(left to right) USAID Ethiopia Mission Director Dennis Weller, USDA Agricultural Counselor Quintin Gray, and DuPont Executive Vice President James C. Borel tour DuPont’s new production and seed storage plant in Menegesha.

Robert Sauers, USAID Ethiopia

Menegisha, Ethiopia -- USAID, DuPont Pioneer, and the Government of Ethiopia, represented by the MInistry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Transformation Agency, launched the Advanced Maize Seed Adoption Program (AMSAP) today to help improve productivity of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. The collaboration will advance the agricultural development and food security goals set by the Government of Ethiopia by promoting the adoption of new improved seeds through demonstration plots and field training sessions aimed at smallholders, advancing the use and acceptance of high-quality inputs and production techniques by a network of farmer dealers and cooperatives, and facilitating credit and grants for the construction of seed and post-harvest storage facilities.

Maize is a significant contributor to Ethiopia’s economic and social development, providing jobs, income and food. The project will  boost the production and the incomes of 35,000 smallholder maize farmers in 16 woredas or districts in three regions of Oromia, SNNP, and Amhara, and scale up a network for sustainable seed distribution. 

"This AMSAP public-private partnership puts into operation the vision of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, launched at the annual G-8 Summit one year ago, and also USAID’s mandate under the U.S. Feed the Future Initiative. This is a model that highlights how countries and companies can work together to invest responsibly and grow the emerging markets of countries like Ethiopia, and others across Africa," said USAID Ethiopia Mission Director Dennis Weller at the ceremony.

USAID is supporting AMSAP through its AGP-Agribusiness Market Development activity, led by ACDI-VOCA. The Agribusiness Market Develpment objective for maize production and related markets is to double farm yields and reduce inefficiencies in downstream handling, processing and marketing to reduce per unit costs and increase farm profitability among others in the high-rainfall regions of Amhara, Oromia, Tigray and the Southern, Nations, Nationalities and People’s regions.

See Also

DuPont Press Release  [PDF, 174 KB]

USAID Ethiopia Mission Director Dennis Weller Remarks [PDF, 172 KB]

AMSAP Fact Sheet [PDF, 249 KB]

Success of the Advanced Maize Seed Adoption Program [video]

Photo Gallery

Related Resources

USAID Ethiopia: Agriculture and Food Security

USAID Ethiopia: Feed the Future

USAID Ethiopia: Private Sector

USAID Ethiopia: Global Health Initiative

USAID Ethiopia: Nutrition

New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition