ETHIOPIA: A CGIAR COVID-19 HUB FOCUS COUNTRY

In Ethiopia, the second-most populous nation in Africa and the fastest growing economy[1] in the region, the impacts of COVID-19 have been profound. Staple food production has increased, but productivity increases, diversification, and resilience are needed. Input supply, including seed, faces persistent constraints, and there is evidence of supply disruptions for seed and other inputs due to the COVID-19 pandemic[2].

Leveraging the significant resources CGIAR has within target countries, researchers working through the CGIAR COVID-19 Hub are engaging with governments and other national partners in Ethiopia and elsewhere to respond to country demands for innovative and evidence-based solutions for emergency response and recovery.

CGIAR COVID-19 Hub research priorities:

• What is the nature of disruptions of agriculture input supplies and market value chains?
• What is the nature of the seed and fertilizer supply chain, who are the major actors, and where are the entry points for catalytic digital solutions? This will inform the mapping of the seed and fertilizer supply system for a selected vegetable (TBD) and wheat & sorghum.
• What were the impacts of misinformation on the desired food consumption patterns or food safety during the pandemic?
• What were the government's and NGO's nature mitigating messages on the misinformation? How effective were they, and what could be success factors?
• How can digital solutions support awareness creation and enhanced decision making across selected value chains and on consumption and food safety to support better nutrition?

Expected research outputs:

• A report on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic on availability and access to inputs, dietary and food safety/WASH challenges, and emerging opportunities;
• An input supply chain mapping identifying critical functional points for digital solutions for a specific geographical location to be determined with the MoA, EIAR, and the Seqota Declaration Programme Delivery Unit (SD-PDU);
• An app for facilitating agriculture input supply (seed) and market access by farming communities and farming households for the selected geographical location. This app will have the flexibility for contextualization to local needs informed by the outcomes of this project;
• Targeted messages that address food safety, consumption patterns, nutrition, and selected WASH aspects in the app in output #2 above; and
• A set of recommendations on how digitalization of agriculture input supply and market access could be addressed within the context of the Digital Ethiopia 2025 Strategy and the MoA COVID-19 Response Plan.

Learn more about CGIAR COVID-19 Hub work in Ethiopia.

Learn more about CGIAR COVID-19 Hub work in other focus countries:

• Bangladesh
• Malawi
• Myanmar
• Nigeria

[1] https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/ethiopia/overview

[2] Minten, B., Mohammed, B. & Tamru, S. 2020. “Emerging medium-scale tenant farming, gig economies, and the COVID-19 disruption - Evidence from commercial vegetable clusters in Ethiopia,” ESSP Working Paper 123. Washington, DC and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Policy Studies Institute (PSI).