International development cooperation donors, implementing partners, relevant Ministry Staff from the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, the Ethiopian Ministry of Trade, and Ministry of Industry will meet on March 10 and 11, 2011 in Addis Ababa to share lessons learned and identifying best practices for "Value Chain Promotion" – the chain of values added in the trail of agricultural production.

The two-day event will focus on bringing together donors, implementing partners, and members of the government of Ethiopia (GOE) to share information and identify a set of best practices regarding value chain development, the role of the private sector, Public-Private Partnership models, Incentives and Subsidies in Value Chain development, and finally Exit strategies.

At the end of this workshop participants will develop a "common approach/understanding" framework for consideration by the donor community. It is hoped that this framework will serve as a guiding document for any new value chain project.

Over the past 5-years Ethiopia has seen marked improvement in its agriculture sector. Export volumes have increased significantly and its overall growth rate at nearly 8% per annum has contributed to an increase in GDP as well as incomes. This growth can be attributed to a large influx of donor funding for agriculture productivity (value chain development), the entrance of new foreign companies to the agriculture and agro-processing, and to a concentrated focus by the Government of Ethiopia (GOE) on agriculture commercialization. To further support the sector, the GOE with assistance from the donor community has developed a 5-year strategy to promote the sector, the Agriculture Growth Program (AGP). A major focus of this document is continuing to grow the sector through and by promoting efforts along entire value chains for target commodities.

In addition to the AGP, the GOE recently released its 5-year plan for economic growth, the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP). The GTP is the core document that will serve as the guide for the government’s efforts for increasing GDP over the next 5-years. Within the document and building on the previous 5-year strategy is the continuation of developing industrial zones/clusters, promoting increased manufacturing, and of course agro-industrialization. As a follow up to the previous national strategy plan, the GTP is a future extension of the GOE’s approach to economic development through a clustering or value chain approach.

Donors have been funding a variety of value chain projects over the past 5-years. With the new AGP and GTP strategies, development partners are now beginning to develop new projects that will expand on current geographic areas and product lines to further the development of the sector and the country. However, the approach to value chain development amongst the donors in both the agriculture and manufacturing (light industry) has varied in both practice and impact. There is need to better understand the different approaches, share current best practices of donors, and develop common approach to value chain development.

** The workshop is hosted by the Private Sector Development & Trade Technical Working Group (PSD&T-TWG). The PSD&T – TWG comprises technical experts from the Development Assistance Group (DAG) as well as non-DAG development partners. The organizers of the workshop are the SNV (The Netherlands Development Cooperation); GIZ (German International Cooperation); USAID (United States Agency for International Development); MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates) on behalf of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA); and MASHAV (the Israel International Development Cooperation Agency).

For more information contact the DAG PSD&Tco-chair Randy Chester - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it