Farmers Embark on New Digital Platforms

Jul 21 , 2024


[ssba-buttons]

New platforms were launched to connect smallholder farmers with potential buyers and improve the distribution of agricultural inputs, ensuring efficient and transparent delivery of fertilisers, improved seeds, and chemicals. Dubbed the Automation of the Input Voucher System and the development and implementation of a Digital Market Linkage Platform, the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) partnered with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to avail the products. ATI has reached about four million smallholder farmers, delivered over 340 strategic studies, and implemented over 50 projects. Yihenew Zewde, AGRA's Country Director highlighted the importance of supporting the entire agricultural value chain. He said the E-voucher is an upgraded digital system that reaches 9.5 million smallholder farmers by cutting costs and removing middlemen. Nearly half a million quintals of fertiliser, improved seeds, and agrochemicals, were given to 242,000 farmers in Amhara Regional State while receiving 1.15 billion Br in input loans, according to him. They plan to reach 590 woredas across Oromia, Amhara, Tigray and Southern regional states.


Radar

New Directive Hikes Service Fees for Foreign Investors in Free Trade Zones

The Ethiopian Investment Board has issued a new directive revising the service fees from foreign investors payable in dollars to the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC), introducing updated rates for both the One Stop Shop and designated Free Trade Zones. The revised directive came into effect this April following its publication on the websites of the Ministry of Justice and the EIC. Issued pursuant to Article 23 of the Special Economic Zone Proclamation, the directive outlines charges for...


Radar

City Tables 350B Br Budget Plan for Upcoming Fiscal Year

The City Administration has approved a resolution to submit a proposed budget of 350 billion Br for the 2025/26 fiscal year to the City Council for deliberation. According to the Administration's statement on its official social media page, the draft budget is designed with a central focus on poverty reduction, encompassing targeted subsidies for sustainable development, investment in large-scale job-creating projects, and enhanced service delivery to address the growing demands of the reside...


Radar

Ethiopia, UN Launch Joint Plan to Drive Development Through 2030

The Ethiopian government and the United Nations (UN) have signed a five-year development plan outlining national priorities from 2025 to 2030. Signed on June 20 at the Ministry of Finance, the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) with implications that it aligns with Ethiopia's reform goals and the Sustainable Development Agenda. The plan is backed by a projected 6.5 billion dollars, though only 1.5 billion dollars is currently secured. It focuses on closing t...