Ethiopia, ILO sign MoU to create jobs in agro-processing

Addis Ababa, November 27, 2020 (FBC) – The Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to implement a project that aims at creating decent job opportunities for women and men in the agribusiness sector.

Trade and Industry Minister, Melaku Alebel, Labour and Social Affairs Minister, Ergogie Tesfaye and ILO Country Office Director, Alexio Musindo signed the MoU.

The €5 million project focuses on building the capacity of national, regional and local stakeholders to develop and implement policies that boost the job creation potentials of the agribusiness sector, it was indicated.

The “ProAgro Ethiopia –Promotion of Decent Work in Agribusiness” project will be implemented in Amhara and South Nations Nationalities and Peoples’ (SNNP) regional states with in a period of 42 months.

The two regions were identified by the government of Ethiopia and other stakeholders based on the existing potential for vegetables, edible oils and poultry development in the regions which are vital to attain the objectives of the project that include job creation, decent work standards and social dialogues.

It was also pointed out on the occasion that the project will contribute to address challenges related to widespread poverty, informal employment and poor working conditions through strategic integrated interventions with a focus on key value chains in the agribusiness sector in the country.

Commending ILO for its support to Ethiopia, both Meleku and Ergogie assured that their ministries are committed to effectively implement the project, according to ENA.

The project is designed under the framework of the Germany Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (BMZ) special initiative.