Oil Seed Exports Bring $326m Profit in 11 Months 

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announced that the country has obtained 326 million dollars from oil seed exports over the last 11 months.  The profit was obtained by selling 261,216tn of oil seeds, mainly sesame. The country produced 353,373tn of oil seeds, of which 251,000tn was sesame and the remaining 138,373tn were Niger seeds, haricot beans, pulses and chickpeas. Tarekegn Tsega, head of the Ministry's Public Relations Department, said that the oil seed production has increased by 59.5pc and revenue has increased by 46.8pc compared with the previous year. The country exported oil seeds to 27 counties including China, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

Indian Entrepreneurs to Invest $4.2b in Ethiopia

Indian entrepreneurs have received investment licenses to launch 439 investment projects in various parts of Ethiopia with an aggregate capital of 4.2 billion dollars. Gurjit Singh, ambassador of India to Ethiopia, said that the Ethio-Indian cooperation has been further enhanced over the last few years in agriculture, infrastructure, communication technology and human resource development sectors.

New Investments in North Gondar Total 150m Br

Investors with a combined capital of over 150 million Br launched various projects in West Armacheho Wereda of North Gondar Zone said the Trade and Industry Office of the Woreda. During the current fiscal year, approximately 154 investors received licenses to cultivate the agriculture sector in different parts of the woreda, according to Gashaw Menelik, head of the office. The investors are now preparing to develop cotton, sesame and sorghum farms on approximately 100hct of land they have received. The projects have so far created jobs for roughly 10,000 people. The woreda has also designated over 140,000hct as an industrial zone, he said.

Addis Ketema District Finalizes 17 Projects at 38m Br.

The Addis Ketema District has finalized 17 projects at a cost of over 38 million Br. The school expansion, Kebele office buildings and eatery facilities projects have been inaugurated.  In addition, the District is developing new projects. The new projects include two library buildings, a health station and weaving centres, said Fikadu Hundessa, head of the Works and Urban Development Department with the District. The construction of three kebele office buildings, six, four-storey youth centres and five sports centres are also parts of the projects.

New Health Stations for Jimma Zone

Approximately 60 health stations are under construction in 17 woredas of Jimma Zone, Oromia Regional State, at a cost of over 77 million Br, said the Zonal Health Office. The construction of the facilities is being executed in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the State Health Bureau, the Global Fund and African Development Bank. Eight of the health stations have already been completed.  When all the health facilities are operational, they will provide health access to health service for two million.

 Department Collects over 14m Br income

REVENUE

Tourism Brings SNNP State over 24m Br

The Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State collected over 24 million Br from the tourism sector in the past nine months, the State's Trade, Industry and Transport Bureau said. The profit came from local and foreign tourists who visited diverse tourist attractions in 13 zones and eight special woredas in the State, said Fikadu Shifeta, Bureau coordinator. The amount obtained from the sector during the reported period exceeds that of the same period of last year's by over three million Br.

The US Embassy in Addis Abeba has donated over 70,000 dollars to the Harari Regional State to finance cultural and historical heritage preservation.    

The Embassy's Councillor for Public Diplomacy, Michael McClellan, and Harari Culture, Tourism and Information Bureau Head, Yimaj Idris, signed two agreements worth 70,150 dollars last week to preserve Mekonnen Palace and cultural heritages kept there. A first grant of 35,000 dollars is allotted for maintenance and structural consolidation works of the palace. The second half is put aside for cataloguing and preserving the Islamic manuscripts reserved at the palace. This covers the cost for equipment and supplies needed to establish a Manuscripts Preservation Centre.

DKT Ethiopia Trains Yong Marketers

DKT Ethiopia gave a two-day refresher training to young marketers who are members of anti-AIDS clubs. The 87 Young Marketers' clubs from around the nation sent two representatives each to the conference held at Sodere Resort last Thursday, which dealt with salesmanship, product handling, technical updating, and a sales contest. DKT started the Young Marketers' program in May 2007. To date it has 115 clubs which account for 20pc of DKT's sales of condoms. The clubs have sold 1.3 million condoms in May 2009 on a commission basis. DKT hopes increase its membership of the Young Marketers' Clubs to 200 by May 2010.