Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Today, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Agribusiness Market Development (AGP-AMDe) program, a U.S. Feed the Future initiative, handed over to Becho Woliso, Ambo & Errer farmers’ cooperative unions (FCU) grain grading equipment to help smallholder member farmers, notably in wheat and maize, decrease post-harvest losses and increase the crop quality.

The handover represented the new post-harvest handling equipment that 39 FCUs in Oromia, Amhara, Tigray and SNNPR are receiving so more than 1.5 million member farmers will have access to it. The U.S. Government, through USAID, has invested overall $340,000 USD in new grain grading equipment and provides market linkages and technical support to maximize its impact. The new equipment includes hand held grain moisture meters, tools for sample testing, and compact scales.

USAID AMDe post-harvest specialist demonstrates a riffle sample splitter, which make homogeneous work samples that are used to grade the lot and measure the moisture content. 39 FCUs in Oromia, Amhara, Tigray and SNNPR are receiving these new tools.

ACDI/VOCA

As part of the overall support to farmers’ cooperative unions in the four regions, USAID also provided postharvest handling equipment, including grain cleaners, maize shellers, mobile bag stitching machines and fumigation sheets to 15 FCUs that are participating in the World Food Programme’s Purchase for Progress (P4P) program.

The objective of introducing these innovative post-harvest technologies is to enable members of the farmers’ cooperative union to raise their incomes. Since the start of the AGP-AMDe project in 2012, for example, chickpea post-harvest losses have been dramatically reduced from 20 percent to six percent, and maize post-harvest losses were cut in half—from 23 percent to 11 percent. “Previous investments in post-harvest training and technology have delivered significant results,” said Gary Robbins, a senior USAID official, “And we will continue to invest in the Ethiopian smallholder farmer to improve their productivity and livelihoods.”

USAID’s AGP-Agribusiness Market Development (AMDe) program implemented by ACDI-VOCA, is a flagship activity under the U.S. Feed the Future initiative in Ethiopia and represents one of USAID’s largest contributions to the Government of Ethiopia‘s Agricultural Growth Program.

See also

Gary Robbins of USAID, AGP-AMDe staff, and Usman Surur Siraj the Director General of Ethiopia's Federal Cooperative Agency presented new grain grading equipment to general managers from Becho Woliso, Ambo, Errer and Galema farmers’ cooperative unions.

ACDI/VOCA

Press Release Grain Equipment Handover 9-30-14 [PDF, 29 KB]

Remarks USAID Grain Equipment Handover 9-30-14 [PDF, 204 KB]

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