Ethiopia: World Food Program to Sign Maize Forwards Contracts With 29 Farmer's Unions-Sidama Elto Farmers Cooperative Union, which signed a contract for 4000 MT of maize
Partners of the maize alliance including Bedelu Delgeba, , Khalid Bomba(middle left) CEO of the Agricultural transformation Agency, Abdou Dieng (Middle right), representative and country director of WFP and Dennis Weller , mission director of USAID gave a short briefing to the media. The World Food Program (WFP) is buying 40,000tns of maize from 29 farmers' cooperatives' unions in a forward delivery contract. This contract will ensure that the farmers will not lose if prices go up at the time of delivery. The WFP signed three agreements to that effect with the Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA), the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) and four of the 29 unions, at a ceremony held on Tuesday morning, August 27, 2013, at the Harmony Hotel. The unions that will supply the maize, to be used in local food aid and school feeding programs, will be from Amhara, Oromia, Tigray and the Southern regional states. Ethiopia expects 62 million quintals of maize harvest this year