Press and News Building Landscape Resilience in Growing Together - Value Chain Transformation Program, Ethiopia
Climate change and land degradation pose a major threat to value chain transformation in Ethiopia. There is an increasing call to apply climate smart and regenerative production practices to cushion food systems from climate risks and stabilize farmers' incomes to avoid pushing rural households into poverty.
The effort to transform the value chains received a boost following the launch of Growing Together - Value Chain Transformation Program, Ethiopia at a colorful ceremony held at Haile Grand Hotel, Addis Ababa Ethiopia, on Thursday 20 February 2025. The launch of the Ethiopia Program follows a similar launch of the Tanzania component in Dar Es Salaam Tanzania in November 2024.
Growing Together is a 5-year initiative led by The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) and funded by NORAD. IDH is an international organization that works with partners to create sustainable and inclusive global agricultural markets. The Program is implemented in partnership with Alliance Biodiversity International and CIAT, Rikolto and the Eastern African Grain Council (EAGC). The Program targeting Ethiopia and Tanzania seeks to transform local food markets, improve local food security and economies and increase the income of smallholder farmers. This is to be achieved through scaling operations of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to become larger and stronger food companies.
The Value Chain Transformation Program component in Ethiopia will work with eight SMEs and will target maize, soybean and sunflower as main crops in an integrated multifunctional and climate-smart landscape. Selection of these commodities as drivers of system transformation was informed by their contribution to income and jobs for smallholder farmers as well as the potential for job creation through production, marketing, processing and value addition.
The program aims to mobilize finance for each value chain of SMEs engaged in the program. This will be by extending investment readiness support to other SMEs that work with the project. The program will support over 60,000 smallholder farmers (50% women) to adopt more climate adaptive and regenerative agriculture practices and achieving 30% more yield per hectare.
The launch brought together the key landscape and sector stakeholders, among them companies and SMEs, government representatives, development partners, CGIAR centers, financial and digital organizations and local and international NGOs.
Participants of the Value Chains Transformation Program in Addis Ethiopia.
During the launch, Benard Ndolo - IDH Senior Program Manager and lead of Growing Together - outlined the program's components: The program includes comprehensive support for improved access to affordable finance, enabling SMEs and farmers to expand their operations and invest in their productivity. Additionally, by building stronger market linkages, the Growing Together Program aims to unlock premium national and regional markets for farmers and SMEs. Efforts to promote climate-adaptive and regenerative agricultural practices will increase the resilience of farmers to climate shocks and build more sustainable agrifood systems.
Boaz Waswa observed that the program addresses key components of the food system. The Alliance will deploy its vast research-for-development experience in sustainable farming, multifunctional landscapes, seed systems, nutrition, markets, climate and gender inclusion to support the project and SMEs in building sustainable and resilient agrifood systems.
Dr. Mitiku Ayele (Center), Advisor to the State Minister for Natural Resources Development at the Ministry of Agriculture Ethiopia with Boaz Waswa, (left) and Zenebe Adimassu (Right) from Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT at the Value Chain Transformation Program launch.
Presiding over the launch, Dr. Mitiku Ayele - Advisor to the State Minister for Natural Resources Development at the Ministry of Agriculture Ethiopia - appreciated IDH and the program, and noted its right alignment to the government’s 2030 development agenda. He outlined the various initiatives by the Government of Ethiopia including the Climate Resilient and Green Economy (CRGE) strategy, Green Legacy Initiative (GLI), Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (RLLP) and the Ten-year Development Plan. He emphasized the importance of sustainable land and landscape management, climate change adaptation and mitigation as critical for value chain transformation.
Mascha Middelbeek - the Program Director Value Chain Transformation at IDH - noted the great potential of growth in African SMEs, pointing to the goal of IDH to help support this growth.
Tewodros Yilma Belachew - IDH Country Director for Ethiopia - underscored the program’s mission to bolster smallholder farmers and local SMEs, equipping them with the capacity, resources and value chain connections needed to drive scalable production and market access.
The Growing Together Program is a partnership calling on all stakeholders from the agricultural sector, including government bodies, financial institutions, and private enterprises, to join and collaborate on this initiative. By working together, the Program aims to transform food systems, improve livelihoods, and create sustainable economic progress in Ethiopia and beyond.
About IDH
The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) is an international organization that works with partners to create sustainable and inclusive global agricultural markets. IDH's work involves co-creating solutions to challenges like climate change, unfair labor practices, and gender inequality. To achieve this, IDH brings together coalitions of committed stakeholders from across global value chains towards joint visions and program agendas for sustainable trade. Learn more
About the Alliance
The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives in a climate crisis. The Alliance is part of the CGIAR global research partnership for a food-secure future. Learn more
About Rikolto
Rikolto (formerly Vredeseilanden) is an international NGO with more than 50 years’ experience in partnering with farmer organisations and food chain stakeholders across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Rikolto promotes long-term business relationships fulfilling farmers' and buyers' needs alike. We ensure the sustainability of our actions through a holistic, sustainable food systems approach facilitating collective action among all food system actors. Learn more
About Eastern Africa Grain Council
EAGC is a regional, not-for-profit council of firms and organizations in the grain value chain that is “the leading voice of the grain industry in Africa “whose mandate is “to facilitate efficient structured, inclusive, sustainable and profitable grain trade” through various interventions and programs that include; policy research and advocacy, provision of market information, training and capacity building as well as developing structured grain trading systems. Learn more
The Team
Boaz S. Waswa
Scientist
Degefie Tibebe
Spatial Analyst
Kalkidan Ayele Mulatu
Research Management CoordinatorCover Photo: Cutting of bread symbolizing the official launch of the Growing Together Value Chains Transformation Program in Ethiopia (From right: Etienne Ndatimana- Program Manager IDH, Mascha Middelbeek- Program Director Value Chain Transformation at IDH, Dr. Mitiku Ayele- Advisor to the Prime Minister and Ministry of Agriculture Ethiopia and Tewodros Yilma Belachew- IDH Country Director and other IDH team looking on).
