Professor Tekalign Mamo Assefa awarded the Yara Prize 2014

Professor Tekalign Mamo Assefa awarded the Yara Prize 2014

The Yara Prize honors leadership for the future of farming

By Ingrid Helsingen Warner
Tigrai Onlne - August 27, 2014

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(Oslo 2014-08-27) The Yara Prize 2014 is being awarded to Professor Tekalign Mamo Assefa. Currently state minister and adviser to the Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture, Professor Mamo has long been a key contributor to the country’s food security, soil health and natural resources programs.

For 2014, the Yara Prize Committee has focused on the future of farming in Africa. Special attention has been given to food and nutrition security and the twin challenges of employment and income generation.

“As a laureate, Professor Mamo stands out for his remarkable effort across levels, but always rooted in a profound understanding of how transformation must always include the farmer. As a scientist, leader and practitioner, Professor Mamo’s innovative and inclusive efforts have been instrumental in lifting millions of farmers’ income,” says Jørgen Ole Haslestad, President and CEO of Yara and Chairman of the Yara Prize Committee.

Over the past three decades, Professor Mamo has endeavored to improve the livelihoods of Ethiopian farmers, leveraging his scientific knowledge and exhibiting leadership. Developing targeted interventions for management of waterlogged soils, rehabilitating acidic soils and degraded landscapes, winning farmer acceptance of technologies and modernizing Ethiopia’s fertilizer advisory service are important hallmarks of his engagement.

“By awarding the Yara Prize, we salute the champions of sustainable agricultural development. I wish to extend my personal congratulations to Professor Mamo,” says Haslestad.

The laureate will be celebrated during the Yara Prize Ceremony in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 2 September in connection with the African Green Revolution Forum 2014.

About the Yara Prize laureate

Born in 1956 in Lekemt, Ethiopia, Professor Mamo graduated as Ph.D. in Soil chemistry and fertility at Aberdeen University, Scotland. From a strong academic basis, Professor Mamo has expanded beyond a purely academic role. In 1985, he and a team of experts launched a national project to improve the country's vast clay soils, especially those that get waterlogged and impair crop productivity. The results have benefited millions of farmers to date.

In 2005, he led the work on a watershed development strategy, focusing on community ownership and the use of proven technologies. Using this approach, Ethiopia reversed degradation on about 13 million hectares of land, and turned them into productive assets. The rehabilitated watersheds are now being legally transferred to landless and jobless rural youth, who can use it to generate income while preserving the environment.

He has also engaged in several initiatives on soil fertility, addressing both acidic soils and nutrient deficiencies. Through his recommendations and leadership, a new conceptual and operational framework for fertilizers has been developed. A national mapping of soil fertility at a district level has been undertaken, and new fertilizers have been introduced which improve past approaches. Over 40,000 new fertilizer demonstrations have been conducted. Many consider this the beginning of a new era of fertilizer use in the country.

Professor Mamo’s achievements have also led to his position as one of 13 global commissioners for Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, and him serving as one of 27 leading global experts in the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils. He still guides and supervises graduate students, and he is the founder of the Ethiopian Journal of Natural Resources.

About the Yara Prize

The Yara Prize for an African Green Revolution seeks to contribute to the transformation of African agriculture and food availability, within a sustainable context, thereby helping to reduce hunger and poverty. The Yara Prize is based on nominations of candidates who are carefully evaluated by the Yara Prize Committee. The Yara Prize consists of USD 60,000, a crystal trophy and a diploma. The Yara Prize was handed out in Oslo from 2005 to 2009.

From 2012, the prize ceremony was moved to Africa where it is handed out as part of the African Green Revolution Forum, which took place in Arusha, Tanzania (2012) and Maputo, Mozambique (2013).

For more information, please contact:

Bernhard Stormyr, Director of Communications, Yara International ASA

Phone: +47 9010 7685

Mail: bernhard.stormyr@yara.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7Kru6vR6M4

Dubai Chamber discusses trade ties with Ethiopian trade mission

Dubai Chamber discusses trade ties with Ethiopian trade mission

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Addis Ababa, 27 August 2014 (WIC) - A trade mission from Addis Ababa, led by Shisema Gebresilassie, head of the trade and industry development bureau of the Addis Ababa City Administration, is in Dubai.

The delegation, which includes Elias Geneti, President of the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectorial Associations, met with  Majid Al Shamsi, first vice chairman, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Sunday (August 24). Mr. Al Shamsi told the delegation that trade was vital for Dubai, an ideal business hub with excellent connections to markets across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Ethiopia is Dubai’s 77th largest trade partner globally and the total non-oil trade with the country grew by 32 per cent, from a value of Dh1.26 billion in 2012 to Dh1.66 billion in 2013. He said there were 318 Ethiopian companies operating in the emirate and he hoped this would increase the business communities come closer together.

He added that Dubai’s relationship with Ethiopia strengthened last year with the opening of its first African international office in Addis Ababa. This he said was helping to increase two-way business and investment between the two countries.

Ato Shisema said that the trade volume between Ethiopia and the UAE had increased by over 50 per cent since 2005, pointing out that Ethiopia offers immense investment opportunities and was seriously working at enhancing business ties for the benefit of both countries.

Ato Elias also pointed out that Dubai’s close proximity to Ethiopia, especially Addis Ababa, and easy flight connectivity were the main reasons for the existing bilateral ties between the two countries and these were helping Dubai to reach out to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.

The opening of the Dubai Chamber office in Addis Ababa was directly helping the building of business relations, making fruitful contacts and exploring newer areas of co-operation. He said Ethiopia was very keen to learn from Dubai’s model of attracting big global corporations and the organization of international trade fairs and exhibitions. (MoFA)

WALLED FROM MODERN LIFE [Daily Tribune (Bahrain)]

(Daily Tribune (Bahrain) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Hyenas howl and feast on flesh every night outside the ancient walls of Harar — one of Islam's holiest cities that is holding out against the pressures of the modern world.

But change is coming, and campaigners are working hard to preserve the gated Ethiopian city's unique history, cultural and religious traditions.

Inside the thick stone walls modern influences abound: beer signs propped on crumbling old buildings, Chinese electronics in shop windows and shiny trucks on the main road alongside ageing Peugeot sedans.

But despite the encroachments from the outside world, a generation of cultural campaigners are determined to preserve ancient customs — from clothing to bookbinding, to dance and song.

"Because of globalisation, you can't prevent all changes, but the culture, the religion, still survives," said Abdela Sherif, owner of a museum housing the largest collection of Harari cultural relics in the world.

"We are going to keep our culture, our customs, our old civilisation, we are going to keep it by revitalisation," Sherif adds, speaking inside his museum in Harar packed with old coins, yellowed Qurans, vintage silk dresses and rusting daggers.

He runs bookbinding workshops, and makes digital copies of old books and songs as part of his preservation campaign.

 Closed city opening up  Founded in the 10th century, Harar — also called Jugol — is reputed to be one of the oldest cities in east Africa, with three mosques more than a thousand years old, some of the oldest outside the Arabian Peninsula.

The UNESCO-listed town, lying some 525 kilometres (326 miles) east of the capital Addis Ababa, is said by some to be the fourth holiest city in the Islamic world — after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem — and locals boast it has the highest concentration of mosques and shrines in the world.

Legendary British explorer Sir Richard Burton was famously one of the first foreigners to penetrate the "forbidden" walls in 1854, disguised as a Muslim trader, his face smeared with dye.

Three decades later, French poet Arthur Rimbaud made the fortified town his home, trading in coffee and, reportedly, in ivory and guns.

Visitors continue today, exploring its brightly painted 82 mosques in a labyrinth of narrow cobblestone alleyways.

The four-metre (13-foot) high wall was built in 1551 by one of Harar's 72 kings, with its five gates remaining today.

The walls repelled enemies and foreigners, remaining mostly closed to non-Muslims until 1887 when it was conquered by Ethiopia's Emperor Menelik, ushering in a new era that opened the city for Christians and Ethiopians of diverse ethnicities.

Long years of enclosure allowed Harari culture to flourish and its dwellers became famous for a modern trade system, hand-bound books, Islamic teaching, poetry and lively religious festivals, which make up Harar's unique identity.

"The culture of the Hararis is different. Even the way they eat, even the way they act, even the way they behave," said historian and sociologist Abdusemed Idris.

Modern ways to preserve the old  Modern-day Harar is a pastiche of old and new, and despite the presence of mobile telephones, computers and satellite dishes, a deeply embedded religious piety closely linked to cultural customs remains.

"They want to remain themselves always, not to imitate others. So when it comes to the influence of the West still they say: 'This is theirs, and ours is ours'," Abdusemed said, speaking from his office near a busy market selling prayer mats, sunglasses and football tops.

"We take some, but we don't take all, the influence is not that big, but we use the gadgets in the way we want to use it," he added.

As a result, some traditions remain strong, especially the festival marking the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, which draws thousands of people for three days of song, music and feasting, as their ancestors have done for centuries.

But unlike previous generations, most people are not dressed in traditional silk gowns, with drummers wearing hooded sweatshirts, and revellers using smart phones to film the party.

But Mariam Sherif, who travelled from the US for the festival, insists the customs at root remain firm.

"That's the only difference between now and then – everything we do, all the festivities, remain the same," she said, standing near a crush of people dancing inside a shrine.

Young Hararis like Sherif are actively embracing their heritage, even using social media to teach young people about the old way of life.

"We fear that we might lose it someday and we will cry," said Amir Redwan, sitting on a floor mat chewing the herbal stimulant khat, as the evening call from a mosque called out.

Redwan uses Facebook to reach out to Harari youth, to encourage them to learn about their heritage and history.

"It is upon them, upon us all, to keep this with whatever might that we have," he said. (AFP) Jenny Vaughan Harar copyright (c) 2014 Daily Tribune. All Rights Reserved Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). 

Source: http://technews.tmcnet.com/news/2014/08/24/7984603.htm

Ethiopia Coffee Export Earnings May Rise 25% on World Supply

Ethiopia Coffee Export Earnings May Rise 25% on World Supply

Ethiopia’s arabica coffee export earnings are forecast to climb 25 percent to about $900 million in 2014-15 because of higher prices after a drought damaged plants in the biggest grower of the bean, Brazil, an industry group said.

Arabica prices on the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange could average $2 a pound if supplies of the crop in the world market are tight, Ethiopian Coffee Exporters’ Association General Manager Alemseged Assefa said in the capital, Addis Ababa. Ethiopia is Africa’s biggest producer of the crop and the origin of the arabica plant.

“Prices are favorable this year because of the Brazilian coffee drought,” Alemseged said in an interview on Aug. 18. “We presume that price will continue because of the drought.”

Arabica has surged 71 percent in New York since January after a drought hurt plantings in Brazil, the world’s biggest exporter of the beans, fueling speculation that consumption may outstrip supply. The Brazilian woes come as plantings in Central America, Mexico and Peru struggle to recover from a crop disease called leaf rust that has cut yields across the region over the past two years.

Arabica coffee for December delivery rose 1.5 percent to $1.89 a pound on the ICE Futures U.S. yesterday, tumbling 12 percent from a two-year high in April.

Stable Prices

Ethiopia earned $719 million from sales abroad of the beans in the 12 months through July 7, down 3.7 percent from a year earlier. The volume of exports fell 4.1 percent to 191,000 metric tons. The country may produce about 500,000 tons of the beans this year, with about half of that crop sold outside the nation, Alemseged said.

Consumption within Ethiopia, sub-Saharan Africa’s second-most populous nation, accounts for the rest of sales, with the average home drinking a cup of coffee two or three times a day and coffee ceremonies a traditional way to welcome guests, according to the U.S. agriculture department.

Prices should be in the “stable to high range” of as much as $1.80 a pound this year, said Fekade Mamo, general manager of Mochaland Import and Export, an Addis Ababa-based coffee trader. “This deficit is real,” Fekade said.

An expansion of plantings in coffee-growing areas may help boost the crop, Alemseged said.

Horizon Plantations, a company owned by Ethiopian-born Saudi billionaire Mohamed al-Amoudi, bought the 10,000-hectare (24,710-acre) Bebeka and 12,114-hectare Limmu coffee farms from the Horn of African government last year.

The exporters’ association wants to bring in new buyers and start making a bigger presence in the world market at its annual conference in Addis Ababa on Nov. 6-7, Alemseged said.

“There’s a great potential, excess supply,” he said. “We aim to increase our share in the global coffee market.”

To contact the reporter on this story: William Davison in Addis Ababa atwdavison3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nasreen Seria at nseria@bloomberg.netSarah McGregor, Alex Devine, Michael Gunn

Source: bloomberg.com

There’s a brother fighting in Gaza and a sister waiting in Ethiopia

Tesfa’s battle to reunite his family, which has been torn between Ethiopia and Israel for over 10 years, is far from ending.

Uri Perednik poses with Ethiopian Jews in Addis Ababa. Photo: Courtesy

During Operation Protective Edge, Aregawi Tesfa was not sure he would live to see the day after the war.

Tesfa fought on the front line in the most dangerous parts of the Gaza Strip, captured Hamas fighters and unfortunately also carried the bodies of young Israeli soldiers killed in the fighting.

But through it all, he knew that if he survived, his own battle was still far from over.

“All through the war I didn’t forget for one minute that when I’m done fighting Hamas, I will have to get back to the struggle to bring my sister to Israel.”

Tesfa’s battle to reunite his family, which has been torn between Ethiopia and Israel for over 10 years, is far from ending. A few days before the war, Tesfa presented his story to the Knesset internal affairs committee. The MKs of the committee were shocked to hear that all of Tesfa’s family lives in Israel while his sister was left behind.

Even though Tesfa’s sister received approval to make aliya from the previous interior minister, MK Eli Yishai, a senior ministry clerk named Mazal Cohen, together with the Immigrant Absorption Ministry, prohibited Tesfa’s sister from doing so.

‘There are many similar cases’ 
After Tesfa presented his story, Cohen replied: “I cannot give my opinion on specific cases without looking into all the data.” MK Pnina Tamano-Shata replied to Cohen’s statement saying: “This [Tesfa’s story] is a specific case, but there are many similar cases – unfortunately it isn’t an unusual story.”

MK Tamano-Shata is spot-on. Over the past year, since the government decided to absolve itself of its responsibility for the remaining Jews of Ethiopia, postings on our Facebook page “The Struggle for Ethiopian Jewry” (facebook.com/ethiopianjewry) have included many similar stories.

Recently, the Israeli media disseminated the story of a commando named Daniel Brihun fighting in Gaza, who succeeded in bringing his wife and daughter to Israel after years of battling the establishment, but no one raised the obvious question: why did he need to struggle for so long, and what about the other Israeli Ethiopians whose efforts to reunite their families failed? We’re talking about families who have been living in Israel for over a decade.

Their men serve in the army, they study in universities and yeshivot, yet they have no one to turn to to salvage their severed families. No one can coherently explain to them why they, their parents and brothers and sisters received permission to come on aliya and are considered Jewish, while one sibling was left behind because they are not.

The Jews in Ethiopia 
I had the honor of spending six months with the Jewish communities in Addis Ababa and Gondar. These communities have been abandoned by the Israeli government and by Jewish organizations around the world – the Jewish Agency and the Joint Distribution Committee outrageously do not permit their volunteers in Ethiopia to be in touch with the local Jews.

The abandoned remnant of Ethiopian Jewry still lives a Jewish life; their synagogues are full during each of the three prayers services every day. Torah classes and Jewish and Zionist activities take place in the synagogues. Many local Jewish Ethiopian teenagers whom I met share one dream – to serve as soldiers in the IDF.

The Jews of Ethiopia left their villages and gave up all their property in order to move to Addis Ababa and Gondar, from where they were told they could fulfill their 2,000-year-old dream of returning to the Holy Land, a dream which they will never forsake. Almost 1,000 of these displaced Jews have died waiting to get permission to make aliya. In just one tragic example, a few weeks ago Mentwaven Asnaka was buried in the Jewish cemetery of Gondar; her passionate dream of seeing her five children and many grandchildren who live in Israel once more before she died will never come true.

The bureaucrats in Israel 
In response to the demands of the Ethiopian families torn from their loved ones, Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar set up a new committee to look into these cases, headed by Zvi Hauser and Moshe Vigdor.

Sa’ar announced that the committee would complete its mission by July 2014, yet today, over a month past the deadline, no one has any inkling of what the committee is planning to do, and it has not helped one single Jew from Ethiopia reunite with their family in Israel.

Recently, Army Radio journalists Rino Tzror and Yishai Shnerb revealed that this committee hasn’t looked into any of the 4,500 pending requests – which are its responsibility to attempt to solve – due to a feud between the committee and the Finance Ministry.

“I wasn’t surprised to see that nothing has been done, because I am aware that the Israeli government wants to close the door and finish with this aliya. But they can’t ignore that there are many...cases which need to be looked into,” said MK Nachman Shai, who initiated the discussion within the internal affairs committee.

There is still hope and we will keep fighting 
The members of the internal affairs committee have declared that “any person of Jewish descent, whether from his father’s or mother’s side, must be permitted to make aliya” and that they will meet with Vigdor and Sa’ar to make sure it’s done. So it’s clear that there is still hope Tesfa will be able to bring his sister to Israel, but after a 10-year struggle with no progress made, it’s not going to be easy.

Once the situation with Hamas stabilizes, the dynamic, growing group of activists for the continuation of aliya for Ethiopian Jewry will prepare to demonstrate against this injustice that is being perpetrated against our brothers and sisters in Ethiopia and Israel. In contrast with our previous, impressive demonstration that took place in August 2013, this time we expect that not only Israeli Ethiopians will participate but also any other Israeli for whom justice is imperative.

As Emperor Haile Selassie said 51 years ago: “Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most – that has made it possible for evil to triumph.”

We must not stay silent.

The writer is the head of The Struggle for the Aliyah of Ethiopian Jewry and a journalist for mida.org.il.

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