
ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia recently launched a bold new initiative to convert crisis into opportunity and address one of the country’s most overlooked development challenges, post-harvest loss.
With catalytic support from the Global Climate Fund (GCF), the world’s largest dedicated climate finance institution, headquartered in South Korea, the Resilience and Food Security Gain Initiative (RE-GAIN) is poised to transform how food is harvested, handled, and preserved.
In an exclusive interview with The Ethiopian Herald, Ethiopia AGRA Country Director Yihenew Zewdie (PhD) stated that the initiative in Ethiopia is focused on reducing post-harvest losses in wheat and teff in ways that are also anchored at solving context-specific climate risks.
“We are witnessing massive food losses every year due to poor handling, inadequate storage, and inefficient markets,” he said, adding that “This program is about changing that story.”
At its core, RE-GAIN is an African-led response to the persistent challenge of post-harvest food loss, Yihenew noted, emphasizing the program’s overall outcome on building the climate resilience and adaptive capacity of smallholders by promoting the wide-scale adoption of post- harvest Food Loss Reduction Solutions (FL-RS).
Led by AGRA, an African-led institution based in Nairobi, Kenya, RE-GAIN reflects a strategic reimagining of African food systems. AGRA, which has an office presence in 12 African countries and active engagements in a further dozen countries, is implementing the program in seven African nations, including Ethiopia.
“It also integrates local knowledge with institutional innovation and will be implemented in collaboration with the government, the private sector, and civil society organizations,” he added.
In the same vein, RE-GAIN in Ethiopia will be implemented under the joint leadership of the Ministry of Planning and Development and the Ministry of Agriculture.
Citing the sobering statistics in this regard, he explained that Ethiopia incurs post-harvest losses of up to 30% in grain, 50% in horticulture, and 40% in meat and dairy products each year, undermining food security and economic resilience.
In sum, over 12 million tons of food is lost annually which manage to feed about 46 million people. “This level of loss is neither sustainable nor acceptable,” Yihenew underlined, emphasizing the need to strengthen food systems that are resilient, inclusive, and synergistic that the RE-GAIN brings all of those dimensions together.
Yihenew further elaborated that what distinguishes RE-GAIN is its climate-smart, data-informed, and locally grounded approach. The program resonates with AGRA’s strategic business lines, including inclusive markets, trade and finance, policy and state capability, and sustainable farming.
In Ethiopia, the initiative aims to benefit 734,000 smallholder farmers selected woredas in Amhara, Central Ethiopia, and Oromia regions. “This is not merely another donor-funded intervention,” said Yihenew. “This is African leadership backed by global solidarity. Ethiopia is not just anxious about climate change—it is participating in shaping adaptation solutions.”
As implementation progresses, RE-GAIN offers a compelling vision of what can be realistic when climate finance, political commitment, and local expertise converge, marking a new chapter in Ethiopia’s food and climate future.
BY ASHENAFI ANIMUT
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 8 JUNE 2025