Ethiopia, a landlocked country without access to a major ocean or sea, solely depends on lakes and rivers for its fishery sector, fish products, demands and consumption. The country has recently merged the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resource with the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries.
ADDIS ABABA (Xinhua)–The Ethiopian government on Saturday, 21 April 2018, called for investment in fish development and processing endeavors so as to minimize the existing dependence on imported fish products for the domestic market.
The call by the Ethiopian Ministry of Science and Technology on Saturday came shortly after the East African country’s decision to merge the former ministry of livestock and fisheries with the ministry of agriculture, saying it would spur developments in all involved both agricultural sector and fishery sector.
The Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives on Thursday (19 April) approved, with majority vote, the draft bill prepared to merge the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resource with the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries.
Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, while briefing members of the lower house, stressed the need to collaborate efforts so as to acquire the expected outcome from the sectors following the merging of the two ministries.
According to the Prime Minister, despite having one of the largest livestock population, Ethiopia has not been able to benefit from the sector as expected.
Ethiopia, a landlocked country without access to a major ocean or sea, solely depends on lakes and rivers for its fish products’ demands and consumption. He also stressed that merging the two ministries would help expedite the livestock and fisheries sector as well as the agriculture and natural resources sector.
According to Getahun Mekuria, Ethiopia’s Minister of Science and Technology, due to the existing lack of modern technologies in the sector, Ethiopia was not so far able to fully utilize its “abundant fish resources.”
Noting Ethiopia’s dependence on imported fish products to meet its local demands, Getahun Mekuria further called for concerted efforts to address the demand through domestic resources.
Source: Xinhua