November 17, 2012, Adama, Oromia – As part of President Obama’s Feed the Future Initiative in Ethiopia, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched a new five-year project called “Livestock Market Development” in support of the Government of Ethiopia’s Agricultural Growth Plan (AGP). State Minister of Agriculture Sileshi Getahun and USAID Ethiopia Mission Director Dennis Weller presided over the launch attended by federal and regional government officials, livestock industry representatives, and implementing partners.
The AGP-Livestock Market Development Project will improve smallholder farmer incomes and nutritional status through investments in livestock value chains including beef, dairy, and hides. The project is expected to generate 2,600 new on and off farm jobs and improve the livelihoods of some 200,000 households.
Through a focus on production and marketing, the project will improve animal feed systems, expand animal healthcare services and improve animal breeding while also linking producers to end markets, enhancing sanitary standards for animals and plants, and increasing market competitiveness.
USAID Mission Director Dennis Weller asserted, “Through the AGP-Livestock Market Development Project, USAID, working closely with Ethiopia’s government and the livestock sector, will benefit small scale producers and rural communities by raising incomes, improving nutrition, creating livestock-related jobs and providing improved access to animal health services and to markets.”
The project, valued at $38 million, will operate in selected districts in Amhara, Oromia, Tigray and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples (SNNP) regions. CNFA (formerly the Citizen’s Network for Foreign Affairs) will lead implementation of the program for USAID along with other partners in each region: Organization for Rehabilitation and Development in Amhara (ORDA), Relief Society of Tigray (REST), Hundee, and Self Help Africa-Ethiopia. The U.S. President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) contributed funding to the project to ensure benefits will also extend to livestock producers and laborers affected by HIV/AIDS.