Jun 29 , 2019
Ethiopia and the Netherlands signed a 50-million-dollar grant agreement that will be used for the Agricultural Commercialization Clusters project. The agreement was signed between Admasu Nebebe, state minister for Finance, and Thijs Woudstra, deputy ambassador of the Netherlands to Ethiopia on June 27, 2019. The four-year project aims at increasing smallholder farmers’ income, improving agro-processing and value-addition beyond the creation of employment opportunities, according to the statement from the Ministry of Finance. The project will be implemented at four regional states, including Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities & Peoples’ regional states (SNNP). It will cover 252 weredasand is expected to benefit over two million farmers. “The financial grant will enable the smallholder farmers to improve their access to domestic and international markets,” Admasu said during the agreement signing ceremony.