Dr. Dagnachew Beyene, Director of Agricultural Extension Directorate, Ministry of Agriculture,
Mr. Yasuhiko Kiwagawa, Senior Vice President of Mitsubishi Corporation,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning.  Endemen aderachehu.

It is a great pleasure for me to witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding for a Mitsubishi CSR (corporate social responsibility) project to build capacity of farmers through supplying solar systems and related equipment.

Solar power systems are eco-friendly and best fit Ethiopia’s energy and environmental policy, which exclusively depends on renewable energy sources for power generation such as hydro and wind.  With sunshine, this system works even in isolated communities far from the national power grid.  In this project, solar power systems will be installed at Farmers Training Centers in model villages in the Tigray Region.

In Ethiopia, Farmers Training Centers play an important role in rural areas.  There, farmers share best practices and learn about agricultural technologies such as irrigation, soil improvement, forestation, etc.  Sharing knowledge and experience are crucial for farmers to improve productivity in agriculture and expand farmland.  The GTP attaches great importance to this as leverage for ensuring food security in five years.

Through 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 will be provided as well.  As a result, farmers’ best practices in the field can be shared with others through audio-visual materials.  I strongly believe that this will contribute to the empowerment of farmers.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is already four years since Mitsubishi Corporation started CSR projects in Ethiopia for the benefit of farmers in rural areas.  In three regions, a total of four projects have been completed and two are near completion.  Indeed, it was a great pleasure for me to attend the inauguration ceremony for one of these projects held in a small village in the Amhara Region two years ago.  I still vividly remember the happy faces of the farmers there.

The Embassy of Japan has a similar scheme for “grassroots grant-in-aid projects.”  We implement various small-scale, community-based projects directly benefitting residents in rural areas throughout Ethiopia.  The area of cooperation is quite extensive, including education, water supply, health and infrastructure.  I think that Mitsubishi Corporation’s CSR projects are based upon the same concept as ours.  Quick implementation and direct benefits for residents are key aims our two schemes have in common.

I hope that this initiative by Mitsubishi Corporation will be continued in the years to come and will serve as a bridge which links our people together at the grassroots level.

Thank you for your attention.  Amesegenalehu.