from farms in sub‐Saharan Africa, in partnership with our network of farmer support and agronomy centers in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Tanzania. We are proud to be able to offer some of the best African coffees in the world to more customers in the region.”

Before addressing the African Union, US President Barrack Obama met several beneficiaries of US government development strategies and spoke to the press about Feed the Future, a $3.5 billion food security initiative that his government created in 2009 and is being implemented in Ethiopia and 18 countries around the world.

President Obama met with Ethiopian farmer Gifti Jemal Hussein, who began growing maize with hybrid seeds in 2012 under the AGP-Agribusiness Market Development Program (AMDe), a USAID funded program partnering with US firm Dupont-Pioneer and the Ethiopian government’s Agriculture Growth Program to increase maize yields and farmer incomes. The program is partnering with 420 farmer cooperatives across Ethiopia.

Hussein was recruited as part of the first group of 320 farmers who received Pioneer hybrid maize seeds, fertilizer and training. She and the others will eventually become certified seed dealers as the program scales up seed demonstrations and awareness campaigns to reach more than 30,000 farmers before the end of 2016.

After the first season, Hussein saw her maize yields more than double, and participating farmers averaged 7 metric tons per hectare compared to a typical yield of 2.5 metric tons per hectare in Ethiopia. Higher yields translate to more income, and stronger participating in the value chain, from processor to input supplier.

“With just a few smart interventions, a little bit of help, they can make huge improvements in their overall yields,” Obama said. The United States has historically been the largest donor to Ethiopia, but Obama said the project’s goal is to work more intelligently taking a comprehensive approach to food systems, and not just to pour in more money. “We are also able to create new markets by adding food processing alongside production.”

That’s why the USAID/Pioneer hybrid maize seed program is currently reaching 5000 farmers in over 170 Ethiopian communities this year. After 2013 and 2014 project implementation, the demand for Pioneer hybrid maize seed has seen an increase and Hussein will be there as seed supplier when the demand continues to rise.

See Obama speaking while standing next farmer Hussein at Ethiopian maize processor Faffa Foods factory below:

Yirgacheffe Coffee Union Looks to Double US Coffee Exports in 2015

In 2014, Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union (YCFCU) exported 2,000 tons of coffee. The US market represents 60 percent of the total, worth 9 million USD. This year, partnering with USAID and making key investments, the Union expects to double coffee exports to 4,000 tons.

Briefing US Congressional Delegation at the Union’s processing plant in Addis Ababa, the Union’s General Manager Takele Mammo said that the Union has created partnership with USAID in 2012 to build members’ capacity in production, processing and marketing. USAID provided training assistance to member farmers and cooperative managers on post-harvest handling, proper cleaning, sorting and storage techniques to ensure quality and minimize post-harvest losses, he added.

While USAID also supports the Union through extensive training in business development and marketing, the support helps the union to increase exports by 500 MT in the past year. However, he said that the local cooperatives faced a challenge to access financing for machinery. USAID co-financed the purchase of “washing” machines for the beans and will enable them to double their production.

Senator Chirs Coons with USAID AGP-AMDe staff.

USAID Ethiopia Mission Director Dennis Weller said on his part, that Senators and Congressmen came to visit the developmental endeavours in Ethiopia. He said, “Here, we saw today a lot of activities showing that USAID is supporting our partners. Feed the Future initiative aims to transform agriculture, reduce poverty and improve nutrition by collaborating with the 60 million farmers of the country.”

Regarding further cooperation, Dennis said that USAID will work on increasing maize production three-fold by these new varieties of hybrid maize using modern technology and innovations in order to reduce poverty and improve livelihoods.

Chair, Congressional Black Caucus Congressman G.K. Butterfield said, “I am very happy about the relationship between Ethiopia and the United States. I encourage my friends in Ethiopia to work hard, to produce the best product that can help to see Ethiopian economy continue to grow.” He said adding that the prosperity and benefits of the two countries will go deep into the grassroots.

Explaining the future relationship between the two countries, Congressman Butterfield said, “President Obama loves Africa, he will strengthen the relationship with the American continent. President Obama and the Congress of the US are committed to the growth of this continent so that this good relationship is the beginning of something good.”

The Congressman also said: “I would like to encourage American investors to come and invest in Ethiopia, a country ready to grow, fit for investment with hard working people and eager to see a better tomorrow.”

“Of the many contributions Ethiopia has made to the world over the centuries, I’m certain that Americans want to thank you for one in particular, discovering something that sustains people around the world, day and night, and many people in the White House, and that is coffee. Thank you, Ethiopia. We are large consumers of coffee in the White House.” -President Obama

Source: Ethiopian Herald

USAID Provides International Management Contracts that Assign Fertilizer Experts to Each Factory for 10 months

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia—The Government of Ethiopia, World Bank and USAID have collaborated to erect five fertilizer blending factories throughout Ethiopia, each in a strategic location serving a large population of farmers in Tigray, Amhara, SNNPR and Oromia.

Blending fertilizer at the factory in Bahir Dar, Amhara, owned by Merkeb FCU.

In support of the fertilizer blending initiative, USAID AGP-AMDe installed the first fertilizer blending plant at the Becho Woliso FCU in Oromia, and over the last six months, another four plants were installed at Gibe Didessa FCU in Nekemte, Oromia; Merkeb FCU in Bahir Dar, Amhara; and Enderta FCU in Mekele, Tigray. A fifth plant, owned by Melik FCU in Worabe, SNNPR, will go online later this year. In addition, the Government of Ethiopia has plans to expand the fertilizer blending operation to 12 more sites over several years.

“Last year, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Transformation Agency in partnership with key stakeholders launched the program to deliver blended fertilizers to Ethiopia’s most important agricultural areas. Through our partnerships, we plan to address and introduce blended fertilizers to the majority of our farmers in the next couple of years,” explains State Minister and Soil Fertility Expert, Tekalign Mamo.

Under the initiative, AGP-AMDe committed approximately one million dollars to introduce fertilizer blending plant management and best practices at the five plants. AGP-AMDe provided funding to hire management firms with international experience and experts in the production and marketing of fertilizers. The firms are contracted to manage the plants for 10 months producing blended fertilizers and implement management systems in production, quality control, marketing and finance. The firms are also tasked with training union staff who will take over management of the plants at the end of the contract period.

Each blending plant creates at least 20 full time jobs, and even more jobs during the peak season. The plants also create fixed capital, which enables the unions to gain access to increased funding and critical partnerships.

Stacks of fertilizer ingredients in Bahir Dar.

Each blending plant expects fertilizer demand to rise well above 100,000 MT per year and benefit millions of farmers. The Enderta FCU in Mekele, Tigray, has 23 full time employees, represents 20 Primary Cooperatives and 42,120 farmers and actively supplies inputs in southern Tigray. Every year, the FCU used to sell on average 19,000 MT of fertilizer to area farmers. Thanks to the new plant, Enderta FCU expects the demand for blended fertilizer in Tigray to exceed 300,000 MT annually within five years and benefit hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers.

“Demand could reach as high as 600,000 MT per year. Initially, some 300,000 farmers will benefit in Tigray. We are also making links with the sesame investors in the Western Zone of our region, which would increase the demand dramatically,” says Tadesse Aragawi, Enderta FCU’s Deputy Manager.

At full capacity, the plant can produce 50 MT of blended fertilizer per hour, each fertilizer customized with different levels of nutrients depending on soil types, deficiencies and agro-ecologies.

For years farmers have relied on traditional fertilizers like diammonium phosphate-DAP and urea. Results from soil fertility tests show Ethiopia’s soil is deficient in sulfur, boron, potassium, zinc and copper, hence a need for blended fertilizer. Demonstrations with wheat, maize, barley, teff, chickpea and sesame showed that blended fertilizers can enhance productivity and quality of all crops with yield advantages of up to 80 percent.

Since 2013, the Agriculture Transformation Agency has sent over 45,000 soils samples to certified soil laboratories in Europe to once and for all map Ethiopia’s soil needs. The campaign to better understand the country’s soil is a critical component of the fertilizer campaign.

Inauguration in Bahir Dar

“Ethiopia has a varied topography and has suffered heavy erosion for many years. Farmers also tend to remove all crops from their soil leaving little to no bio-material behind to decompose into the soil. Knowing the overall carbon status for Ethiopia’s soil will be a huge step towards improved agriculture practices and long term sustainability,” explains Tegbaru Bellete, ATA senior technical expert.

ATA is also working with partners to carry out fertilizer demonstrations in the same areas sampled. The initial mapping of the soil will inform the recommendation for the types of fertilizers needed, and through demonstrations, farmers will witness which fertilizer works best.

“Once the farmers in a certain area realize what they need, we hope that knowledge will become institutionalized and create demand for the improved fertilizers that are being blended in these factories,” says Tegbaru.

Green Coffee will own the rights to 9000 hectares of agricultural land in southwestern Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia—Ethiopian coffee exporter Green Coffee gained 100% control of 9000 hectares of coffee plantations and agricultural lands in southwest Ethiopia from the Federal Government, in an act symbolizing the future of private ownership over large tracts of land in Ethiopia.

Green Coffee CEO Tadele Abreha and Beyene Gebre Meksel, director of the Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency, signed the deal in front of a small crowd at the Hilton Hotel in Addis Ababa.

Previously, Green Coffee held a 51% stake in the ownership of the land and the Federal Government held 49%. The government’s stake is valued at approximately $35.3mn USD, of which Green Coffee has already paid 35%, and will pay off the balance over the next five years. Thirty percent of the land is in the Southern Nations region and the other 70% lies in Gambella where Green Coffee is setting up a palm oil operation.

Green Coffee CEO Tadele Abreha spoke of his company’s future plans to set up coffee processing, roasting and packaging plant in Addis Ababa as well as plans to enter the palm oil, spice and honey markets. Abreha sees promise in coffee flower honey and spoke of the Starbucks experiment to  replace sugar with honey.

The Green Coffee boasts itself as the largest private exporter of coffee in Ethiopia and started exporting in 2002. Of the 9000 hectares, an estimated 6000 are covered with coffee plantations, most notably in Tepi. It is also one of very few Ethiopian coffee companies doing business with coffee giant Starbucks. In 2014, Green Coffee sold 40 containers of specialty coffee to Starbucks and expects to sell 60 containers in 2015. Earlier this year, Green Coffee participated in the Specialty Coffee Association of America annual exhibition in partnership with USAID and the Ethiopia Government and signed a contract with Vermont-based coffee company Green Mountain for 22 containers of washed Grade II Limu with Rain Forest Alliance certification.

Multinational honey trader, Parodi Apicultura, opened an office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, marking the company’s first location in Africa. Parodi Apicultura is the third largest honey trader in the world, sourcing more than 25,000 metric tons of honey from more than two dozen countries each year.

Santiago Herrero, General Manager of Matrunita Ethiopia inaugurates the office in Addis Ababa

In Ethiopia, the company’s European filial Matrunita is partnering with Bahir Dar-based Zenbaba Farmers’ Cooperative Union to produce, process and market Ethiopian honey to a wider international market. Together, Parodi and Zenbaba have shared the costs of establishing a modern processing plant, which will increase Zenbaba’s capacity to process and export honey of its 4,000-plus members.

“Ethiopia represents the future of beekeeping and is the largest honey producer in Africa. Together with Zenbaba, Matrunita will bring the sweet honeys of Ethiopia to the rest of the world,” said Santiago Herrero, General Manager of Matrunita Ethiopia.

The third partner, USAID-funded Feed the Future program Agribusiness Market Development has worked closely with Zenbaba Union over the last three years to increase the union’s ability to effectively produce honey using modern beehives and best practices. The USAID progam also assisted Zenbaba in developing a business plan, training staff and member co-ops, providing technical assistance on food processing and safety, and achieving organic, fair trade and quality assurance certifications.

Zenbaba Union expcects to produce more than 500 MT of honey each year for Matrunita Ethiopia

More than 90 percent of Ethiopia’s honey is still produced using traditional hives. Many farmers lack modern technologies, operate on a small scale, and are unaware of the quality of their product and potential markets outside of their immediate communities. As a result, most of the honey is traded informally or used to produce tej, a popular Ethiopian honey wine. Matrunita Ethiopia expects to begin exporting the honey produced by Zenbaba later this year.

A delegation of United States Senators and other government representatives visited DuPont Pioneer‘s seed conditioning plant and warehouse, located outside of Addis Ababa, as part of a visit to key USAID program partners and sites in Ethiopia.

The DuPont Pioneer-USAID partnership exemplifies a public-private partnership with the US private sector as envisioned in President Obama’s Feed the Future initiative. As part of its strategy to promote its hybrid maize seeds, DuPont Pioneer has invested more than $5mn USD in seed multiplication, awareness campaigns, seed demonstrations and the processing plant.

On the site visit, Senators Chris Coons and Jeff Merkley, as well as the Vice President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Judith Pryor, and USAID Ethiopia Mission Director, Dennis Weller, heard from DuPont Pioneer staff, seed dealers and farmers about their experience using hybrid maize seeds.

DuPont Pioneer partners with USAID and the Government of Ethiopia under the Advanced Maize Seed Adoption Program—AMSAP—to provide sample seed on demonstration plots and field training sessions to advance the utilization and acceptance of high-quality hybrid maize seed, fertilizers and improved production techniques.

In 2013, when DuPont Pioneer and USAID inaugurated the seed-conditioning plant and launched AMSAP, the company sold 4000 metric tons (MT) of hybrid seed and nearly doubled sales in 2014. This year, the company sold out of its stock of 6000 MT of seed and expects the volume of seed sales to reach 10,000 MT in 2016.

“The AMSAP program has done a lot to increase demand. More and more farmers are seeing the yield advantages of hybrid seeds, and with the conditioning plant, the seeds in Ethiopia are as good as anywhere else in the world,” explains Melaku Admasu, DuPont Pioneer Ethiopia’s Operations Manager.

Seated: Senator Chris Coons (Delaware), Senator Jeff Merkley (Oregon), Judith Pryor OPIC VP, and Dennis Weller, USAID Ethiopia Mission Director

After parental seed lines are imported from DuPont Pioneer seed centers in South Africa and Kenya and approved by the Ethiopian government, hybrid seeds are multiplied in Ethiopian soil and then sold to maize farmers through a network of input suppliers.

In AMSAP’s third year, the program expanded demonstrations from 3,200 to 5,000 lead farmers. AMSAP demonstrates two Pioneer hybrid maize varieties, Shone and Limu, on lead farmers plot in low and medium altitude areas. Hybrid maize seed yields of 7 MT per hectare—compared to a national average of 2 MT—have encouraged program partners to extend AMSAP’s activities to 2018.

The AMSAP Pioneer hybrid maize seed activities will eventually take place in 27 areas (woredas) and reach over 65,000 indirect and direct beneficiaries each year. In addition, the program will distribute 32.5 MT of seed to lead farmer demonstration sites.

AMSAP is a component of the USAID and Feed the Future program AGP-Agribusiness Market Development, which improves the capacity of maize farmer cooperative unions while building up their infrastructure, especially through the construction of strategic warehouses, which allow farmers and dealers to store seed, which increases seed availability, while they wait for improved market prices, and reduce post-harvest loss. The USAID program also facilitates market channels for maize farmer unions.

Supplying Ethiopian Farmers

In 2007, agricultural inputs dealer Gemechew Tesmesgen answered a DuPont Pioneer ad to begin offering hybrid maize varieties in the fertile plains of Western Ethiopia.  His first year, he sold ten quintals of seed, enough seed for about 80 farmers.

“The farmers were not trusting, so I gave them a money-back guarantee. By the second year, they were showing other farmers what the seeds did for them and talking about doubling their yields,” explains Gemechew.

Nonetheless, Gemechew did not see profits from the Pioneer seed for six years. It wasn’t until DuPont Pioneer partnered with USAID and the AMSAP program began that, finally in 2014, Gemechew and his three sub-dealers sold 1500 quintals (150 MT) of hybrid seed, reaching over 12,000 farmers. Pioneer seed now represent 25% of his total revenue.

“Although I have dozens of farmers who have purchased seed from me for the past eight years. This year and last, the demand skyrocketed. Now they all want Pioneer varieties and are trying to increase the size of their plots. In five years, Pioneer seed will be my number one selling product,” he says.

Gemechew has seen a change in his farmers too, expanding their farms, buying tractors and sending their sons and daughters off to university. “The poorest farmers who doubted the seeds the most, have replaced their huts with better houses and zinc roofing. Higher yields made their lives better,” says Gemechew.

New Technology Allows Agro Prom to Reach High Value Markets with Ethiopian Chickpea and Oilseeds

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director, Dennis Weller, joined Ethiopian food processor and exporter Agro Prom to inaugurate Ethiopia’s first industrial chickpea processing and cleaning machine in Adama, Ethiopia.

The processing machine is the result of an innovation grants program designed by the Feed the Future and USAID funded AGP-Agribusiness Market Development—initiative focused on improving the competitiveness and potential of Ethiopia’s chickpea sector. The processor and warehouse are worth an estimated $1.2mn, of which USAID funded $168,000, and Agro Prom invested the rest.

Elias Geneti, Agro Prom CEO and Dennis Weller, USAID Mission Director

“USAID’s partnership with Agro Prom is a prime example of the new model of aid development in which the private sector also makes investments. These types of partnerships guarantee better prices for farmers and are important for the entire value chain,” the USAID Mission Director said at the event.

Due to gaps in quality, Ethiopia chickpea exports go to lesser value markets. In addition, exporters sell to high volume food processing companies in India and Pakistan, where the chickpea end up mixed with other chickpea lots, losing their ‘Ethiopianess’, one of the selling points for marketing the grain to high value markets.

With the processing equipment, Agro Prom is poised to sell to the more demanding and higher value American, European and Middle Eastern markets. The machinery cleans chickpeas to above 99% purity using gravity separators and electromagnetic technology to remove soils and other impurities. In 2014, 1 million farmers produced over 400,000 MT of chickpea, of which an average of 60,000 MT per year are exported.

“Quality is our biggest problem and preventing us from entering the big markets. Yes the Pakistanis buy from us, package it and sell it for more to better markets. But now that will change. If we want to reach quality standards, we had to put up a quality machine. We now have that machine,” says Agro Prom founder and CEO, Elias Geneti.

While the Ethiopian chickpea is smaller than most chickpeas on the world market, it makes up for size with its rich taste. Within the next two years, Agro Prom plans to turn its cleaned and sorted chickpeas into value added products, especially hummus, before exporting.

Visitors see the machine’s sorting line.

A Sustainable Source

In 2005, Agro Prom became the first Ethiopian agro-processor to use contract farming with nearly 5000 smallholder sesame farmers in Northern Ethiopia. For chickpea, Agro Prom is using the same contract farming model to source grain for its Adama-based processing plant. Under the contract farming structure, Agro Prom provides financing, pays a guaranteed price, provides on-site agronomists and gives training to sesame farmers.

“Agro Prom is replicating the same contract farming model with chickpea farmers. We need to link the entire value chain to guarantee fair distribution of the benefits and nurture sustainability,” says Geneti.

The USAID AGP-Agribusiness Market Development initiative made the initial link between Agro Prom and chickpea growing farmer unions, Erer and Lume. The two unions signed initial contracts to each provide 1000 MT of chickpea to Agro Prom in the first year, an activity that benefits over 2000 farmers.

USAID AGP-AMDe uses an integrated value chain approach to improve productivity and competitiveness, among farmer unions as well as private agribusiness. In chickpea and sesame, the program partners with the Ministries of Agriculture and Trade, farmer cooperative unions and the private sector to introduce improved quality seeds, better harvesting and post-harvest handling techniques in addition to processing and cleaning technology. The program has assisted chickpea and sesame exporters gain access to finance and international buyers through conferences and international trade shows.

Over the past four years, USAID AGP-AMDe reached over 13,500 chickpea farmers with training and activities and helped farmers sell approximately 5000 MT of chickpea at farmgate, worth $2.8mn USD.

Under the contract farming agreement, Erer Union manager, Mekonnen Hailu, can guarantee income for two primary cooperatives representing over 1000 farmers. “The advantages are that farmers do not have to worry about a market for their produce and when they get better prices, they are encouraged to increase production,” according to Hailu.

Next year, Agro Prom and the chickpea farmers will increase the contract to 1500 MT, which will allow Erer FCU to incorporate more primary cooperative members into the chickpea value chain.

The Chickpea Processor at Agro Prom in Adama, Ethiopia.

Mechanization on the Farm

Earlier this year, chickpea farmer Million Meskele made history when he made the first mechanized chickpea harvest of 75 hectares with a combine harvester. Million owns the Bale Green farm located in the Oromia Region in Southeastern Ethiopia.

In February 2015, Million harvested, threshed and winnowed 125 metric tons of chickpea with the combine. Area farmers came and witnessed so they too could understand the benefits and opportunities of the new farm machinery.  These types of technologies improve the chances of reaching a higher quality grain and the ability to reach processors such as Agro Prom.  In addition, a combine can increase Bale Green’s chickpea harvest by approximately 15% compared to a manual harvest.

The combine is a result of a matching-grants partnership with AGP-Agribusiness Market Development.

“This has been a great contribution to Bale Green and represents a turning point in the development of the chickpea agricultural sector. We will serve as a model for others trying to expand into mechanized farming,” explains Million Meskele, owner of Bale Green.

AGP-AMDe also supported Bale Green to attain a seed business license in order to distribute seed to area farmers. Next planting season, more than 1000 farmers could benefit through Bale Green’s seed multiplication activities.

“Really, the link between farmer and processor is at the heart of the Feed the Future initiative. A processing facility is the first step in adding value, and these actions all add money in the pocket of chickpea farmers,” said Dennis Weller, USAID Mission Director.

The Women in Agribusiness Leadership Network Expands to over 250 Agribusiness and Agriculture Entrepreneurs across Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia–The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Agribusiness Market Development Activity (AGP-AMDe) launched the second round of business and leadership training for 130 women participants from the Women in Agribusiness Leadership Network, at the Capital Hotel in Addis Ababa.

The new members are high-potential women leaders in agribusiness from across the country and will receive training and coaching to build skills in business planning, management and marketing. Through a series of workshops with experts, the women business owners will develop leadership skills that enable growth and confidence. In addition, the new members will participate in a mentorship program for even more women-led micro and small enterprises to share experience, skills and knowledge about business management.

Although women in Ethiopia make up nearly half of the agriculture work force, they only represent 20% of members of agricultural cooperatives countrywide. As a result, they have less access to resources, financial services and land than their male counterparts. The WALN aims to provide members with the support and resources needed to better plan and manage their businesses as well as information on savings and loan services.

Asmeret, WALN member from Gondar, at the market.

“There are approximately 22 million Ethiopian women doing everything they can to support their community, but do we see them? No, because the visible actors are nearly always men. Agriculture is considered men’s work, but who is really doing all the work? The women,” USAID AGP-AMDe Chief of Party, Vanessa Adams, told the new members. “There is no limit to your vision. WALN could one day cross borders to include women entrepreneurs in Kenya, Sudan or Uganda.”

USAID AGP-AMDe initially launched the Women in Agribusiness Leadership Network in May of 2014 with over 100 participants from the regions of Oromia, Amhara, Tigray and SNNPR as well as Addis Ababa. In its first year, 90% of WALN members successfully completed the program. The group is currently registering itself with the Ethiopian government and building a block of agribusiness leaders watching out for the interests of Ethiopian women, proving there is an urgent demand for women-specific business organizations and support.

“It is vital to see the continuation of WALN in order to link producers with traders, traders with exporters. There are members at every place in the supply chain,” said Hadia Mohammed, Chairwoman of the Ethiopian Womens’ Exporter Association.

Dahab Mesfin, owner of Diamond Coffee Enterprise and WALN member from the first round of recruitment, was on hand to tell the new members about her experience.

“A lot of women think there is a finite market out there, but Ethiopia and Africa are enormous. There is enough room for everybody to find their place. I always tell the women I mentor that anybody can copy your product but nobody can copy you,” she explained.

Dahab owns 200 hectares of coffee cultivation in Kaffa in the South of Ethiopia. She markets forest green coffee as well as the coffee from another 100 hectares of neighboring outgrowers. Last year she exported approximately one container of specialty coffee to Germany and is looking to expand production by 50% in 2015.

She is a model member for her diligence and commitment to grow and help other women grow their business. Dehab successfully completed the business leadership training organized by WALN and she mentored three women to grow their businesses.

“When I joined WALN, I had a five year plan in my head. The training allowed me to put the plan on paper and begin achieving my business goals,” she says.

WALN also gave her the opportunity to attend specialty coffee shows in Kenya and a women coffee vendor exhibition in Brazil.

“WALN taught me to speak in front of people,” she explains in English. “I was shy and had a difficult time speaking to buyers. I’m no longer worried about negotiating.

Currently, Dehab is preparing her business to obtain organic coffee certification by designing and developing a coffee traceability model.

Dehab is also a member of the Ethiopian Women in Coffee organization, which was created by WALN members members.

Mantegbosh, WALN member from SNNPR and coffee grower

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The Agribusiness Market Development activity (AMDe) is Feed the Future’s flagship program in Ethiopia and represents one of USAID’s largest contributions to the Government of Ethiopia‘s Agricultural Growth Program. The $3.5bn Feed the Future, global hunger and food security initiative was created by President Obama and sustains the U.S. Government´s commitment as one of Ethiopia’s largest partners in developing the agriculture sector

Bedele, Ethiopia—Ethiopian farmer Ayelech Bekele, 55, joined the Lelistu Ogda farmer cooperative because she believed she had better chances to improve her quality of life as part of a group. She’s married with six children and has a fifth grade education. She and her family have always been farmers.

Ayelech has one hectare of land that has deteriorated significantly over the years. She has seen a decrease in maize and teff yields while her mango and avocado trees are bearing less fruit every year. Although the Ethiopian government offers subsidized fertilizers, Ayelech cannot afford inputs to upgrade her soil’s fertility. In fact, most of the farmers in the farmer cooperative struggle with soil fertility, and that’s one reason why Ayelech and 19 other women will now embrace beekeeping as an alternative to increasing their income.

“Since our farm lands are poor quality and we can’t afford fertilizers. Beekeeping is an alternative way for me to take care of my family since I can produce more income with this new skill. Our primary cooperative will improve too,” says Ayelech.

New beekeeper uses the new wax to make wax panels, known as the foundation sheet, for the modern hives.

In August 2015, the Feed the Future AGP-Agribusiness Market Development (AMDe) program provided Ayelech and 19 women in her cooperative with beekeeping equipment and technical training. The activity gives each member two modern hives, beekeeping attire, six kilograms of wax and the group with a beeswax molder, honey extractor and queen excluder frames.

In addition, the program trains the new beekeepers in advanced techniques in honey production. On the first day of training, the women received a handbook, which covers the theory of beekeeping and applications. The women participate in a practical session on the second day stamping wax panels and setting up the modern hives.

During the training, the women were excited, and their enthusiasm turned to smiles during the practical application of the training. Most of the women farmers do not have an education that goes beyond the fifth grade.

“Learning the methods of using modern hives will help us achieve more and increase my income. I am excited to produce honey,” says Ayelech.

The new beekeepers are part of AGP-AMDe’s initiative to increase production and quality in Ethiopia’s honey value chain. The program provided material and training in August and September for 220 women beekeepers in the three regions Oromia (40), SNNPR (60) and Amhara (120).

Some of the women are already keeping bees while others, like Ayalech, are learning the trade for the first time. In total, the 220 women are set to receive 560 modern beehives to promote their beekeeping business, which also includes producing beeswax and using low quality honey to produce tej, a typical Ethiopian drink.

Abdi Bori Primary Cooperative showing off their wax frames for their new stainless steel extractor.

“In recent years, beeswax has become scarce in Oromia. The women can capitalize on this and with their excess honey they can make tej,” explained Abiy Seifu, regional beekeeping and livestock expert.

Ayuba Kalifa, of the Abdi Bori farmer cooperative, has the same challenge as Ayelech, and her land no longer produces profitable yields. She hopes beekeeping will become another way to supplement her income. Her beekeeping activity will cover half of her one-fourth hectare.

She covered a fourth of her hectare of land with hives. If done properly, one hive can produce 25kg of honey. In an average season and with four modern hives, Ayuba can get two harvests and an extra $200 in addition to the sales from her annual maize and teff harvests.

“My dream is one thing, I want my six children to be educated. I want to make sure they have everything they need to finish their education,” said Ayuba Kalifa, member of the Abdi Bori farmer cooperative.

Text and Photos by Ronny Escobar

The Ethiopian delegation led by H.E. Mr Yacob Yala, State Minister of Trade, presented plans for the 4th World Coffee Conference, which will take place in Addis Ababa on 6-8 March 2016.

The Ethiopian Minister of Trade made the presentation at the 115th Session of the International Coffee Council taking place from 28 September to 2 October 2015 in Milan, Italy.

The State Minister is accompanied by Mr Hussein Agraw, President of the Ethiopian Coffee Exporters Association (ECEA), Mr Abdella Bagershi, Chairman of the African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA), and Mr Taddele Abra, Board Member of the ECEA and owner of one of the largest coffee plantations in Ethiopia.

Registration for the 4th #WorldCoffeeConference will open soon.

See the conference website for general progrm and early registration at http://www.coffee2016.com/

To celebrate October 1st, International Coffee Day, USAID Ethiopia has created a small infrographic to celebrate Ethiopian coffee.

Multinational honey trader, Parodi Apicultura, opened an office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, marking the company’s first location in Africa. Parodi Apicultura is the third largest honey trader in the world, sourcing more than 25,000 metric tons of honey from more than two dozen countries each year.

Santiago Herrero, General Manager of Matrunita Ethiopia inaugurates the office in Addis Ababa

In Ethiopia, the company’s European filial Matrunita is partnering with Bahir Dar-based Zenbaba Farmers’ Cooperative Union to produce, process and market Ethiopian honey to a wider international market. Together, Parodi and Zenbaba have shared the costs of establishing a modern processing plant, which will increase Zenbaba’s capacity to process and export honey of its 4,000-plus members.

“Ethiopia represents the future of beekeeping and is the largest honey producer in Africa. Together with Zenbaba, Matrunita will bring the sweet honeys of Ethiopia to the rest of the world,” said Santiago Herrero, General Manager of Matrunita Ethiopia.

The third partner, USAID-funded Feed the Future program Agribusiness Market Development has worked closely with Zenbaba Union over the last three years to increase the union’s ability to effectively produce honey using modern beehives and best practices. The USAID progam also assisted Zenbaba in developing a business plan, training staff and member co-ops, providing technical assistance on food processing and safety, and achieving organic, fair trade and quality assurance certifications.

Zenbaba Union expcects to produce more than 500 MT of honey each year for Matrunita Ethiopia

More than 90 percent of Ethiopia’s honey is still produced using traditional hives. Many farmers lack modern technologies, operate on a small scale, and are unaware of the quality of their product and potential markets outside of their immediate communities. As a result, most of the honey is traded informally or used to produce tej, a popular Ethiopian honey wine. Matrunita Ethiopia expects to begin exporting the honey produced by Zenbaba later this year.

A delegation of United States Senators and other government representatives visited DuPont Pioneer‘s seed conditioning plant and warehouse, located outside of Addis Ababa, as part of a visit to key USAID program partners and sites in Ethiopia.

The DuPont Pioneer-USAID partnership exemplifies a public-private partnership with the US private sector as envisioned in President Obama’s Feed the Future initiative. As part of its strategy to promote its hybrid maize seeds, DuPont Pioneer has invested more than $5mn USD in seed multiplication, awareness campaigns, seed demonstrations and the processing plant.

On the site visit, Senators Chris Coons and Jeff Merkley, as well as the Vice President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Judith Pryor, and USAID Ethiopia Mission Director, Dennis Weller, heard from DuPont Pioneer staff, seed dealers and farmers about their experience using hybrid maize seeds.

DuPont Pioneer partners with USAID and the Government of Ethiopia under the Advanced Maize Seed Adoption Program—AMSAP—to provide sample seed on demonstration plots and field training sessions to advance the utilization and acceptance of high-quality hybrid maize seed, fertilizers and improved production techniques.

In 2013, when DuPont Pioneer and USAID inaugurated the seed-conditioning plant and launched AMSAP, the company sold 4000 metric tons (MT) of hybrid seed and nearly doubled sales in 2014. This year, the company sold out of its stock of 6000 MT of seed and expects the volume of seed sales to reach 10,000 MT in 2016.

“The AMSAP program has done a lot to increase demand. More and more farmers are seeing the yield advantages of hybrid seeds, and with the conditioning plant, the seeds in Ethiopia are as good as anywhere else in the world,” explains Melaku Admasu, DuPont Pioneer Ethiopia’s Operations Manager.

Seated: Senator Chris Coons (Delaware), Senator Jeff Merkley (Oregon), Judith Pryor OPIC VP, and Dennis Weller, USAID Ethiopia Mission Director

After parental seed lines are imported from DuPont Pioneer seed centers in South Africa and Kenya and approved by the Ethiopian government, hybrid seeds are multiplied in Ethiopian soil and then sold to maize farmers through a network of input suppliers.

In AMSAP’s third year, the program expanded demonstrations from 3,200 to 5,000 lead farmers. AMSAP demonstrates two Pioneer hybrid maize varieties, Shone and Limu, on lead farmers plot in low and medium altitude areas. Hybrid maize seed yields of 7 MT per hectare—compared to a national average of 2 MT—have encouraged program partners to extend AMSAP’s activities to 2018.

The AMSAP Pioneer hybrid maize seed activities will eventually take place in 27 areas (woredas) and reach over 65,000 indirect and direct beneficiaries each year. In addition, the program will distribute 32.5 MT of seed to lead farmer demonstration sites.

AMSAP is a component of the USAID and Feed the Future program AGP-Agribusiness Market Development, which improves the capacity of maize farmer cooperative unions while building up their infrastructure, especially through the construction of strategic warehouses, which allow farmers and dealers to store seed, which increases seed availability, while they wait for improved market prices, and reduce post-harvest loss. The USAID program also facilitates market channels for maize farmer unions.

Supplying Ethiopian Farmers

In 2007, agricultural inputs dealer Gemechew Tesmesgen answered a DuPont Pioneer ad to begin offering hybrid maize varieties in the fertile plains of Western Ethiopia.  His first year, he sold ten quintals of seed, enough seed for about 80 farmers.

“The farmers were not trusting, so I gave them a money-back guarantee. By the second year, they were showing other farmers what the seeds did for them and talking about doubling their yields,” explains Gemechew.

Nonetheless, Gemechew did not see profits from the Pioneer seed for six years. It wasn’t until DuPont Pioneer partnered with USAID and the AMSAP program began that, finally in 2014, Gemechew and his three sub-dealers sold 1500 quintals (150 MT) of hybrid seed, reaching over 12,000 farmers. Pioneer seed now represent 25% of his total revenue.

“Although I have dozens of farmers who have purchased seed from me for the past eight years. This year and last, the demand skyrocketed. Now they all want Pioneer varieties and are trying to increase the size of their plots. In five years, Pioneer seed will be my number one selling product,” he says.

Gemechew has seen a change in his farmers too, expanding their farms, buying tractors and sending their sons and daughters off to university. “The poorest farmers who doubted the seeds the most, have replaced their huts with better houses and zinc roofing. Higher yields made their lives better,” says Gemechew.

New Technology Allows Agro Prom to Reach High Value Markets with Ethiopian Chickpea and Oilseeds

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director, Dennis Weller, joined Ethiopian food processor and exporter Agro Prom to inaugurate Ethiopia’s first industrial chickpea processing and cleaning machine in Adama, Ethiopia.

The processing machine is the result of an innovation grants program designed by the Feed the Future and USAID funded AGP-Agribusiness Market Development—initiative focused on improving the competitiveness and potential of Ethiopia’s chickpea sector. The processor and warehouse are worth an estimated $1.2mn, of which USAID funded $168,000, and Agro Prom invested the rest.

Elias Geneti, Agro Prom CEO and Dennis Weller, USAID Mission Director

“USAID’s partnership with Agro Prom is a prime example of the new model of aid development in which the private sector also makes investments. These types of partnerships guarantee better prices for farmers and are important for the entire value chain,” the USAID Mission Director said at the event.

Due to gaps in quality, Ethiopia chickpea exports go to lesser value markets. In addition, exporters sell to high volume food processing companies in India and Pakistan, where the chickpea end up mixed with other chickpea lots, losing their ‘Ethiopianess’, one of the selling points for marketing the grain to high value markets.

With the processing equipment, Agro Prom is poised to sell to the more demanding and higher value American, European and Middle Eastern markets. The machinery cleans chickpeas to above 99% purity using gravity separators and electromagnetic technology to remove soils and other impurities. In 2014, 1 million farmers produced over 400,000 MT of chickpea, of which an average of 60,000 MT per year are exported.

“Quality is our biggest problem and preventing us from entering the big markets. Yes the Pakistanis buy from us, package it and sell it for more to better markets. But now that will change. If we want to reach quality standards, we had to put up a quality machine. We now have that machine,” says Agro Prom founder and CEO, Elias Geneti.

While the Ethiopian chickpea is smaller than most chickpeas on the world market, it makes up for size with its rich taste. Within the next two years, Agro Prom plans to turn its cleaned and sorted chickpeas into value added products, especially hummus, before exporting.

Visitors see the machine’s sorting line.

A Sustainable Source

In 2005, Agro Prom became the first Ethiopian agro-processor to use contract farming with nearly 5000 smallholder sesame farmers in Northern Ethiopia. For chickpea, Agro Prom is using the same contract farming model to source grain for its Adama-based processing plant. Under the contract farming structure, Agro Prom provides financing, pays a guaranteed price, provides on-site agronomists and gives training to sesame farmers.

“Agro Prom is replicating the same contract farming model with chickpea farmers. We need to link the entire value chain to guarantee fair distribution of the benefits and nurture sustainability,” says Geneti.

The USAID AGP-Agribusiness Market Development initiative made the initial link between Agro Prom and chickpea growing farmer unions, Erer and Lume. The two unions signed initial contracts to each provide 1000 MT of chickpea to Agro Prom in the first year, an activity that benefits over 2000 farmers.

USAID AGP-AMDe uses an integrated value chain approach to improve productivity and competitiveness, among farmer unions as well as private agribusiness. In chickpea and sesame, the program partners with the Ministries of Agriculture and Trade, farmer cooperative unions and the private sector to introduce improved quality seeds, better harvesting and post-harvest handling techniques in addition to processing and cleaning technology. The program has assisted chickpea and sesame exporters gain access to finance and international buyers through conferences and international trade shows.

Over the past four years, USAID AGP-AMDe reached over 13,500 chickpea farmers with training and activities and helped farmers sell approximately 5000 MT of chickpea at farmgate, worth $2.8mn USD.

Under the contract farming agreement, Erer Union manager, Mekonnen Hailu, can guarantee income for two primary cooperatives representing over 1000 farmers. “The advantages are that farmers do not have to worry about a market for their produce and when they get better prices, they are encouraged to increase production,” according to Hailu.

Next year, Agro Prom and the chickpea farmers will increase the contract to 1500 MT, which will allow Erer FCU to incorporate more primary cooperative members into the chickpea value chain.

The Chickpea Processor at Agro Prom in Adama, Ethiopia.

Mechanization on the Farm

Earlier this year, chickpea farmer Million Meskele made history when he made the first mechanized chickpea harvest of 75 hectares with a combine harvester. Million owns the Bale Green farm located in the Oromia Region in Southeastern Ethiopia.

In February 2015, Million harvested, threshed and winnowed 125 metric tons of chickpea with the combine. Area farmers came and witnessed so they too could understand the benefits and opportunities of the new farm machinery.  These types of technologies improve the chances of reaching a higher quality grain and the ability to reach processors such as Agro Prom.  In addition, a combine can increase Bale Green’s chickpea harvest by approximately 15% compared to a manual harvest.

The combine is a result of a matching-grants partnership with AGP-Agribusiness Market Development.

“This has been a great contribution to Bale Green and represents a turning point in the development of the chickpea agricultural sector. We will serve as a model for others trying to expand into mechanized farming,” explains Million Meskele, owner of Bale Green.

AGP-AMDe also supported Bale Green to attain a seed business license in order to distribute seed to area farmers. Next planting season, more than 1000 farmers could benefit through Bale Green’s seed multiplication activities.

“Really, the link between farmer and processor is at the heart of the Feed the Future initiative. A processing facility is the first step in adding value, and these actions all add money in the pocket of chickpea farmers,” said Dennis Weller, USAID Mission Director.

The Women in Agribusiness Leadership Network Expands to over 250 Agribusiness and Agriculture Entrepreneurs across Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia–The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Agribusiness Market Development Activity (AGP-AMDe) launched the second round of business and leadership training for 130 women participants from the Women in Agribusiness Leadership Network, at the Capital Hotel in Addis Ababa.

The new members are high-potential women leaders in agribusiness from across the country and will receive training and coaching to build skills in business planning, management and marketing. Through a series of workshops with experts, the women business owners will develop leadership skills that enable growth and confidence. In addition, the new members will participate in a mentorship program for even more women-led micro and small enterprises to share experience, skills and knowledge about business management.

Although women in Ethiopia make up nearly half of the agriculture work force, they only represent 20% of members of agricultural cooperatives countrywide. As a result, they have less access to resources, financial services and land than their male counterparts. The WALN aims to provide members with the support and resources needed to better plan and manage their businesses as well as information on savings and loan services.

Asmeret, WALN member from Gondar, at the market.

“There are approximately 22 million Ethiopian women doing everything they can to support their community, but do we see them? No, because the visible actors are nearly always men. Agriculture is considered men’s work, but who is really doing all the work? The women,” USAID AGP-AMDe Chief of Party, Vanessa Adams, told the new members. “There is no limit to your vision. WALN could one day cross borders to include women entrepreneurs in Kenya, Sudan or Uganda.”

USAID AGP-AMDe initially launched the Women in Agribusiness Leadership Network in May of 2014 with over 100 participants from the regions of Oromia, Amhara, Tigray and SNNPR as well as Addis Ababa. In its first year, 90% of WALN members successfully completed the program. The group is currently registering itself with the Ethiopian government and building a block of agribusiness leaders watching out for the interests of Ethiopian women, proving there is an urgent demand for women-specific business organizations and support.

“It is vital to see the continuation of WALN in order to link producers with traders, traders with exporters. There are members at every place in the supply chain,” said Hadia Mohammed, Chairwoman of the Ethiopian Womens’ Exporter Association.

Dahab Mesfin, owner of Diamond Coffee Enterprise and WALN member from the first round of recruitment, was on hand to tell the new members about her experience.

“A lot of women think there is a finite market out there, but Ethiopia and Africa are enormous. There is enough room for everybody to find their place. I always tell the women I mentor that anybody can copy your product but nobody can copy you,” she explained.

Dahab owns 200 hectares of coffee cultivation in Kaffa in the South of Ethiopia. She markets forest green coffee as well as the coffee from another 100 hectares of neighboring outgrowers. Last year she exported approximately one container of specialty coffee to Germany and is looking to expand production by 50% in 2015.

She is a model member for her diligence and commitment to grow and help other women grow their business. Dehab successfully completed the business leadership training organized by WALN and she mentored three women to grow their businesses.

“When I joined WALN, I had a five year plan in my head. The training allowed me to put the plan on paper and begin achieving my business goals,” she says.

WALN also gave her the opportunity to attend specialty coffee shows in Kenya and a women coffee vendor exhibition in Brazil.

“WALN taught me to speak in front of people,” she explains in English. “I was shy and had a difficult time speaking to buyers. I’m no longer worried about negotiating.

Currently, Dehab is preparing her business to obtain organic coffee certification by designing and developing a coffee traceability model.

Dehab is also a member of the Ethiopian Women in Coffee organization, which was created by WALN members members.

Mantegbosh, WALN member from SNNPR and coffee grower

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The Agribusiness Market Development activity (AMDe) is Feed the Future’s flagship program in Ethiopia and represents one of USAID’s largest contributions to the Government of Ethiopia‘s Agricultural Growth Program. The $3.5bn Feed the Future, global hunger and food security initiative was created by President Obama and sustains the U.S. Government´s commitment as one of Ethiopia’s largest partners in developing the agriculture sector

The largest U.S. angel network for Africa invests in a sesame manufacturing and exporting company.

Through support from USAID and its Feed the Future AGP-Agribusiness Market Development program, members of the Impact Angel Network (IAN) and another U.S. investment group are investing in a sesame manufacturing and exporting company based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The investors participating in the deal anticipate that over the next five years, the company will support over 10,000 small farmers, strengthen the sesame industry in Ethiopia, generate $32 million in export sales and create more than 60 jobs in the manufacturing sector.

“We are excited to participate in the great potential of the sesame industry in Ethiopia and about the impact this investment will have,” said a member of the network.

The investment, like others the IAN has made into small and medium enterprises in East Africa, is anticipated to have a significant impact on the local economy.

This is the IAN’s fourth investment in Ethiopia and fifth investment in East Africa since 2013. The Impact Angel Network (EIAN) invested in METAD, an Ethiopian specialty coffee company in October 2013. METAD used the investment to establish a coffee processing facility on its coffee farm located near Yirgacheffe in the district of Hambela in the Oromia Region.

Sesame seasonal workers in the sesame growing lowlands in Northern Ethiopia

Sesame Value Chain

Globally, Ethiopia fourth in sesame exports and first in Africa, yet sesame production and quality still depend on a rain-fed farming system that put farmers at high risk of failure every season. In addition, Ethiopia’s sesame farmers have no access to certified seed, suffer an overwhelming lack of warehousing, and spend large amounts of money in transport, processing and cleaning. Mitigating these risks while increasing access to finance and markets leads to bigger profits and gives farmers the tools and confidence to face subsequent seasons.

Since 2012, AGP-AMDe supported the establishment of four 5000-MT capacity warehouses on a cost-sharing basis with key sesame farmer unions. In addition to warehouses, AGP-AMDe co-funded six industrial sesame cleaning machines and provided 24 sets of grading equipment for the sesame growing cooperatives. These activities, in addition to increasing the capacity of farmers and promoting the use of improved seed, have contributed to increasing quality and profitability of Ethiopia’s sesame sector.

…

The Impact Angel Network (IAN) is the largest U.S.-based angel network for Africa. RENEW is an impact investment firm working in Ethiopia through its partnership with USAID activities. RENEW manages the IAN and provides professional investment advisory and consulting services in support of its investments.

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