Experts from 25 Countries Discussing Need for Financial Resilience in Agriculture

Addis Ababa, June 11, 2025 (ENA)— 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 said millions of Ethiopian smallholder farmers are at the center of the national development vision of the country.

He added that the development agenda of the nation is centered on transforming inclusive and resilient food systems by recognizing agriculture as not only just a sector but a system deeply tied to the economy, environment, sovereignty and social fabrics of the nation. 

 

Wheat self-sufficiency, Green Legacy and Bounty of the Basket initiatives are signals of the government’s dedication for agricultural development, combating climate change, and ensuring food security.

However, the minister noted that the demand for agricultural credit to access agricultural inputs, rent agricultural machineries, support rural enterprises and other services is significantly growing.

“Recognizing these gaps, the Ministry of Agriculture has taken a deliberate step to establish a rural finance coordination unit to advance a system approach to three core areas — rural credit, agricultural risk insurance, and data systems.”

According to Girma, the positioning of the Rural Finance Service Unit at the central hub of the national coordination is also one of the national commitments of the country.

 

The nation will integrate agricultural credit and risk insurance into agricultural policies, programs, and long-term planning; while building partnerships with financial regulators, financial institutions, insurers, cooperatives, research institutions, and development partners, he disclosed.

The Rural Finance Service Unit has strategic mandate that will work across sectors and stakeholders to catalyze coordination, design solutions and support implementation.

Lauding UNDP, Gates Foundation and other partners for supporting the establishment of the unit, the minister noted Ethiopia’s commitment to establishing a strong regulatory framework that ensures inclusive and reliable credit and agricultural risk insurance, and expanding public-private-partnership to drive innovation, investment, and delivery.

On his part, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov said Africa is rich in resource, but so much is being lost due to inefficient management.

 

To effectively manage the resource, the whole food chain is extremely important element, he added, stressing the need to make sure that we have adequate financing for the conduct of these activities.

In this regard, Ethiopia is actively engaging in financial resilience in agricultural initiatives transforming to ensure food security of the country, he noted.

“Ethiopia is actively engaged in financial resilience in agricultural initiatives; and this is a powerful signal that would actually trick this whole operation to the next level and ensuring resilience.”

Gates Foundation Senior Program Officer, Sammy Ssenyimba,  said that climate change is no longer a distant threat or abstract. It is a present and daily reality.

 

Ssenyimba noted that the prolonged drought experience is devastating and becoming more destructive with low income and vulnerable countries.

But global climate finance to agricultural-food system is at low scale, and this is a massive gap and a missed opportunity.

In this respect, “financial resilience in agriculture (FRA) is not simply about insurance; it is about resilience; it is about agency and ultimately about justice… The goal is to equip smallholder farmers with tools that they need to withstand climate shocks and to invest in their own futures with confidence.”

 

Moreover, financial resilience in agriculture community of practice is essential to the future of inclusive agriculture development, shared learning, country leadership and bold collaboration, he added.

The senior program officer further emphasized the impossibility to build resilient food systems without resilient farmers, noting the need for embodying financial resilience in agriculture into national policies, institutions and investments.

Finally, he expressed Gates Foundation’s firm commitment to supporting the agriculture community practice and the broader FRA vision.