Addis Ababa: A conference on the need for financial resilience to build resilient food systems in Africa is underway in Addis Ababa. Opening the three-day conference that attracted experts from 25 countries today, Agriculture Minister Girma Amente highlighted the central role of Ethiopian smallholder farmers in the national development vision.
According to Ethiopian News Agency, the minister emphasized that the development agenda is focused on transforming inclusive and resilient food systems, recognizing agriculture as a vital system interconnected with the economy, environment, sovereignty, and social structures of the nation. Initiatives such as Wheat self-sufficiency, Green Legacy, and Bounty of the Basket exemplify the government’s commitment to agricultural development, climate change mitigation, and food security.
The minister noted a growing demand for agricultural credit to facilitate access to inputs, machinery rental, support for rural enterprises, and other services. To address these needs, the
Ministry of Agriculture has established a rural finance coordination unit aimed at advancing rural credit, agricultural risk insurance, and data system approaches.
Girma further explained that the Rural Finance Service Unit’s central positioning within national coordination highlights Ethiopia’s commitment to integrating agricultural credit and risk insurance into agricultural policies and long-term planning. The nation seeks to form partnerships with financial regulators, institutions, insurers, cooperatives, and development partners.
The unit has a strategic mandate to foster coordination, design solutions, and support implementation across sectors and stakeholders. The minister praised UNDP, Gates Foundation, and other partners for their support in establishing the unit, emphasizing Ethiopia’s dedication to a robust regulatory framework that ensures inclusive credit and agricultural risk insurance, and promotes public-private partnerships for innovation and investment.
UN Resident and Humanitarian Coord
inator Ramiz Alakbarov remarked on Africa’s resource richness and the losses due to inefficient management. He stressed the importance of financing throughout the food chain and noted Ethiopia’s active engagement in financial resilience initiatives to enhance food security.
Gates Foundation Senior Program Officer, Sammy Ssenyimba, highlighted the urgent reality of climate change and its destructive impact, particularly on low-income and vulnerable countries. He pointed out the gap in global climate finance for agricultural-food systems and emphasized that financial resilience in agriculture is about resilience, agency, and justice. The goal is to equip smallholder farmers to withstand climate shocks and invest confidently in their futures.
Ssenyimba underscored the essential role of financial resilience in agriculture for the future of inclusive agricultural development, shared learning, country leadership, and collaboration. He reiterated the impossibility of building resilient food systems without resilie
nt farmers and the need to integrate financial resilience into national policies and investments. He concluded by reaffirming the Gates Foundation’s commitment to supporting the agriculture community practice and the broader vision of financial resilience in agriculture.