Israeli Ambassador to Ethiopia Raphael Morav said that Israeli investors have been showing a growing desire to invest in Ethiopia’s agriculture sector capitalizing on its huge potential and geographic proximity.
‘Ethiopia – Israel Seminar on Cooperation in Agriculture’ organized to overview the involvement of Israeli companies and insight new opportunities and shortcomings in Ethiopia’s agricultural sector was held here in Addis Ababa. Speaking on the event, Ambassador Morav said that the seminar was a good opportunity to discuss Israeli companies’ engagement in Ethiopia’s agricultural investment and learn about the country’s policy regarding foreign investment in agribusiness.
The Ambassador also stated that the Technical Cooperation Program in Smallholder Horticulture among MASHAV (Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation), USAID and Ethiopia’s Ministry of Agriculture have been registering significant success in supplying more than 500,000 high standard varieties of avocado seedlings suitable for export annually.
Awareness creation for the huge potential of avocado export among Ethiopian smallholder farmers and private sector, establishments of farmers’ clusters with a modern solar irrigation system and putting the basis for commercial production thereby helping the export of avocado to the European market are some of the program’s achievements.
Ambassador Morav expressed gratitude for the Ethiopian government for the commitment it has shown to strengthen the good collaboration between the two countries in the field of agriculture. Agriculture Minister Oumer Hussien said on his part that Israeli agricultural investors have come a long way with the Ethiopian government in its effort to strengthen the sector’s contribution to the country’s economic growth. Among many, Israel plays a pivotal role in promoting Ethiopia’s avocado in the global market and soytech’s herb export.
The Minister stated that Ethiopia needs to share Israel’s success of getting enormous yield from small plots of land and learn from its rich experience in irrigated agriculture. The government also gives due consideration to modernizing farming practices and increasing productivity through addressing technological and financial setbacks.
Oumer pointed out that Israel is a country with a high level of agricultural technologies and the coming of Israeli companies will have a great significance to the growth of Ethiopia’s agricultural sector. The Minister expressed optimism that Israel would continue supporting Ethiopia in its journey to becoming one of the middle-income countries by 2025 through productive investment and cooperation. He also assured his Ministry’s commitment to reinforce cooperation and support for the successful operation of Israeli companies.
Representatives of Ministry of Agriculture, Israeli businessmen investing in Ethiopia and representatives of 19 Israeli companies and NGOs’ already active in the country, officials and experts from the Israeli Embassy were in attendance of the seminar.
