Oxfam Launches Dev't Programme in Oromia

Oxfam sponsored an agricultural development programme that targets six selected weredas of the Oromia Regional State. same 50pc of the beneficiary family heads of the low income centered programme will be women, said Shekhar Anand, Oxfam agriculture and livelihoods manager. A similar programme has already been launched in nine weredas of the Amhara Regional State with a goal to benefit 26,000 households and their families, stated Anand.

Institute Grants over 222.4m Br Loan

A loan amounting to over 222.4 million Br was granted to clients living in the zone, disclosed the Gonder Branch office of the Amhara Savings and Credit Institute. The stated amount of the loan was granted to 71,800 clients at 27 sub branches of the institute, and about 46,400 of the beneficiaries were women, according to Almaz Tadesse, expert at the branch office. In the last 12 years, the branch office has granted over 719 million Br in loans to 202,000 clients in the zone.

Govt’s 10b Birr Project Collapses

The government has indefinitely shelved an ambitious real estate project in the city involving 200 high-rise apartment buildings following the lending cap on banks. This project was expected to be launched last year, costing over 10 billion Br. However, the project was delayed for over a year, with the government failing to access seed money to kick-start the construction of what would have been the single largest real estate venture in the country. The mega real estate project was planned to be undertaken by Chinese construction company Shangai Construction Group.

Export Trade Garners $713m

Over 713 million dollars has been obtained from various items exported in the first half of the budget year, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The revenue was obtained from 54 million tonnes of items exported to various countries, disclosed Amakele Yimam, ministry corporate communication director. Coffee, oilseeds, khat, flowers, gold, spices, livestock, natural gum, honey, meat, pulses, textiles, leather, leather products and cotton were among the items exported in the reported period. The income collected over the past six months exceeds that of the same period last year by over 90.5 billion dollars, he said.

 Farmers Obtain over 344m Br from Animal Fattening

Over 160,000 farmers engaged in animal fattening in the West Gojam Zone, of the Amhara Regional State have secured over 344 million Br during the past six months. The farmers obtained the stated amount of income from the sales of 257,548 animals, according to Chane Shimeka, department head of the agricultural and rural development bureau. The number of farmers engaged in animal fattening, the income secured and the number of animals supplied to the market during the reported period was over twice that of the same time last year, he said.

Gov't Set to Expand Airports in Industrial Corridors

The government has focused to the construction of airports in industrial corridors and towns in the country, reported Alemayehu Tegenu, board chairperson of the Ethiopian Airport Enterprise. A terminal upgrade at the Addis Abeba Bole International Airport at a cost of 105 million Br was inaugurated on Saturday, February 6, 2010. Kombolcha Airport is under construction at a cost of 60 million Br, according to Alemayehu. Bahir Dar and Mekelle airports have been upgraded to international airport level, he said. During the last five years, the government has spent over 1.2 billion Br on the aviation industry, said Getachew Mengiste, transport and communication state minister.

Coffee Harvest 25pc Higher

The coffee harvest for the current year was at least 25pc higher than a year earlier, according to Eleni Gabre-Madhin, CEO of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange. Volumes of specialty washed coffee traded on the exchange more than doubled in the last month to 2,173tn, compared to a year before. The increase is because of the introduction of a new quality certification system, improved support to farmers from government agents, and greater use of the exchange by traders, she said. The exchange will open a new market on February 17, 2010, for specialty buyers that wish to buy directly from specific farmers and cooperatives. Colorado based Allegro Coffee Co, Portland, Oregon based Stumptown Coffee, and Switzerland based Schluter SA are among the importers who have registered for the direct market, Eleni said.

Somali State Collects over $13.7m from Export

The Somali Regional State has secured over 13.7 million dollars from the shipment of livestock and diary products during the first half of the current fiscal year, the Animal, Crop, and Rural Development Bureau said. Twelve entrepreneurs operating in the state secured the stated sum from the export of 4,500 camels, cattle and goats and 443,500 litres of milk during the reported time, according to Abdurahman Id Tahir, deputy head at the bureau. The stated amount of revenue secured during the reported period exceeded that of the revenue of the previous year by 3.1 million dollars, he said.

Embassy to Inaugurate Chancery, Residence

The Ethiopian Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan is going to inaugurate a complex built with an outlay of over 80 million Br. The Ethiopian Government decided to create an asset in Sudan by constructing a chancery and embassy residence building, according to Ali Abdo, Ethiopia's ambassador to Sudan. The complex will also undergo a facelift.