Ethiopia, KOICA sign $10mln grant agreement

Addis Ababa, May 16, 2023 (FBC) – The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia signed a 10 million USD grant agreement with Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOIKA).

It is said that the purpose of the grant agreement is for the implementation of “Improving Dairy Product in Ethiopia through Strengthening the Sub-sector’s Value Chain Actors” Project for the next six years (2023-2028).

The project also aims to increase the income of smallholder dairy farmers and reinforce the value chain, specifically in enhancing milk production and productivity by strengthen dairy R&D (Research and Development) functions and supply of high-capacity dairy cows, increasing the participation of dairy cooperatives in the market, and increasing the strategic, technical, and management capacity of the government and other actors along the value chain to promote dairy industry development, the Ministry of Finance stated.

It is also said that the project is in line with the current government strategy in the livestock sector development. It is noted that on November 3,2022, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched “Yelemat Tirufat’ which is a national initiative intended to implement a balanced diet at a household level drawing experiences from the best practices in the Green Legacy, Wheat, and Avocado Production.

The grant agreement was signed by Semereta Sewasew, State Minister of MoF and Mr. Lee Byunghwa Country Director Korea International Cooperation Agency Ethiopia Office, on behalf of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the KOICA of the Republic of Korea, respectively.