ADDIS ABABA- The Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and Corteva Agriscience signed collaborative agreement to improve the productivity, livelihoods, food security, income security and the well-being of smallholder farmers across Africa.
This collaboration will, among other things, boost work to transform the lives of smallholder farmers by improving their access to yield enhancing technologies including but not limited to hybrid seeds, good agriculture practices, and post-harvest management, said Vanessa Adams, Vice president for Country support and Delivery at AGRA.
“As the largest global company solely dedicated to agriculture, we are ready to support the government in making the agriculture sector more efficient, innovating so that output is maximized and Ethiopian farmers are more successful,” said Prabdeep Bajwa, President of Corteva Agriscience, Africa Middle East. The agreement aims to increase the productivity of smallholder farmers by giving them new, highquality options for maize seeds as well as improving seed distribution and post-harvest storage.
“We also have proven crop protection solutions, including a post-emergence herbicide for annual grass and broad leaf weed control in wheat and teff. This herbicide has provided a solution for farmers to control and eradicate weeds in teff,” said Bajwa. “We will work with our farmers to introduce new agricultural practices that cause minimal impact to the environment and innovate to produce food ingredients which are healthier, taste better, and are designed for different diet requirements.”
Corteva Agriscience, through its collaboration with government and USAID implemented the Advanced Maize Seed Adoption Program (AMSAP), which resulted in 250,000 smallholder farmers increasing their productivity from 2.2 to 7 metric tonnes per hectare and their incomes by 1,500 USD annually. Ethiopia is one of the few African countries to have made significant progress in achieving the millennium development goals (MDGs), with one of highest reductions in poverty rates globally.
Between 1995 and 2011, the country’s poverty rate decreased from 63 to 37 percent. US ambassador to Ethiopia, Ambassador Raynor said, “The U.S. private sector, including companies like Corteva Agriscience, plays an important role in Ethiopia’s broader society as well, by encouraging sustainability and corporate social responsibility.
By this, I mean the kinds of win-win commercial activity that benefit both countries by bringing meaningful job creation; respectful and responsible labour practices; strong training and skills-development programs; technology transfer; and sound environmental practices to bear.”
The Ethiopian Herald, May 9/2019
BY GIRMACHEW GASHAW
