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| Ambassador's Speech>2011 >110901a | |||||
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| at the Handing-over Ceremony of Wheat Procured under the Japanese Food Assistance Program [KR] at the Ethiopian Grain Trade Enterprise Warehouse on 1 September, 2011 |
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| Ato Birhane Haile, General Manager of the Ethiopian Grain Trade Enterprise, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Endemen Aderachehu It is a great pleasure for me to attend this handing-over ceremony of 14,444 metric tons of wheat under the Japanese Food Assistance Program known as KR. This wheat was procured at the cost of 550 million Japanese Yen [about 124 million ETB at the current exchange rate], based upon the grant agreement signed between our two governments in November last year. The primary aim of this Food Assistance Program [KR] is to support Ethiopia in mitigating food shortages. The handing-over of wheat at this time, therefore, is very timely as the worst drought in the past six decades has hit the Horn of Africa, affecting 4.6 million people in Ethiopia. However, the significance of this food assistance goes beyond the current crisis. First of all, the KR scheme is a structural adjustment program, which helps Ethiopia save foreign currency and contributes to Ethiopia’s national budget management. Secondly, it helps Ethiopia to stabilize crop prices in domestic markets through an additional supply of wheat. In this context, Japan’s contribution for drought victims in the entire Horn of Africa since the beginning of this year amounts to 97 million USD. And 23 million USD [about 395 million ETB at the current exchange rate] of this is for Ethiopia. It includes food, food for work for Ethiopian farmers, as well as food and other assistance for refugees living in Ethiopia. Ladies and Gentlemen, Food security is a great challenge for many African countries, and Ethiopia is no exception. In order to ensure food security through increased crop production and more efficient distribution, I understand that the Ethiopian Government has designed and operated several mechanisms such as the National Food Security Strategy launched in 1996. It is known that various efforts were made to scale up best practices achieved in agriculture during the previous five-year plan, PASDEP, implemented from 2006 to 2010. Thanks partly to this effort, crop production increased from 119 million to 190 million quintals for this period. This represents an annual growth rate of 9.9%. However, uncertainty continues to exist, such as recurrent drought, which occasionally hits some areas of the country due to the erratic nature of rainfall. Therefore, a continuous gap still exists between food demand and food supply at the national level. In an attempt to address this issue, the Ethiopian Government has worked out an ambitious plan to double crop production in the five-year period of the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP). For this purpose, a great emphasis is being placed on farmers’ training to increase productivity. In Farmers Training Centers established throughout Ethiopia, knowledge and experience are shared on the use of improved agricultural technologies in such areas as soil improvement and irrigation. To achieve the GTP goal in agriculture, concerted efforts are required by both the Ethiopian Government and its development partners. Japan, as a long standing supporter of the agricultural sector, will remain firm to assist Ethiopia in agricultural and rural development Ladies and Gentlemen, Since 1983, Japan has extended food assistance to Ethiopia under the KR Program, with total funding of 9.583 billion Japanese Yen [about 2.15 billion ETB at the current exchange rate]. Japan has also extended assistance to Ethiopia in agricultural inputs such as fertilizer under the KR II Program since 1985, with total funding of 13.648 billion Japanese Yen [about 3.1 billion ETB at the current exchange rate]. Japan will continue these programs. Yet, I believe that it is more important to support efforts to increase food production than just to supply food. The Ethiopian Government also holds the same view, prioritizing increased agricultural productivity. Therefore, I feel that it is appropriate to gradually shift the emphasis from simply supplying food to supplying fertilizer, a critical element for increased food production, and also to strengthen technical cooperation to increase productivity, promote rice cultivation, irrigation, and so on. Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to share some of my wishes with you. I strongly desire that the wheat that has just been handed-over will be distributed in markets in areas where cereal crop supply is scarce so that it will contribute to improving the livelihoods of residents through access to food and crop price stability. Finally, I would like to emphasize that Japan is always with you for the agricultural and rural development of Ethiopia. Amesegenalehu! |
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