National Conference Plays Vital Role in Transforming Agriculture Sector: Ministry of Agriculture

Addis Ababa, November 19, 2025 (ENA) - The Ministry of Agriculture underscored that the Second National Conference on Agricultural Transformation will play a significant role in advancing efforts to modernize the sector by providing a wide range of research-based insights and solutions.

The conference, held under the theme “Accelerating Agricultural Transformation through Innovative Interventions,” is organized by the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) and brings together participants from universities, research institutions, regional bureaus, development partners, private-sector actors, and innovators.

Delivering opening remarks, State Minister of Agriculture Efa Muleta has highlighted the major objectives of the conference.

According to him, the objectives include identifying innovative approaches for piloting, initiating high-impact projects, scaling up best practices, making research findings accessible to national and international development communities, strengthening institutional capacity and visibility, enhancing university research development linkages, and improving both institutional and individual competencies.

He emphasized that global agriculture is currently confronted with numerous challenges, climate change, resource limitations, population growth, market volatility, and geopolitical tensions.

In this context, he noted, transforming agriculture is essential not only for Ethiopia’s future but also for global stability, sustainability, and shared progress.

Efa further noted that key initiatives such as the Agricultural Commercialization Cluster (ACC), Integrated Agro-Industrial Parks, digital innovation platforms, market system reforms, and the forthcoming Farmer-Producer and Agribusiness Companies (FPAC) remain central to strengthening Ethiopia’s structural transformation and competitiveness.

Insights generated from the conference, he said, will help refine national priorities, reinforce strategies, enhance coordination, and deepen collaboration with development partners whose support and expertise are vital.

“Together, we are advancing Ethiopia’s agricultural and food-systems transformation in alignment with the SDGs and Africa’s Agenda 2063,” he added.

He also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring national food self-sufficiency through measures such as duty-free importation of agricultural machinery, sector digitalization, and the adoption of innovative solutions.

ATI Director General Mendefro Nigussie stated that the conference outputs will be disseminated, published, and provided to agricultural institutions to support sector-wide transformation efforts.

According to the director general, 41 scientific, learning, and policy papers will be presented, covering a wide spectrum of topics, from laboratory research to field implementation, and from policy insights to measurable innovations.

These contributions, he noted, reflect a dynamic and expanding ecosystem of knowledge connecting ATI, universities, research centers, development organizations, and the private sector.

The Director General emphasized that the conference outcomes will help build a clear roadmap toward an agricultural system that is adaptive, knowledge-driven, digital, climate-smart, inclusive, and globally competitive.

“Transformation is not only about increasing production; it is about empowering people, strengthening institutions, and building modern systems that connect farmers to technologies, markets, finance, and opportunities,” he added.

It is recalled that the first National Conference on Agricultural Transformation was held from May 11–12, 2023, under the theme “Enhancing ATI’s Contributions to Agricultural Transformation.”

That conference aimed to document and disseminate the Institute’s decade-long experience in agricultural development and to enhance ATI’s visibility among government bodies, development partners, stakeholders, and the public where 20 scientific and development papers were presented.