Agriculture Market Growth in Ethiopia

The primary objective of this project is to increase the sustainable incomes of primarily women small-holder farmers and agro-pastoralists in the Ethiopian regions of Oromia and Southern Nations Nationalities and People’s Region by improving their market participation for three locally-grown commodities: bulla (porridge produced from the enset tree) aloe and vegetables. The beneficiaries who are already organized in 32 economic collectives (cooperatives self-help and community economic groups) are expected to develop stronger competencies in agro-business management in accessing technology equipment and material and in developing business relations within the product demand and the associated supply chains.

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: (1) 4 211 small-holder farmers traders and cooperative members (of which 69% or 2 902 are female) with increased sustainable incomes from local agricultural value chains; (2) 136 local partner staff policy makers practitioners and researchers with the capacity to use and replicate community asset-based entrepreneurship models to economically empower small-holder farmers particularly women; (3) increased knowledge and skills of women and men in rural economic collectives to manage the production and marketing of value added products; (4) improved collaboration between actors in the value chain; and (5) increased integration of asset-based approaches to community economic development by decision-makers and practitioners.