Publish What You Fund, the global campaign for aid and development transparency, has once again named the African Development Bank’s sovereign portfolio as the most transparent. The portfolio emerged first out of 50 global development institutions with a top score of 98.8 in its 2024 Aid Transparency Index released today.
The Bank’s sovereign portfolio climbed four places in the ranking in 2022 to top the Index, setting the standard for high-quality data publication. For a second time running, the result highlights the Bank’s continued effort and prioritization of good quality data publication.
The Aid Transparency Index has tracked the transparency of the largest international aid organisations over the last 12 years.
The 2024 Index assesses six sovereign (public sector) portfolios and six non-sovereign (private sector) portfolios of development finance institutions (DFIs). The sovereign portfolios of development finance institutions occupy three of the top five positions in the ranking with the African Development Bank coming first, the InterAmerican Development Bank second and World Bank International Development Association fourth. (Press Release)
A swap is a derivative contract through which two parties exchange the cash flows or liabilities from two different financial instruments. Most swaps involve cash flows based on a notional principal amount related to a loan or bond, although the security can be almost anything. Usually, the principal does not change hands.
Each cash flow comprises one leg of the swap. One cash flow is generally fixed, while the other is variable and based on a benchmark interest rate, floating currency exchange rate, or index price.
Today marks a new era for Ethiopia due to several factors, with the success of the Green Legacy initiative being crucial for Africa and the world to breathe cleaner air. Ethiopia’s effort involves planting trees to restore forest coverage and combating the threat of climate change. Climate change impacts are a significant threat to the world, largely attributed to activities such as burning fossil fuels, manufacturing, deforestation, transportation, food production, and building operations. Deforestation poses a severe threat to the survival of the life system, making Ethiopia’s efforts particularly vital.
Even though Ethiopians are naturally fortunate to have comfortable weather, it has become more advanced and moderated since the initiation of the Green Legacy program. As it is widely known, different records have been registered that can be noted as an example at the continental and even international level. The initiative has not been limited to Ethiopia alone; it has also expanded to East African countries like Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, and others. Ethiopia is blessed with comfortable weather, which is observed by foreigners who often travel to our land when they experience difficulty with the weather in their hometowns.
Our institution, the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, is actively leading the charge in the national campaign for tree planting through the Green Legacy initiative. We are dedicated to advancing agricultural development by creating, adapting, and promoting technology through our extensive agricultural research programs. Among our many research areas, we are specifically focused on sustainable water and soil management to effectively preserve natural resources and contribute significantly to the Green Legacy initiative. This year, we have successfully planted various seedlings in the Wendo Wereda area of the West Arsi Zone, under the excellent coordination of the Wendogenet Agricultural Research Center (WGARC). Our continued efforts undoubtedly play a crucial role in the national Green Legacy initiative.
Dr. Temesgen Dessalegne, the natural resource management research directorate director at the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), stated that the Green Legacy Initiative is a highly ambitious environmental project launched by the Ethiopian government to aggressively combat deforestation, soil erosion, and climate change. This initiative, spearheaded by Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed in 2019, is focused on driving reforestation and environmental conservation throughout Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) management team decisively launched the 2024 tree planting at Wondo Genet Agricultural Research Center, with over 200 participants planting more than 6,000 seedlings, predominantly fruit trees such as avocado, banana and coffee. Tree planting offers an array of benefits, particularly for soil and water, thereby substantially contributing to environmental health and sustainability.
Some of key aspects of the Green Legacy Initiative worthwhile to mention are:
Erosion Control: Trees stabilize the soil with their root systems, preventing erosion by wind and water.
Soil Fertility: Leaf litter from trees decomposes, adding organic matter to the soil and enhancing its fertility.
Soil Structure: Tree roots help to improve soil structure by creating spaces for air and water movement.
Nutrient Cycling: Trees play a crucial role in nutrient cycling by absorbing nutrients from deep soil layers and returning them to the surface through leaf fall.
Microbial Activity: Trees support a rich soil microbiome, which aids in nutrient breakdown and soil health.
Before the Green Legacy initiative began, the forest coverage was only 4%. Thanks to the initiative, it has increased to about 23.6%, and it could increase further if the initiative continues successfully. According to various sources, more than 32 billion seedlings were planted by the year 2015 E.C. The Green Legacy is not just an agenda for Ethiopia; it is also being embraced by East Africa. It is now considered essential for ensuring the availability of oxygen and is teaching nations that reforestation is practically achievable.
The Green Legacy initiative is not just about planting trees; it also serves as a demonstration that completing specific activities or projects is achievable. It has been a game changer in our work ethics, pushing us to aggressively tackle planned tasks. Previously, our work ethic did not encourage working beyond eight hours a day and/or over the weekends. However, initiatives like Green Legacy have made it possible for us to achieve records at the continental level and even compete internationally.
The starting of green legacy initiative in Ethiopia brought many opportunities. It opens the eyes of different individuals that the production of seedlings is could be profitable. Hence, a number of individuals and groups initiated many startups to begin business on seedling. It became common to observe while different youths involve in the production of different seedlings at the corners of the streets. These individuals produce fruits, vegetables, flowers and others. The demand is highly increasing from time to time for fruits across the country, and for flowers especially at towns. Since green legacy is launched, direction is given to plant different fruits thinking that it could full fill the gap on our food security as it could be possible to consume different fruits and vegetables for example avocadoes, mangoes, bananas etc. for household consumption in addition to getting an income by selling. Thus, urban agriculture is also enhanced as the access of getting different fruits and vegetables seedlings is easy.
Involving in the production of seedling, different groups and individuals are witnessing that they could have improved their life with the income they earn from selling seedlings.
Since its inception, Green Legacy has been keeping a continuous record of its activities. There are currently preparations underway to register it in the Guinness Book of World Records. Green Legacy is becoming a unique initiative for Ethiopia, much like our Indigenous crops such as teff and enset, and Indigenous plants like juniperous, podocarpus, and olea species. This initiative can also be seen as a symbol of our country’s amazing tourist attractions, such as Lalibela, Fasiledes, and others, and can contribute to enhancing our image and potential as a major player in the global tourism industry.
“Our internal problems aside, the Green Legacy initiative serves as a unifying symbol that connects nations, much like our own Great Renaissance Dam. It mobilizes citizens from all directions, creating momentum for development. Most nations develop not only because they have abundant resources, but also because they have human capital, the greatest potential for growth and development. Ethiopia is no exception to this.”
Ethiopia, like most countries, possesses vast uncultivated land, significant human capital, and favorable weather conditions. The Green Legacy initiative has been instrumental in unleashing the untapped potential of human capital, marking a significant shift in the country’s development strategy. This initiative is a strategic and effective approach for mobilizing people towards sustainable development.
In a nutshell, the Green Legacy initiative goes beyond just increasing our forest coverage and beautifying the landscape. It symbolizes Ethiopia’s unwavering capability to take on world-benefiting initiatives. It represents unwavering unity, as people from all corners come together to vigorously develop the country. It also serves as a clear signal for us to vastly improve our work ethics and be relentlessly motivated to perform better. This can be seen in different projects, such as the ongoing corridor development that is happening day and night. Therefore, as Ethiopians, we must forcefully work together to see through initiatives that have been started and unleash the untapped potential of our country, which could greatly accelerate its growth and development.
You can reach the writer via email at antushyil@gmail.com
Consumers around the world have many similar needs. All people must eat, drink and have a roof over their heads. Once these basic needs are met, people will try and improve their standard of living: a more comfortable home, more recreation and higher social status. Although basic needs and the desire to improve the standard of living are universal, people’s ability to achieve these objectives is not the same at all. The economic, political and social structures of the country people live in affect the ability of people to achieve these goals. To understand consumers, whether here in Ethiopia or in a country where you intend to export your products to, you must examine four aspects of consumer behaviour:
What they can afford.
What they need.
Why they buy.
And how they buy.
What people can afford varies significantly from country to country and the total wealth in a country is an important indicator of market potential. Governments have a major influence on the distribution of wealth in their country, by means of policies, taxes or ownership of industries for example. Low wages and unemployment are factors that increase the lower income class. Concentration of business ownership in a few families or individuals decreases the size of the upper class.
People spend money to satisfy their needs. They will first fulfil their basic needs like food, clothes and housing before spending money on more luxury items. Consumption patterns therefore differ tremendously between classes of a society and also between different countries. In less developed countries people tend to spend a bigger part of their income on food and in richer countries they will spend relatively more on health, recreation and education for example.
Next we need to find out why people buy what they buy, in other words what are the motives of consumers. Culture and norms come into the picture here. With the rich coffee culture in Ethiopia and the ceremony around it for instance, few Ethiopians will be treating their visitors on a cup of instant coffee. And pork products for example are not eaten by most Ethiopians for religious reasons.
Social class is another factor. People who belong to the same social class, based on their income, education and occupations, tend to have similar buying patterns. They may wear the same kinds of clothes, sunglasses, jewelry, watches, handbags, etc. At home they may have appliances like a tv, satellite dish, computer, or they will drive a certain type of car. And their children are likely to want certain things as well, e.g. toys and kinds of shoes.
It also matters who makes the decisions at home when it comes to spending the money and buying for the family. Ask yourself who for example buys any of the following items. Is it the husband, the wife or do they decide together on buying the groceries, furniture, the electrical appliances in the house, insurances or the car? And what influence do the children have? Mind you, many marketing strategies target children and they are informed more and more. They hear or have an opinion about what is cool, what is healthy, what is trendy and they tell their parents. Or they know what is hidden as a surprise in the box of cornflakes for instance. Mothers have a hard time explaining that the other brand is just as good.
Levels of education and literacy play a role as well. They go hand in hand with the economic development of a country. A low level of literacy affects the market in two ways. First, it reduces the market for products that require reading such as books and magazines. Second, it reduces the effectiveness of advertising. There may be a relation here with the way companies advertise their products on ETV, in the form of drama. Not a bad strategy I would say, considering the majority of people watching ETV around that time.
We have to be careful though not to generalize consumer behaviour too much. Consumption patterns of individual buyers still vary considerably. Not everybody in the same social class will buy the same goods. Many consumers are careful with spending their money and balance quality with the price they are willing to pay. A wise consumer will ask two questions before actually buying a product:
Do I need it? Can I afford it? The challenge for the seller and producer therefore is to find out what people need most and what they afford.
