A new Investment Handbook designed to accelerate private sector participation in Ethiopia’s livestock and fisheries industries has officially been launched this week.
Prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the Handbook is a significant milestone in the government's push to transform the sector into a dynamic engine of economic growth, food and nutrition security, and sustainable job creation.
Ethiopia is home to the largest livestock population in Africa, with 70.2 million cattle, 42.9 million sheep, 52.5 million goats, and 8.1 million camels (CSA, 2021), the press release sent to EBC World discloses. These numbers reflect enormous untapped potential in livestock and fisheries production. The country's extensive inventory of livestock and fish species, along with abundant natural resources, including fertile land, diverse agro-ecological zones, and vast water bodies, creates a strong foundation for both domestic and international investment.
The Investment Handbook outlines a wide array of viable investment options, quality standards, enabling policies, and support services tailored to Ethiopia’s unique agro-ecological context. The handbook responds to the country's 10-Year Agricultural Transformation Plan, which aims to substantially increase production of milk (to 28.4 billion liters), meat (1.7 million tons), eggs (5.5 billion units), chicken meat (106 thousand tons), honey (152,000 tons), and fish (260,000 tons) by 2030.
The handbook is grounded in Ethiopia’s rich and diverse livestock and fisheries resources.
The Ethiopian government has created a strong enabling environment to attract private investment in the livestock and fisheries sectors.
The launch of the handbook sends a strong message: Ethiopia is open for livestock and fisheries investment and is ready to partner with responsible investors to unlock the sector’s full potential, it was disclosed.