Ethiopian Agricultural Business Corporation said it has distributed agricultural inputs worth over $600 million to farmers all over the country during the Ethiopian fiscal year concluded on July 7, 2021. The agricultural inputs are aimed at helping in farming activities at all levels.
Speaking at a press conference, Kifle Woldemariam, CEO of Ethiopian Agricultural Business Corporation, said the agricultural inputs distributed include fertilizers, pesticides, and weed killer sprays. The inputs have been provided at an affordable price partly due to the support of the government in forex, the CEO remarked.
“The corporation has covered over 4.5 billion Birr for transportation of fertilizer from the port to cooperative unions to minimize the financial pressure,” Mr. Kifle said. 16,283,184 quintals of fertilizer have been transported from the port to the unions, he highlighted.
During the past year, the Ethiopian government has allowed the import of agricultural machinery tax-free, which Mr. Kifle mentioned as a factor that contributed positively to improvements in the sector. In addition to the tax relief on such imports, other forms of financial support are also enabling farmers to get tractors and embark on mechanized farming, he said.
The Ethiopian Agricultural Business Corporation has 24 mechanization centers across Ethiopia and aims to increase them to 27 in the coming year; while registering a profit of 174 million birr in the recently concluded fiscal year, exceeding the target it set for the period by ten percent.