Worancha ወራንቻ

(Reuters) - An Ethiopian state body that has been involved in leasing tracts of land for commercial farming has suspended the issuance of new licences until it completes a review because of scant progress in developing areas leased so far, an official said. The Horn of Africa country in 2011 allocated 3.6 million hectares of land, close to the size of Switzerland, for firms seeking to invest in agriculture, mostly around its western Gambela and Benishangul Gumuz regions. More than 2.43 million hectares has been leased to nearly 5,700 domestic and foreign firms at 20 Ethiopian birr ($0.90) per hectare on average, said Daniel Zenebe, spokesman for the Agriculture Investment and Land Administration Agency. But investors have only developed 30 percent of the land leased. "There is a need for a review on where it has gone wrong. The suspension is indefinite," he said. For now, the suspension affects the Agriculture Investment and Land Administration Agency, which has lea

Bekele Bulado (PhD), photo from HU Dr. Bekele Bulado former Vice President for Business and Development, HU, was given warm farewell March 19, 2016 following his assignment as CEO for the Ethiopian Trading Businesses Corporation. At an event held at Haile Resort Hawassa the University President, Vice Presidents, Directors and officers at various capacities attended. Prof. Yosef Mamo, HU President, counted the successful contributions of Dr. Bekele from the days of his leadership as Vice President for Administration and Business Development before his departure for PhD study. Various speakers like Mr. Ayano Beriso, Vice President for Administration & Student Services, Prof. Fikere Dessalegn, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Sheleme Beyene – former Vice President for Academic and Research Affairs and and W/ro Almaz Kebede, Office Assistant at Presidents’ Office and the former Office Assistant of Dr. Bekele, Prof. Etana Debela, Colleague and former Head of School of

በዳዊት በቀለ

The Peoples’ Alliance for Freedom and Democracy (PAFD) has been deliberating an important high level international conference in the Eritrean capital, Asmara for last several days. Kala  Betana Hotesso, chairman of SNLF,  Photo from Gadaa.net PAFD, founded and inaugurated on 23 October, 2015 in Oslo, Norway, is comprised of five armed national liberation movements – Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), Sidama National Liberation Front (SNLF), Benishangul People’s Liberation Movement (BPLM), Gambela People’s Liberation Movement (GPLM), all of whom are engaged in national liberation struggles against the Addis Ababa regime in Ethiopia. The conference, being convened and participated by all founding members of PAFD, is also attended by various dignitaries, including ambassadors, government representatives and high profile eminent persons. The Ogaden News Agency has confirmed that the primary objective of the meeting is to create a General Counci

On World Water Day, we highlight coffee farming communities in Ethiopia that are taking action for clean water.  To provide for his five children, farmer Belayneh Otisso relies on the income he earns supplying coffee to his local cooperative’s wet mill. But he could see the environmental damage caused by the mill every harvest season, when it would send noxious wastewater into the neighboring river. “When the animals drank from [the river], they died. The children of the community were stricken with waterborne illnesses. When the wastewater was used for irrigation, the crops were destroyed,” he said. The wet mill would have to shut down for a week or two at a time when the pollution was at its worst, driving down the price that local farmers received for their coffee. It’s a problem that has been shared by many coffee-farming communities in Ethiopia. Wet mills, which separate the coffee bean from the cherry that surrounds it, produce a consistent, high-quality product, allowing

Two women in Sidama Zone, Ethiopia. Alan Nicol By  Alan Nicol  and  Likimyelesh Nigussie  ( IWMI ). This post first appeared on on  The World Bank’s Governance for Development Blog .  Selilah stares out over a landscape she has inhabited for 70 years. In the valley below, deep gullies scar the slopes where rains have carried away the soil. Living with three of her four sons, she is struggling to make ends meet in this part of Sidama Zone, Ethiopia, where, she says, there used to be a forest more than 40 years ago. Now most trees have been felled and water is scarce. Selilah spends two hours a day collecting her two jerrycans (50 liters) from a neighboring kebele (neighborhood), but when that source fails she has to buy water from a vendor at ETB 6 (30 US Cents) per a jerrycan, a huge cut into her income. In the last 10 years, she says, the rains have changed – they are lighter than before and more infrequent. As a result, production from her meager plot – just 0.25 ha – is dec

CULTURAL JUSTICE OF SIDAMA PEOPLE Sidama people have their concept of Seera, which gives them a feeling of identity strong moral commitment, and culturally defined ability to debate conflicts and create consensus. In cultural morality and ethics of Sidama society, truth has great value and justice procedure treat through Halaale/truth principles through analyze by Hayyo/logical reasoning. This could be a strong asset for building a democracy. Among them, Sidama people gather at Gudumale/gathering place and at Mote/chief before Cimeessa/elder; the truth never gets dried up, rather it continues strong and viable. The justice of Sidama/conflicts resolution mechanism is taken place with four levels of councils that deliberate and decide on matters of societal affairs which show the democratic nature of the system. It includes in ascending from lower to high: Olluu Songo (the lowest unit of elders council), Ayidu Songo (medium level council) and Garote Songo (the highest council of elders).