Ethiopia, Japan sign 3.8m dollar grant agreement

Mar 7, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopia and Japan signed a grant agreement amounting to 3.85m US dollar to be used for the purchase and transportation of fertilizer aimed at increasing food production in the country.

Finance and Economic Development (MoFED) State Minister Mekonen Manyazewal and Japanese ambassador to Ethiopia, Kenjiro Izumi, signed the agreement here on Tuesday 7 March.

The state minister said on the occasion that the assistance would have a significant contribution in the efforts to ensure food security in the country. Mekonen said the assistance would also have its share to meet the five-year strategic plans of the country.

Ambassador Izumi said on his part that addressing the need for better access to agricultural inputs, such as fertilizer, undoubtedly, would lead to better agricultural performances and yields.

The ambassador said the main objective of the grant aid for this year was, to focus on reaching the underprivileged farmers, and eventually to the stabilization and development of the Ethiopian economy.

Izumi also said more than 13,000 metric tonnes of wheat, meant for drought affected people in Ethiopia, would be handed over to the Ethiopian government in the coming couple of weeks.

The food aid would simultaneously help to meet the demands of needy people suffering from food shortage, the ambassador said.

(ST)