A Regional development enterprise today announced horticultural investment opportunities in Oromia Regional State, offered through public entity-private sector joint venture (JV) arrangements to accelerate Ethiopia’s horticultural growth, thereby boosting the subsector’s foreign currency earnings and enhancing decent job creation.
The Oromia Forest and Wildlife Enterprise (OFWE), which is engaged in conservation and economic activities, communicated the investment scheme to the members of the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA) at an event organized on the premises of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) in the capital Addis Ababa.
The proposed JV framework combines land resources of OFWE with private investment capital and operations to develop high value high land horticultural crops and strategically drive the country’s horticultural growth.
The partnership is designed to be implemented in a manner that ensures mutually beneficial partnership, also fostering multifaceted opportunities for the local communities.
In his opening remarks, Desalegn Teshale, State Minister of Agriculture and Horticulture Development, noted that the Government attaches great importance to the subsector to properly utilize the country’s horticulture potential and further enhance its economic and social gains.
OFWE oversees millions of hectares of natural resources, plantation forests, and wildlife conservation zones within the Oromia Region, of which 99 percent is for conservation while the remaining one percent is utilized for economic activities.
In his presentation of the JV investment opportunities on high value high land horticultural crops, Ararsa Ragassa, OFWE Director General, said that 3,000 hectares of land, scalable to 5,000 hectares, is immediately available in strategic locations near to Addis Ababa.
The identified locations in different parts of the Region are very near to Addis Ababa, primarily with eucalyptus trees being developed for economic activities.
Co-chairing the discussion on the occasion, Abera Worku, CEO of Oromia Agro Group, said the initiative is in line with the Regional Government’s commitment to strategically supporting and promoting the country’s horticulture industry which has multifarious economic and social impacts.
He noted that it is designed, based on the direction from the Regional Government, to address land demand for horticultural investment without affecting farmers and local livelihoods, but through thoughtful and strategic approach that avoids previously experienced bottlenecks, negative perceptions and squabbles.
Reiterating that the initiative is a milestone in the country’s horticulture sector, Tewodros Zewdie, EHPEA Executive Director, said more than 80 percent of the country’s horticultural operation is in Oromia Region, signifying the importance of the Region as far as the horticulture sector is concerned.
The identified areas being in Sheger City and other locations very close to Addis Ababa make the initiative ideal for horticultural investment which requires smart and efficient agro-logistic setup, noted the Executive Director.
Hailing the Regional Government’s commitment to promoting the industry through such bold measures, Tewodros underlined on the need to put the initiative forward as it addresses several important issues including compensation payment, land title deeds and tenure among other procedures, and thereby creating fertile ground for smooth investment towards win-win outcomes.
Appreciating the initiative during the discussion, Nega Mequanint, EHPEA Board Chair, underlined on the need to utilize the opportunities through engaging discussion with the Enterprise on ways of putting the proposed partnership forward.
