BY ABEBE WOLDEGIORGIS
Ethiopia is endowed with abundant animal resources like livestock, chicken, sheep among others which can be bred in urban areas not only to meet ‘Yelema Tirufat’ aspiration via balancing households’ diet, but also to market purpose. But due to lack of knowledge, technical capacity and finance deficit, the sector is not fully exploited and its contribution to the economy has remained substandard.
According to experts, the indigenous specious of chickens and cattle productivity is not high as such. Hence, hybridizing with exogenous ones has been taken as an alternate mechanism to raise their productivity. Poultry can bring various benefits to the society and to the country at large. It helps to create job opportunities to the unemployed and serves to ensure nutrition security.
According to Addis Ababa city administration Bureau of Agriculture, Urban agriculture is being practiced in sub cities such as Yeka, Nifas silk lafto, Gulele, Kolfe Keranio and Akaki kality. In these sub cities more than 1200 people are engaged in livestock, poultry, vegetable and mushroom production and supply their products to the city residents and played pivotal role in stabilizing the market. Currently, the government, to ensure food security, crafted various programs and among others green legacy, “Yelemat Tirufat” and urban agriculture are exemplary. The program played crucial role in creating jobs for thousands and ensuring food security.
In order to enforce the program, Trust Agro Consulting PLC with the support of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Power Ethiopia and the government plays its part to attain the objectives.
Abunu Andarge (PhD) is the manager of Trust Agro-Consulting firm. As to him, his firm in the last two years has provided trainings to people who showed interest to engage in livestock and poultry farming. It also provides skill development lessons to youth and any member of the community. In addition, it provides other products helpful to the sector.
He also said that though the livestock and poultry sector is feasible and profitable for business, it is not effectively exploited. For instance, almost 99.2 percent of enterprises and individuals engaged in the sector are not well qualified by profession so that they utilize their traditional knowledge which is insignificant for raising productivity.
Simenew keskis (PhD) is the country director of STEM Power Ethiopia which focuses on providing scientific training. As to him, his institution has been working in Ethiopia for the last 13 years on science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. It established more than 60 STEM centers in 44 universities and provides STEM education supported by modern laboratory.
It also gives consultancy services to youth engaged in creative works to resolve problems they faced with regard to business. In addition, with the collaboration of VISA huge USA Company, it provides trainings on skill development, mindset and financial education.
So far, the company has trained 1.2 million farmers and helped to establish their own company and created job opportunity for hundreds. Some trainees who were unable to begin their own enterprise became good employee to other companies. Those established their own company demand more labor for their firm even currently.
As to Simenew, currently there are hundreds of technical and vocational schools both in Addis Ababa and in the regions and graduates almost thousands annually. But many employer companies complain that the labor they purchase in the market who are graduated from various technical colleges have no sufficient skills which make them fit to work in their company.
According to the study conducted by the Ethiopian Science Academy in 2022, both the private and government colleges, though graduate thousands annually by Diploma and Degree, most of them unable to deliver their technical skills as per the employing company needs. Hence, to fill the skill gaps witnessed in the market, STEM Ethiopia, based on its long time experiences with the cooperation of Trust Agro-consulting PLC, will start providing training to 10000 youth residing in Addis Ababa and its vicinity in the coming month that lasts for five years.
The objective of the training is to help the youth, who have interest to engage in livestock and poultry breeding, develop appropriate skills. It also has an objective in supporting the effort for ensuring food security, modernize the sector, create job opportunities to youth, to change the traditional way of poultry farming to the modern one, support the government, import substitution, encouraging export and support the initiative known as “Yelemat Tirufat.”
The training program goes in line with the government development direction particularly it supports the expansion of urban agriculture practices. The training will be given in 10 rounds and in each round, 1000 trainees are attending that will start by next month.
The training brings various benefits to them and among others, it makes the youth skillful, enables them to generate their own income, stimulates people get engaged in the sector, to create conducive environment for physically disabled people and to provide skill development training for returnees from Arab countries.
As it is well known, Ethiopia is the home of more than 115 million people and out of it 70 percent of the population is below the age of 30. This demographic set up has its own merits and demerits. If the youth is well trained and get academic and vocational skills it will be productive which contributes to the nation’s economic growth.
In contrary, if it is not trained and getting no skill, it will be unemployed and might be a combustive for violence due to political and economic factors.
In fact, providing skill developing training to the youth is not an end by itself rather it is a means. Considering this, the government and the private sector must broaden the opportunity to absorb the trained labor so that they can be contributors to the economy than stay dependent on others.
It is proved that in addition to abundant labor force, Ethiopia has excess and untapped natural resources. Hence, paving the way for exploiting these resources will in turn enables creating job opportunities. To that end, encouraging small and medium size enterprises through providing loan and working places should be the government’s priority measure.
As to Abunu, the general manager of Trust Agro Consulting, Ethiopia has the largest number of cattle in Africa. The government also rigorously working in expanding urban agriculture in which livestock is part of it.
Hence, such situation should be taken as opportunity to mobilize labor force and to engage in this endeavor. Urban agriculture helps both beautifying the city and ensuring food security to the residents. He further said that the project aspires not only to meet the needs of the current generation, but also for the coming ones to ensure nutritious food security.
He also said that following the provision of trainings, the trainees will be given business feasibility study courses which help them to mobilize finance and manage properly. They also prepare their own business plan to be implemented after getting evaluated by the project.
As of the time they began implementing their business plan, follow up activities by extension workers will be conducted. The trainees also will draw lesson from others how to make profit from their business by touring the sites. Job creation for the unemployed youth brings peace and stability in the city and at the country level.
Trust Agro Consulting vice Director, Tekle Shiferaw (PhD), on his part said that the major objective of the project is to create youth who have skills to create job.
The project prioritizes the youth to obtain job through urban agriculture focusing of animals farming which is part of agribusiness.
He further said that the project targets university graduate students from any academic backgrounds.
Currently at national level, rapid population growth coupled with chronic poverty press the nation in severe socio-economic crises and creating job to the unemployed can be taken as remedial action. Urban agriculture especially, poultry is preferred for the program, because it can be easily started with small initial capital and places. If it is supported by professionals, it will be highly feasible. Market linkage is also created to conduct the business sustainably. The training registration will be conducted online.
The project starts its training by poultry and later it will continue on livestock and will be expanded in all directions of the country.
Simenew, on his part, added that providing practical training to the youth enables them to solve the society’s problem by forwarding solutions with the support of technology and innovation. Each training centers have their own laboratories in which the equipment imported from USA, China and Japan and utilizing the equipment helps to conduct their business scientifically.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 5 JANUARY 2023
