FAO Bestows Award upon ATI for its Flagship Agricultural Commercialization Cluster

Addis Ababa, October 17, 2025 (ENA)—The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has presented the FAO Achievement Award 2025 to the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI).

ATI was recognized for its flagship Agricultural Commercialization Cluster (ACC) programme, which has successfully brought farmers into clusters to improve market access, adopt innovations, and sustainably increase productivity—becoming a model of transformation for other regions.

Presenting the award, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu praised ATI’s pioneering approach to farmer empowerment and called for the scaling up of successful agricultural practices.

“ATI’s initiative reflects FAO’s vision of transforming agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient, and more sustainable – and the critical need for effective partnerships to realize this vision,” he said.

Accepting the award, Mandefro Nigussie, Chief Executive Officer of ATI, reaffirmed the Institute’s ongoing commitment to sustainable agriculture and resilience-building.

“This recognition by FAO is both an honour and a call to do more and better,” said Nigussie.

“The challenges of climate change, food insecurity, and inequality remain immense. ATI stands ready to continue working hand in hand with our partners to scale innovations, empower women and youth, and build a resilient agricultural system that ensures prosperity for farmers and other actors along the value chains—as well as nourishes generations to come, ” Mandefro went on as saying.

The FAO Achievement Award honors individuals or institutions that demonstrate exceptional performance and create significant impact in programs aligned with FAO’s mission.

This includes work in areas such as fisheries, forestry, climate, land and water, and animal and plant health.

The award can be given to any entity or individual, including FAO teams or employees, for outstanding technical cooperation or humanitarian work at the country level, according to the FAO press release.