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| Ambassador's Speech>2011 >110510 | |||||
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| at the Inauguration Ceremony for the Mitsubishi CSR Project in Teref Kebele, Amhara Regional State on 10 May, 2011 |
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| Dr. Solomon Assefa, Director of Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Haruki Hayashi, Senior Vice President of Mitsubishi Corporation, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning. Endemen aderachehu. It is a great pleasure for me to attend this inauguration ceremony for the Mitsubishi CSR (corporate social responsibility) project here in Teref Kebele, Amhara Regional State and to share the joyous moment with you. Solar power systems are eco-friendly and best fits Ethiopia’s energy and environment policy, which exclusively depends on renewable energy sources such as hydro and wind for power generation. As long as sufficient solar energy is available, this system is workable even in isolated communities far from the national power grid. In this project, the solar power system has been installed in the Farmers Training Center and the Animal Health Post in the village. In Ethiopia, farmers training centers, one for every woreda, play an important role in rural areas. They are the places where farmers share best practices and learn about agricultural technologies such as irrigation, improving the soil, forestation, etc. Sharing the knowledge and experiences are crucial for farmers to improve productivity in agriculture, to which the GTP attaches importance as leverage for doubling crop production in five years. In this project, thanks to solar power, farmers can concentrate on their field work in the daytime and attend training courses at the Center in the evening. Some electronic appliances such as TV sets, DVD players, computers and printers have been provided as well. As a result, advanced training programs supported by audio-visual materials are now available. I strongly believe that this will contribute to the empowerment of farmers. Animal health posts also play an important role in ensuring the health of cattle. Solar-powered refrigerators, donated through this project, will broaden access to medicines when animals need to be vaccinated or treated. I hope that you will keep all the donated eqipment in good condition and make the most use of it, aiming at more production and a better life. Ladies and Gentlemen, It is already three years since Mitsubishi Corporation started CSR projects in Ethiopia for the benefit of residents in rural areas. Indeed, this is the second inauguration ceremony. The eco-friendly approach Mitsubishi Corporation takes is innovative, and I admire what it has done to date. The Embassy of Japan has a similar scheme called “grassroots grant-in-aid projects.” We implement various small-scale projects directly benefitting residents in rural areas throughout Ethiopia. The area of cooperation is quite extensive, including education, water supply, health and infrastructure. CSR projects by Mitsubishi Corporation are based upon the same concept. Quick implementation and direct benefits for residents are two important elements of our two schemes. I hope that this initiative by Mitsubishi Corporation will be continued in the years to come and will serve as a bridge which binds our people together at the grassroots level. Thank you for your attention. Amesagenalehu. |
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