BY MENGESHA AMARE
Ethiopia is employing a variety of strategies to advance its economic growth and overall structural transformation. Industrial-led agriculture is around the corner as the country is relentlessly working to firmly cement the relationship between agriculture and industry.
To this end, the construction of integrated agro industry parks and industrial complexes is on the rise across the country. This is done predominantly with a view to either substituting imported products or penetrating the world market via quality goods that meet international standards.
As vividly witnessed, many industrial complexes and integrated agro industrial parks have gone operational across the nation. The recent inauguration of Bure Integrated Agro-industry Park and Bhibella industrial complex is a case in point in this regard.
Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed along with senior government officials, state presidents and other concerned bodies inaugurated the two establishments.
On the occasion, the Premier said, “The very reason we would like to have numerous investors is due to the fact that we should not import processed products while exporting fruits, oil sesame and Niger seed. This should be made history.”
Bure has been an historical place even some 700 years back and some call it ‘Ethiopian Canaan.’ The inauguration of these mammoth projects would help this prime source of honey and butter regain its ancient status quo.
Undeniably, he stated, economic growth and social development is the most powerful instrument for reducing poverty and improving the quality of life. An investor is not a person who has wealth solely, but a prosperous investor does have both wealth and compassionate soul to serve fellow citizens and their country.
A prosperous individual works hard, gets others involved and provides many youth with job opportunities to make them hopeful. . “I cordially request all investors to work for the nation and for citizenry as they can contribute a lot to the overall development of their country.”
“If all our investors do live up to the intended purpose of serving the nation and its people, and our politicians are committed to develop public serving sentiment, we would undoubtedly be able to create the Ethiopia we have for long aspired,” he said.
Politicians come to the podium to serve the public. Investors could draw important lessons from prosperous individuals to put Ethiopia in a place it quite deserves. All prosperous individuals are investors but all investors are not prosperous individuals, he commented.
So long as covering the local demand via producing quality products is not attainable with the sole effort of the government, prosperous individuals have to actively engage in the sector.
“We can make this agro-industry a recreational center apart from processing products and adding value either for local consumption or export trade as the next quest is meeting the recreational need of the people to refresh the body and mind,” he said.
Hence, the youth of Bure town are expected to make this place a center of all in one, Abiy said. With the proper institutions, growth and environmental sustainability need to be seen as complements, not substitutes.
“We have to solely focus on the major agendum of ours to bring about well-off Ethiopia, which we have been looking forward to seeing since long back,” he said.
Dr. Abiy further elucidated that there are elements who are relentlessly working to disintegrate Ethiopia but “we are recurrently telling them we are building mammoth agro-industrial parks and huge industries to make Ethiopia a unified and influential nation. This can be real if we all are committed to exert a combined effort aborting the ill-equipped mission of its foes.”
“If what we have started now progress at the same pace,” he said, Ethiopia will be a well preferred economic, social and diplomatic center. Hence, we have to be systematic enough to close leeway for anti-peace elements by consolidating our unity in diversity.”
“Since our house is not yet finished there might be issues, over which we are seriously arguing and nagging,” the premier said. However, the local affair shouldn’t be heard loud surpassing domain. The confrontation must not be used as an opportunity by others to compromise Ethiopia’s unity.
According to the Premier, it is time for Ethiopians to dissociate farmers from oxen plowing and make them familiarize with mechanized agriculture. “We all have to get our agriculture mechanized and help the nation put itself in the middle and high income countries’ category.”
According to the Primier, the government is committed to address the challenges investors have so far encountered; the investors in turn expected to move in unison to bring about development. The government needs to provide the framework, in which capable industries and investors can emerge.
He further stated that growth can generate virtuous circles of prosperity and opportunity. Strong growth and employment opportunities improve incentives for investors to invest in their country. This may lead to the emergence of strong and growing prosperous individuals, who put pressure to realize good governance.
Amhara state president, Agegnehu Teshager on on his part said that the growth of the country has been stagnant prior to the reform as officials prioritized personal gain.
Though Ethiopia possesses competitive advantages in several crops such as sesame, oil seeds, coffee, cotton and horticultural crops such as fruits and vegetables, he said, it has failed to reap advantages out of it due to unfocused linkages with agro-industry and limited knowledge on the part of farmers regarding best agricultural practices.
As to him, the previous administration had been pouring cold water to the growth and change aspirations of the country despite its immense natural resources and tangible as well as intangible heritages.
He said, “the country has now continued trekking on the right boulevard with regard to the social, economic, political and other related aspects. Following the well comprehensive and participatory leadership after the reform, the country has been making progress in various arenas.”
The inauguration of the two crucial undertakings is a clear manifestation of the well organized and streamlined economic policy the country has been pursuing.
According to Agegnehu, poverty reduction is fundamentally about bringing growth to undeveloped areas. The government is now well aware of the conundrum is, what helps spread such best practices and working on various sectors.
Such interesting integrated agro industries and industrial complexes are of paramount importance in creating job opportunities for a number of citizens apart from attracting foreign direct investment, said Agegnehu. It will have an immense contribution to creating market linkage for farmers of the state.
The power shortage that hinders the smooth flow of activities needs to be underlined, he said adding “We are working hard to ensure peace and stability in the state.
We are committed than ever to make our country in general and our state in particular prosperous. Since peace is the basis for everything the state is working day in and day out towards that end.”
Integrated agro-industries and other crucial institutions have to be well intensified in all parts of the country as production has to be combined and translated into industrious job creation.
Industries and industrial parks are the key vehicles that spread best practices and productive jobs to areas where underprivileged people live.
“Our cooperation is an integral part of dynamic socio-political system that holds promise for creating wealth and ending poverty. Besides, Ethiopia is now increasingly entertaining inclusive growth and has mirrored raising economic growth at its every corner,” he said.
As to Agegnehu, as both the pace and pattern of growth matter for reducing poverty, Ethiopia has to drive the wheel of prosperity well and integrate its untapped citizenry capacity.
Besides, it has to combine growth promoting policies with policies that allow the poor to participate fully in the opportunities unleashed and so contribute to that growth.
In a nut shell, as the leadership, policies and institutions have been the biggest determinants of growth in a country, these ingredients have to complement as required to meet the set target. Despite excellent potential for growth, a critical constraint to agro-industrial development is the lack of infrastructure to support supply to processors.
Hence, all the possible challenges the country has been facing need to be addressed to help the nation yield high quality products, employ best handling practice, invest in high quality inputs or adopt best agronomic practices in the years to come.
The Ethiopian Herald February 16/2021
