Pakistan’s Newly Appointed Envoy to Ethiopia Calls on Fakhar Imam
Image Credits: Pro Pakistani
Islamabad August 28 (Online Int’l): Pakistan’s newly appointed envoy to Ethiopia Syed Shozab Abbas called on the Minister for NFS&R Syed Fakhar Imam to seek guidelines regarding agricultural cooperation between Pakistan and Ethiopia.
Syed Fakhar Imam appreciated his willingness of consulting line ministries to promote meaningful cooperation between Pakistan and Ethiopia. He stated that we may only consider the extension in the period of lifting of the ban on import of Red Kidney Beans (RKB) from Ethiopia provided that the SOPs agreed between the two sides are fully complied with by the Ethiopian side. It will further be important that the Ethiopian side keep on sharing progress on the Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) with our Department of Plant Protection (DPP) for permanent settlement of this issue based on scientific evidence and procedures.
The federal minister apprised that the draft MOU on Agricultural Cooperation formerly proposed by the Ethiopian side could not be finalised due to thin response of the provincial governments. He suggested that Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) may sign an MOU with its counterpart Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organisation for which the draft of the MOU may be shared by PARC after completion of the internal formalities of the Government of Pakistan.
PARC has suggested that Pakistan can extend assistance to the Ethiopian side in the many areas which include honey-bee management and value addition, poultry production and processing, developing and fabricating agricultural machinery and farm implements, livestock breed improvement, artificial insemination and rehabilitation of degraded lands, and conservation of biodiversity.
Agriculture constitutes about 46 percent of the Ethiopian GDP, more than 80 percent of its exports, and an estimated 85 percent of the population is engaged in agriculture. Important agricultural exports include coffee, leather products, pulses, oilseeds, beeswax, and tea. The coffee sector is the most important agricultural activity, and about 25 percent of Ethiopians gain their livelihoods from coffee production.
With 75 million heads of livestock, Ethiopia has the largest concentration of livestock on the African continent, and leather products are Ethiopia’s second most important export. The country has approximately 7 million bee colonies, and is Africa’s leading producer and exporter of beeswax and honey.
Other important agricultural activities include tea, cotton and sugar production. Ethiopia confronts several environmental issues that are particularly problematic for the agricultural sector of the economy.
Such issues include deforestation (depletion of forests), over-grazing (depletion of pastures), soil erosion (depletion of quality soil), and desertification (extensive drying of the land).
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