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| Ambassador's Speech>2011 >110105 | |||||
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at the Hand-over Ceremony of Fertilizer on 5 January, 2011 |
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| Your Excellency Ato Wondirad Mandefro, State Minister of Agriculture, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning. Endemen aderachehu. It is a great pleasure for me to attend this hand-over ceremony of fifteen thousand tons of fertilizer to the Ethiopian Government through Japan’s grant-in-aid scheme for small agriculturists and underprivileged farmers, better known as KR II. This fertilizer has been procured at a cost of 590 million yen, equivalent to 118 million birr, based upon the grant agreement signed between our two governments in March last year. This assistance is aimed at helping Ethiopia to promote food production with the supply of fertilizer. To my pleasure, this hand-over ceremony is the first of this sort to be held in the agricultural sector since the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) was formally approved by the parliament as the five-year national economic and social program last month. Agriculture is no doubt a key sector in the GTP, and extensive work to double crop production is expected. Fortunately, I know, you are well prepared for that with a parallel ten-year agricultural sector Policy and Investment Framework (PIF). This PIF is a strategic framework for prioritizing and planning investments that will drive Ethiopia’s agricultural development and make the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) operational. The PIF not only outlines but also elaborates on specific objectives, goals to achieve and means of utilization so as to fulfill the commitments to achieve the GTP. At the same time, in order to implement the PIF, I understand, a drastic increase in the annual budget for agriculture is required in the coming ten years. The total financial requirements of USD18 billion for the ten-year period will be a real challenge not only for the Ethiopian Government but also for development partners. Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen, In Japan’s ODA policy for Ethiopia agriculture has continued to be a priority sector in view of its large weight in the Ethiopian economy. Now that the GTP and the PIF have been officially launched, I feel that it is time for us to review what we have done in agriculture to date and further to examine how best Japan can play its role in helping Ethiopia to increase productivity in agriculture in accordance with the GTP and the PIF. In order to increase crop production and productivity in agriculture, modern agricultural inputs are critically important, including, among others, fertilizer. Data show that the average annual fertilizer demand in Ethiopia revolves around half a million tons. Recognizing the huge fertilizer need in this country, Japan has extended fertilizer and some agricultural equipment to Ethiopia through this KR II scheme, amounting to 14.3 billion yen in total since 1985. This is equivalent to 2.86 billion birr at the current exchange rate. Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to share some of my wishes with you. I strongly desire that the fertilizer handed over today will be distributed in an appropriate manner and reach small farmers and underprivileged farmers so that their livelihoods will be improved. I also hope that the fertilizer will be used effectively, leading to increased crop production as expected in the GTP. Finally, I would like to emphasize that Japan is always with you for the agricultural development of Ethiopia. If we can be of any help we are always ready to work with you. Thank you for your attention. Amesegenalehu. |
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