ADDIS ABABA (ATA)–The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tourism Ethiopia to brand agricultural commodities as Ethiopia: Taste of Origins. The brand is derived from the national brand – Ethiopia: Land of Origins.
Ato Khalid Bomba, CEO of ATA, and W/ro Lensa Mekonnen, CEO of Tourism Ethiopia, signed the MoU in the presence of MoTI officials, upcoming Gulfood 2018 (“The World’s Largest Food & Beverages Trade Show”) participants, and the media.
On the occasion, Ato Khalid noted that ATA in collaboration with Tourism Ethiopia and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) has been working in developing and testing the brand in the past three years. “Taste of Origins is a well-recognized brand now,” Khalid said. “What we need is to consistently brand all our agricultural commodities to have a better market and benefit our smallholder farmers.”
W/ro Lensa, on her part, asserted that her office strongly believes that promoting Ethiopia cuts across sectors and taste is one of the factors for the national brand Ethiopia: Land of Origins. “By promoting Ethiopia with a brand consistency across our different sectors – whether we are promoting agricultural commodities, investment in our industrial parks, enhancement of foreign diplomacy or visits to our historical sites and national parks – we send a unified message that our country offers a colorful and eclectic menu of things to see and do”.
Promoting the export of agricultural commodities has the power to positively reinforce the Ethiopia brand. “By commercializing our agriculture and linking our smallholder farmers to local and global supply chains, we send a message to the world that Ethiopia’s growth and transformation is as much about improving the livelihoods of our people as it is about repairing the image of our country,” Ato Khalid underscored.
It was noted that MoTI and ATA have tested the brand in international trade shows. Promotional materials have been widely disseminated via print and a dedicated website: www.tasteoforigins.info.
Source: ATA