Ethiopia, Israel sign agreement to share agri-techs

Ethiopia and Israel have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work on sharing of agricultural technologies on Friday.

The agreement has been signed at Ramada Addis Hotel with the presence of Ambassador Redwan Hussein, State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aleli Admassu, Ambassador of Israeli to Ethiopia, Melaku Ezezew (Eng.), President of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association (ECCSA) and business representatives from the two countries.

The agreement will enable Israel to share its state-of-the-art agricultural technologies, which Ethiopia is in short of.

Ambassador Redwan urged Israel businesses to invest in Ethiopia, where one of Africa’s biggest markets with a population of more than 115 million and located in the Horn of Africa, a gateway to the regional market.

Meanwhile, Melaku stressed that though ties between the two nations is historical, their trade volume is very low.

Israel Imports from Ethiopia stood at $77.49 million  in 2021, according to the United Nations (UN) data.

 “The MoU would help to boost sharing of skills,” Melaku said, adding, “Israel agri-techs will have a significant impact to the growth of Ethiopia’s agriculture”

Melaku Legesse, State Minister of Irrigation and Lowlands, for his part said that the agriculture sector is suffering from lack of clear irrigation plan and master plan. “Best practices, skills and technologies from Israel will enable us to solve such challenges,” he said.

Ethiopia has an arable land of close to 60 million hectare.

Israel’s high-tech sector continues to thrive, accounting for over 11% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).