The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced the successful conclusion of the Alliance for Inclusive and Nutritious Food Processing regional program, one of the projects under the U.S. government’s Feed the Future initiative that addresses global hunger and food insecurity.
Over the past six years, the Alliance supported 52 companies to adopt improved food processing technologies and processes, maintain food safety measures and quality improvement, explore marketing and distribution channels, and improve their efficiency.
It also guided food businesses towards new or improved product development, elevated their leadership and business management skills, and facilitated access to finance for businesses. These efforts created a more competitive food processing sector and improved the availability of nutritious and affordable foods for consumers including those at lower income levels.
The Alliance facilitated negotiations for food processing companies with smallholder farmers for raw material sourcing with private and institutional product buyers, including Ethiopian Airlines. Through these efforts, companies were able to source high quality agricultural inputs and smallholder farmers earned higher returns for their produce generating a combined sales of more than $90 million from input and output sales.
Through collaboration with various financial institutions, the Alliance supported food companies to meet their financial needs and expand their production and marketing. For example, a food processing facility in Addis was able to access a $3.5 million loan that expanded its production, and a similar company in Oromia was approved for a one million USD loan to purchase raw materials.
After the project closes, USAID will continue to invest in communities around Ethiopia, increasing agricultural incomes and providing other economic opportunities to ensure food and nutrition security.
For 120 years, the United States and Ethiopia have partnered in health and education, agriculture and food security, science and the environment, and many other areas to improve the lives of all Ethiopians.