The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group along with the Government of Ethiopia has entered into partnership with Netherlands, fertiliser company OCP-Africa, and the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) to launch a US$94mn project to boost Climate Resilient Wheat Value Chain Development (CREW) in Ethiopia
The financing will support 500,000 smallholder farmer households in the Ethiopian states of Afar, Amhara, Oromia, and Somali, to increase wheat productivity from three to four tonnes per hectare, generating an additional 1.62 million tonnes of wheat. The project will also support expansion of irrigation into the lowlands of Afar and Somali regions.
The CREW project comprises two main components. The first one includes using climate-friendly methods to improve farming while the second entails the expansion of post-harvest and market infrastructure, while also enabling access to agri-finance through innovative mechanisms.
In his statement, the country’s Minister of Agriculture, Dr Girma Amente, who officially launched the project emphasised the importance of agriculture for the Ethiopian economy. “The CREW project is aligned with over 80% of the objectives of Ethiopia’s Ten-Year Development Plan, the overarching development agenda for the country,” he said.
Transforming Ethiopia into a self-sufficient wheat producer and exporter
A smallholder farmer in Ethiopia's Awash River Valley inspects higher-yielding, climate-smart wheat supported by the Bank's Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation programme. (Image source: AfDB)
