Dry zone agricultural development project launched
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  • News & Events

Israeli company launches new agricultural project

  •   Agropeace inaugurates dry zone agricultural development project at Shinile district
  • 10/21/2012
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    Agropeace-project-(pic-curtousy-of-The-Reporter-newspaper) Agropeace-project-(pic-curtousy-of-The-Reporter-newspaper) Copyright: The-Reporterethiopia-newspaper
     
     
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    H.E. Ambassador Belaynesh traveled to eastern Ethiopia on October 13 this year to observe Agropeace Bio Plc (an Israeli agro-investment company) launch a full-fledged export standard castor seeds production project. Ambassador Belaynesh along with Mr. Esayas Kebede (Director of Agricultural Investment at the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture), Mr. Tadesse Atiya (Vice President for Credit Services at the Development Bank of Ethiopia), and Mr. Abdulkadir Imen (President of the Somali Regional State) visited the new project site named Gad Project as well as the pilot demonstration farms in Shinile.
     
    Agropeace Plc, established in 2008 by six Israeli agricultural experts, just finalized a pilot project for developing 2,000 hectares of dry zone land for advanced farming using state of the art irrigation systems; in doing so, best practices from Israeli experience and know how are implemented to develop productive farming enterprises in arid desert and semi desert areas in eastern Ethiopia. 
     
    For the past four years, the project had run a 15-hectare pilot farm in Shinile district, Somali Region, where various crops and technologies were tested as well as growing protocols for the specific local conditions developed. By way of developing/formulating a model for community farming, the company has been supplying local farmers with water, and knowhow, and supporting them through all stages of crop development and product marketing.
     
    The Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE), the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, and Somali regional government have served as good partners in the work of developing this part of the Ethiopian dry zone in a project which is widely believed to be a model for many other investors.
     
    Fortune newspaper’s October 21st edition covered the story and published it under a title: “Israeli Castor Project Proceeds on Six Hectares in Shinile: Expects 90ql of harvest on a hectare for export market.” It quoted Ambassador Belaynesh “praising the project for daily supplying water to the local pastoralists and their animals, who used to trek up to 15kms to quench their thirst”. Here is link to the full story: http://www.addisfortune.net/Israeli%20Castor%20Project%20Proceeds%20on%20Six%20Hectares%20in%20Shinile.htm  
     
     
    The Reporter newspaper also wrote a well-informative feature story on its October 27, 2012 edition.
     
    Photo: curtousy of Yonas Abiye/The Reporter (Ethiopian) newspaper