Read the full press release on the USAID website
The agriculture sector loan agreement with the Bank of Abyssinia and Zemen Bank makes it possible for small holder farmers and farming cooperatives to purchase agricultural equipment and machinery—such as tractors, harvesters or irrigation systems—through lease financing arranged with the banks.
The agreement, worth approximately $7.3 million dollars in potential loans, reduces collateral requirements by 50 percent and encourages partnerships between agricultural equipment suppliers and private commercial banks. The program will benefit farmers and cooperatives operating in the 83 woredas targeted for value chain expansion under Ethiopia’s Agricultural Growth Program and the U.S. Feed the Future initiative.
A shortage of affordable and nutritious feed is a major constraint for Ethiopia’s livestock farmers, which is what led Ethio-Feed PLC to focus on the development of new feeds from agricultural by-products and other ingredients, previously considered as waste.
Read MoreUnder a USAID-facilitated memorandum of understanding with chickpea producers, Guts Agro Industry sourced 4,000 MT of chickpea for local processing from 52,000 smallholders in the cooperative unions.
Read MoreUSAID, PepsiCo, Inc., the PepsiCo Foundation, and the United Nations World Food Programme announced a groundbreaking public-private partnership to dramatically increase chickpea production and promote long-term nutritional and economic security in Ethiopia. The initiative, called Enterprise EthioPEA, was unveiled by the partners at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York City.
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