The opening of the international tender for the procurement of fertilizers last Tuesday November 11, 2008, for the first time in the current year, has been more than just good for Ethiopia’s agriculture.
The major sector of the country’s economy recently suffered a blow due to meteorological factors. The absence off fertilizers was also feared would aggravate the situation, had it not been for this procurement.
The procurement has been undertaken after the World Bank approved a 275 million dollars transfer the Ethiopian government requested the Bank to make from other projects. The government wanted 250 million dollars for the procurement of fertilizers and 25 million dollars as additional funds for the Productive Safety Net Programme.
It is also at this tender that contenders offered an unexpected low price for fertilizers – they offered to provide a tonne of Dap for as low as 633 dollars while the highest price was 877 dollars.
The offer for Urea ranged from 315 to 375 dollars a tonne.
“The prices offered at the tender are the least and unexpected,” Demere Demissie, general manager of Lome-Adama Farmers’ Cooperatives Union and a member of the Tender Committee established a week ago told Fortune.
Though these prices are not that much different from those offered during a tender in September 2007, they are significantly lower than the prices of April and May 2008.
In the tenders opened on September 12 and October 4, 2007, the offer for a tonne of Dap was between 510 and 560 dollars. In another tender opened in April 2008, the price climbed to 871 dollars. The rise in the price of fertilizers at that time was mainly due to the equally soaring price of petroleum in the global market.
The high rate of sudden price increase had repelled most of the active cooperative unions involved in the import of fertilizers from the business. Subsequently, 100,000 metric tonnes of the 530,000 metric tonnes of fertilizers the country had planned to import for the year failed to reach the country.
That placed the fertilizers procurement by the Ethiopian government close to the risk of not having interested contenders, almost resulting in a monopoly of the sector by two companies – Yara and Amropa.
This scenario forced the Ethiopian government to formulate a new fertilizers procurement scheme. The new scheme reformed the previous procedures that led to the transfer of the mandate to chiefly handle the procurement of fertilizers from the Agricultural Inputs Marketing Department with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD) to the state-owned Agricultural Inputs Supplies Enterprise (AISE).
Though AISE is also accountable to MoARD, it is a veteran institute specializing in agricultural inputs trade.
The AISE has already formed a five-member committee led by the Enterprise itself to process the procurement of fertilizers. Mebrahitu Gebre-Egziabher, general manager of the enterprise, chairs the committee whose members include Demere Demesie, representing cooperatives union, and Jemal Suleyman, Trade manager of Wondo Trading House, a party-affiliated business firm owned by the regional ruling party Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO).
In the earlier experience, the committee used to be led by the Department at MoARD and the procurement procedure had been that the department invites local contenders, including unions and companies, to offer prices for the supply of fertilizers. The companies or unions awarded the procurement would, in turn, float an international tender to procure the fertilizers from international suppliers. The tender was to be approved by the committee.
The new procedures mandate the enterprise to undertake the entire procurement in an international tender to be approved by the committee. The procedure allows the enterprise to undertake the procurement as an agent of various licensed fertilizers importers, while the process has also been open to other importers.
Unions would then procure from the enterprise to distribute among their members – the end users of the commodity.
In the first tender the enterprise floated, postponed by two weeks from the original opening date, there were seven suppliers for Dap and four for Urea.
The seven companies that showed interest in supplying Dap were: Trans Amonia; Yara France; Amropa; Jordan Phosphate; GAVI; Mid Gulf; and Key Trade, while those keen on supplying Urea were: Amropa; Yara; Givadan (Libya); and Mid Gulf.
The tender has been for the procurement 250,000 metric tonnes of Dap and 75,000 metric tonnes of urea. The previous regulation had limited procurement to about 75,000 tonnes fertilizers altogether in a single tender. The new procedure allows procuring in bulk, as it is believed that this approach would help solve the problem stemming from frequently changing of fertilizers, usually upwards.
“The bulk procurement and the more number of suppliers interested is more good news for the sector,” Demere said.
The new prices the suppliers offered are expected to lower the prices at which farmers buy a quintal of fertilizer to about 700 Br from the previous between 800-950 Br last fiscal year, especially in East Shoa Zone of Oromia Regional State.
Following World Bank’s request, the date for the opening of bids was postponed to allow for the publication of the tender internationally, “which will promote transparency in the procurement of fertilizer and ensure more competitive prices for Ethiopia,” according to Kenichi Ohashi, country director to Ethiopia and the Sudan.
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – [The Woyanne regime in] Ethiopia said on Tuesday it was not prepared to continue propping up Somalia’s interim government “indefinitely” and urged leaders there to embrace a peace process to stop 17 years of conflict.
Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf’s government has been unable to stop a two-year insurgency by Islamic militia, despite backup from thousands of Ethiopian Woyanne regime troops.
U.N.-brokered peace talks in Djibouti to end the war, which has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, have been rejected by Islamist hardliners, while a spat between Yusuf and his prime minister has further hindered the process.
“If they fail to grasp this historic {www:opportunity}, we cannot help them by taking the responsibility on their behalf,” Seyoum Mesfin, Ethiopian Woyanne foreign minister, told a regional meeting.
“I would like to reiterate unequivocally that Ethiopian Woyanne troops are not prepared to continue paying heavy responsibilities indefinitely… It is crucial to send the right message to Somali leaders at this critical time,” he told fellow foreign ministers from around the region.
The U.N. plan foresees the {www:withdrawal} of Ethiopian Woyanne troops. Addis Ababa welcomes that and wants to pull out, but not if that leaves the government at the mercy of the Islamists.
During the meeting, Seyoum said Kenya had pledged to send a battalion of troops to boost an African Union (AU) peacekeeping force. There was no independent confirmation from Nairobi.
“Kenya’s decision is a great {www:commitment},” Seyoum said at the end of a day-long meeting to discuss the Somalia crisis.
Some 3,000 peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi are in the capital Mogadishu, short of the intended 8,000-strong AU mission.
(Reporting by Tsegaye Tadesse; Writing by Wangui Kanina)
VALPARAISO, INDIANA – Two Valparaiso University faculty members have been named University Research Professors and will receive support for projects on traditions of restorative justice in Ethiopia and assessing the impact of Chinese air pollution.
Selected by the University’s Committee on Creative Work and Research for the awards were Dr. Charles Schaefer, associate professor of history, and Dr. Gary Morris, associate professor of physics and astronomy. They each receive a $4,000 grant to support their scholarly work along with one semester of full-time leave or two semesters of half-time leave during which they will focus on their research projects.
The grant awarded to Dr. Schaefer will support his research on various methods of restorative justice employed by Ethiopia’s emperor and imperial court to resolve conflict and bring about peace and reconciliation. That research is intended to be published in a book tentatively titled Traditions of Restorative Justice in Imperial Ethiopia, 1769-1960.
Dr. Schaefer is a leading expert on Ethiopia and serves as a country specialist on the country for Amnesty International-U.S.A. Born and raised in Ethiopia as the son of Lutheran missionaries, Dr. Schaefer said his research will add to global conversations about restorative justice.
“The histories of individual countries can offer models for how various peoples may reconcile victims with perpetrators in ways that are culturally appropriate and therefore meaningful to the indigenous population,” he said.
The Ethiopian example, Dr. Schaefer said, also demonstrates how accountability can be integrated into concepts of restorative justice.
“Too often restorative justice is accused of being soft by granting blanket amnesties, of encouraging a ‘forgive and forget’ approach,” he said. “Imperial Ethiopia granted ‘conditional amnesty’ with specified terms that had to be met; this could possibly mitigate the critique leveled at restorative justice.”
The grant will support Dr. Schaefer as he travels to Ethiopia and Great Britain to conduct research for his book.
Dr. Morris will use his grant and leave to review measurements of air pollution being carried by wind currents from China to Japan. Dr. Morris received a Fulbright Scholar grant earlier this year to help quantify how much air pollution China is generating, show how that pollution is affecting Japan and indicate the effectiveness of China’s pollution control strategy for the Beijing Olympics.
He collected air quality data in Japan from early July through the end of September to observe changes in air pollution levels resulting from steps Chinese officials took to dramatically reduce emissions in the weeks leading up to the Olympic Games – including closing coal-burning power plants and factories and halting major construction projects.
Dr. Morris will return to Japan during the same period in 2009 to collect air pollution data at a time when Chinese emissions are likely to be closer to typical levels.
Dr. Morris, who for several years has studied the transportation of air pollution over long distances, said the project should add to scientists’ understanding of Earth’s interconnectedness. The results will help scientists and government officials throughout the world better understand how air pollution affects communities hundreds or thousands of miles away from the source of the emissions, improve air quality forecast models, assist in urban planning and tailor plans for improving air quality.
“Air quality, like climate change, is not just a local, but also a regional and global issue that recognizes no political boundaries and presents challenges for international relations,” Dr. Morris said. “Satellite data reveal pollution plumes emitted by Chinese industries and power plants crossing the Pacific Ocean to the United States, so this pollution isn’t just a problem for Asia.”
The University Research Grant program provides financial assistance to Valparaiso faculty members who have a demonstrated ability to conduct original research or produce creative work.
Jimma, Ethiopia — Coffee, as legend has it, was first enjoyed by goats that ate beans off wild bushes in the lush mountains of central Ethiopia. A shepherd boy observed the animals cavorting and ate some beans out of curiosity. He experienced the caffeine-induced energy that his goats displayed, and from that moment human consumption of coffee spread around the world.
Today, Ethiopia produces just a small fraction of the world’s coffee, dwarfed by coffee giants Brazil, Colombia and Vietnam, but that fraction holds a key to unlocking prosperity in one of Africa’s poorest countries. The lock can be opened if Ethiopia’s producers deliver consistently high-quality beans, on deadline, to supply a global niche market for fine coffees.
Sitting atop 2,000-meter-high mountains, workers at the 300-hectare Limu Kossa coffee plantation swing machetes at weeds between coffee bushes and apply organic fertilizer to the soil. During harvest, they will pick ripe, red berries, one by one, and spread them to dry on plastic mesh attached to poles above ground.
“Coffee is a very sensitive crop,” said Abayneh Alemu. “It absorbs everything around it. If the beans are on the ground, they will absorb all the impurities on it. If they are dried on wire mesh, they will absorb rust. That is why it is best to dry coffee beans on plastic mesh above ground.”
Alemu, a coffee agronomist employed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), works with several dozen Ethiopian coffee growers to teach them techniques that will improve the yield of their plantations and the quality of their beans and link them with foreign buyers willing to pay top prices for premium quality. Alemu and two other coffee specialists teach the growers arcane but important information such as the optimal amount of sunshine and angle of the sun’s rays that fall on the coffee bushes and the way to obtain the proper moisture content of the beans. “If there is too high moisture, a fungus will grow on the beans and produce a toxin,” Alemu said. The optimum moisture content is 11.5 percent.
Ethiopia produces about 200,000 tons of coffee a year, a drop in the bucket compared to the millions of tons produced worldwide. “If Ethiopia is going to make money in the coffee industry, it has to appeal to the fine coffee market,” Alemu said.
In most countries where coffee is produced as an export commodity, machines strip coffee berries from branches along with leaves and twigs. Exporters do not pinpoint the exact location where each bag of beans is grown. The quality of the beans is variable, and extraneous matter ends up in the bags along with the beans, according to Alemu. In contrast, high-end coffee buyers insist on product purity and being able to trace the beans to the plantations where they were grown. They demand organic cultivation practices and fair treatment of laborers.
“The key to Ethiopian coffee is high quality, not massive production,” said Alemu.
The coffee growers accepted into the USAID’s coffee-development program must agree to follow all the instructions and to share their new knowledge with other growers.
Michelle Jennings, a USAID official working in agribusiness and trade expansion, said the aid agency does not build government capacity but works with private businesses to make them successful. “If they make money, they will create jobs, and other people will follow in their footsteps,” she said.
The manager of the Limu Kossa coffee plantation, Halibo Aragawi, said that increased quality and quantity of production have brought more wealth to the plantation, and that has had a spillover effect with the neighboring farmers.
“We are getting higher prices for higher quality,” he said. “We are very grateful for the benefits that USAID has brought us,” he said. According to Alemu, Ethiopian coffee is getting three times higher prices for its coffee in 2008 than in 2006, the result of both global demand and improving Ethiopian quality.
Proof is beginning to emerge that it is worthwhile for farmers to adopt USAID’s technical guidance, according to Alemu. For the past few years, USAID has held demonstrations on plantations to teach advanced cultivation and processing methods. He said the demonstration farms are doing better business than other farms, attracting buyers who taste the product, inspect the cultivation practices and buy the beans on the spot.
USAID also helps the Ethiopian coffee industry develop a quality control system to give foreign buyers greater confidence in what they are buying. USAID has brought the services of the Coffee Quality Institute, based in Long Beach, California, to Ethiopia to train coffee “cuppers” who grade the quality of coffee. To date, the institute has trained 40 cuppers.
The institute also is helping the country develop a nongovernmental coffee certification group. “It is important that the certifying body be outside the government,” Alemu said. “The independence is needed to give confidence to foreign buyers.”
Foreign Trade and Development Minister Paavo Väyrynen (Photo: YLE)
Foreign Trade and Development Minister Paavo Väyrynen embarks on a five-day visit to Ethipia and Kenya from Monday. Väyrynen will discuss Finnish development cooperation with the Prime Ministers of both countries.
Väyrynen will also discuss {www:development} policies in the host nations as well as Finnish efforts with regard to poverty reduction and sustainable development programmes. The Minister’s agenda also includes discussions on economic issues.
In Ethiopia, Väyrynen will meet Prime Minister dictator Meles Zenawi as well as African Union chair Jean Ping. He will also familiarize himself with ongoing development cooperation projects.
In Kenya Minister Väyrynen meets with Prime Minister Raila Odinga and will visit medical facilities supported by Finland. He will also visit the Meru dairy and forestry project.
By Staff Sergeant Marcus M. Maier
435th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
BOTSWANA – Thirty Ramstein Airmen traveled to the southern region of Africa in early October, 2008 to share their knowledge and experience with counterparts from the Botswana Defense Force (BDF).
The team of U.S. Air Force pilots, navigators, flight engineers, loadmasters and personnel from security forces, supply and public affairs stayed in Botswana four days before continuing on to Cape Town, South Africa, where they participated in an air show.
“We are here on what’s called a theater security cooperation event,” said Colonel Ty Thomas, 86th Operations Group commander.
“The essence is that we work with the BDF, their Air Force in particular, to build an airlift capacity. What they’ve asked us to come down and talk about is our ability to deploy and redeploy air forces, particularly C-130s, for peace-keeping or humanitarian operations.”
During the first day, U.S. and Botswana aircrews participated in discussions and briefings.
“We discussed ways of employing the C-130 and the differences of how we use the airplane and some of the challenges they have,” said Captain Sarah Santoro, a C-130 pilot. “It’s always interesting to see when we go visit places that the mindset is always aircrew to aircrew – no matter what flag they have on their shoulder.”
Members from both countries were eager to compare notes and to learn about each other.
“I was very impressed,” said Staff Sergeant Jesse Levy, a loadmaster with the 37th AS. “They were very professional and enthusiastic. They seemed as happy about us being there as we were. Overall it was a very good experience.”
Levy specifically noticed an immediate sense of camaraderie between the loadmasters from both countries.
“I’d say we are very similar in attitude,” he said. “We both have a high enthusiasm for this job. They really want to get the best training possible, just like we do. Their loadmaster asked a lot of questions about airdrops and about different things that we do. He really wanted to come back and do more training with us. I definitely think they are where they need to be with attitude, but they could really benefit from more training.”
The Americans also noted some differences.
“They do things differently,” said Staff Sergeant David Bell, an engine specialist with the 86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. “They have a longer technical training than we do.”
He also noted that their maintenance career field is broken down into only three sections, compared to American maintainers who have seven fields of expertise.
“I was impressed to see that they use the same equipment we do,” Sergeant Bell said. “Their aircraft are a lot older, but they have newer engines and the glass cockpit upgrades.”
On the Ramstein Airmen’s last day with the Botswana Defense Force, Botswanan aircrew members were invited to ride along in the U.S. C-130s on a low-level formation training flight.
“This was an incredible opportunity for us,” said Major T. Phuthego, chief pilot for Botswanan C-130 operations. “One of our main challenges is that we are still part of the army. It’s refreshing to get a chance to interact with other members of the aviation community. We look forward to more opportunities to interact with each other. Our goal is to become more proficient in deploying our C-130s for peacekeeping and humanitarian missions around Africa.”
Overall the stay in Botswana was a success, according to Colonel Thomas, who asserted that more training opportunities would be beneficial to both nations.
“I see a future of more training with the BDF in terms of willingness and interest in doing it,” he said. “Several of their officers have expressed a desire for us to continue this relationship. I also think there is a significant amount of value added for us as the U.S. military to remain engaged in the South African region, because it will likely become more and more important as interests and activities in Africa develop.”
Major Sidney Shinn, bilateral affairs officer with the North Carolina National Guard State Partnership Program added that he would like to see unit-level exercises between the BDF and the U.S. Air Force.
“We are committed to our relationship with Botswana and looking to expand it for the long term. Our goal is to assist them to become self-sustaining. We want to become a partner that works alongside them,” Shinn said.
BAMAKO, Mali – Major Sanjay Gogate, a doctor with the U.S. Air Force, watches while a Malian doctor examines a patient at a medical civil action project on November 7, 2008 in Bamako, Mali. During the project, U.S. Air Force and Army medics and Joint Special Operations Air Component volunteers treated nearly 400 Malian men, women and children. (Department of Defense photo by 1st Lieutenant John Saas)
AFRICOM Photo ID 20081114153839
BAMAKO, Mali – Malian and Senegalese forces review their marksmanship skills with U.S. forces at a range in Bamako, Mali on November 3, 2008 during the first day of training of FLINTLOCK. The military exercise, which includes participation of key European nations, is designed to build relationships and capacity among security forces throughout the Trans-Saharan region of Africa and is the first exercise for USAFRICOM since its creation on 1 October 2008. (Photo by Technical Sergeant Victoria Meyer, FLINTLOCK Public Affairs Office)
