(Addis Ababa, 14 March 2025, Ministry of Agriculture)
The Minister of Agriculture, Girma Amente (PhD) met with Resident Representative of UNDP in Ethiopia Samuel Doe (PhD) to discuss the partnership in the area of rural financing and agriculture insurance and the Ethiopian coffee sector.
During the discussion, Minister Girma Amente said that the agricultural sector is the backbone of the country’s economy and that the agricultural sector is one of the sectors that the government is prioritizing as part of its new domestic economic reform.
The Minister also thanked United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) for its support in the establishment of the Rural Finance Service Unit in partnership with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The unit will work to strengthen access to financial services and agriculture insurance for smallholder farmers in Ethiopia.
Samuel Doe (PhD) on his part said that the work being done by Ethiopian government in the agriculture sector is encouraging.
Samuel Doe (PhD) added that UNDP has a long history of supporting the agriculture sector in Ethiopia and will continue to strengthen its support in the coming years.
The Ministry of Agriculture and UNDP are also exploring opportunities with the government of India to promote agricultural insurance though the South-South Cooperation.
The Ministry of Agriculture and UNDP will be co-hosting the Community of Practice (CoP) on Financial Resilience in Agriculture in June 2025. The CoP is co-financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency JICA.
Reporter: Solomon Demessew