| Established: |
2007 |
| Head Office: |
Addis Ababa |
| Country Director: |
Kebede Ayele |
IDE Ethiopia is IDE’s newest country program, established in July 2007. We are working to enable rural prosperity in Ethiopia with a two-pronged approach: through directly implemented projects and through partnership projects.
Directly implemented project: Rural Prosperity Initiative Fruits and Vegetables value chain development project
Project objective: To improve the livelihoods of smallholder households through increased productivity and improved marketing of selected high value vegetable and fruit crops.
Project Location: Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia; Arsi Negelle, Adami Tulu (Ziway), and Dugda (Meki) woredas of Oromia Regional State. These woredas are the biggest suppliers of vegetables to the main domestic markets and markets in neighbouring countries (Djibouti).
Duration: 4 Years
Small-plot farmers in these areas face a number of problems which keep them from earning adequate incomes from their produce. These include:
• Inefficient utilization of water resources
• Overreliance on rainfall or expensive, overburdened diesel pumps
• Lack of market information on product demand
• Inadequate entrepreneurial skills
• Poorly equipped transport services
Market centers in major cities are controlled by a few traders who deny direct access to poor small farmers and their cooperatives. Along with their lack of bargaining power, small farmers are hampered by financial constraints which prevent them from adopting improved cash crops and post harvest processing techniques, as well as lack of access to quality seeds and fertilizers.
The Rural Prosperity Initiative, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is addressing these problems in order to improve the livelihoods of 8000 smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. IDE has established a regional technology center in Addis Ababa which will develop affordable, environmentally friendly irrigation technologies. At the same time, we are establishing a network of input suppliers and developing connections between farmer organizations and produce buyers and markets.
IDE Ethiopia Partnership projects
IDE Ethiopia has also partnered with other NGOs and private sector companies to implement a number of prosperity-enabling projects, such as:
• Smallholder Livelihoods Improvement Project (SLIP) in SNNPR State, implemented by SOS Sahel
• Honey and Pepper Value Chain Development Project in Amhara Regional State, implemented by SOS Sahel
• Smallholder Wealth Creation Project in SNNPR State, implemented by SOS Sahel
• Apple Promotion Project in Oromia Regional State, implemented by Hundee
• Low-cost Micro-irrigation Technology Supply through partnership with AMIO (a private sector company)
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