Ethiopia’s agricultural sector is navigating a complex paradox of record-breaking production and severe market strain. According to the latest Grain and Feed Annual report from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, while the nation is on track for a historic wheat harvest, structural economic shifts and high domestic costs have left the country increasingly reliant on grain shipments from the Black Sea region to stabilize its volatile markets.

For the 2026/27 marketing year, Ethiopia’s wheat production is forecast at a record 7.0 million metric tons (MT), representing an eight percent increase over the previous year. This growth is largely attributed to the government’s National Wheat Flagship Program, which has aggressively expanded irrigated wheat cultivation in lowland areas.

The surge is further supported by the broader adoption of improved seed varieties and the continued development of “cluster farming” and mechanization, aiming to link smallholder and commercial producers directly to domestic millers.

Nairobi -based Afri Fund Capital has announced an ambitious plan to raise $6 billion (approximately 780 billion Kenyan Shillings) in commercial debt. This funding is specifically designated to complete the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor, a regional mega-project long regarded as the key to unlocking the economic potential of the Horn of Africa.

The announcement follows a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on March 9 between Afri Fund Capital and the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) of Kenya. This partnership aims to move away from direct government borrowing and instead create a regulatory environment conducive to private sector-led financing.

To reach the $6 billion target, Afri Fund Capital is looking far beyond East African borders toward global markets. The company plans to follow a cross-listing strategy, listing the debt on major international stock exchanges including the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), the London Stock Exchange (LSE), and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Sudan and Ethiopia have moved to renew civil aviation relations between the two countries. Recently, Sudan’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union, Al-Zein Ibrahim Hussein, met with the Director General of the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority, Yohannes Abera, in Addis Ababa for discussions.

The meeting, held at the Authority’s headquarters in Addis Ababa, comes at a critical time as Sudan strives to rebuild its infrastructure and reconnect with the global economy. The primary focus of the discussion was the implementation of previously signed bilateral agreements to facilitate the movement of citizens and support cross-border trade.

A major point of the diplomatic engagement was the current status of Khartoum International Airport. Ambassador Hussein informed the Ethiopian delegation that the Sudanese capital is returning to normalcy and that state institutions have moved back to Khartoum. Most notably, he officially announced that the country’s primary aviation hub, Khartoum International Airport, is now ready for both domestic and international flights.

The reopening of Khartoum’s airspace is considered a major success for Sudan’s post-conflict recovery process. After years of disruption, the resumption of regular flights is expected to not only reduce transport costs for traders but also provide significant relief to citizens who were previously forced to take long journeys via land or through Port Sudan.

The United Nations has launched its first global panel on artificial intelligence, as concerns grow that the technology could deepen global inequalities – particularly in Africa, where systems are largely imported after being shaped elsewhere. The panel, bringing together around 40 experts from 37 countries, was approved by the UN General Assembly in February and held its first meeting in March. … Among its members is Senegalese researcher Adji Bousso Dieng, who tells RFI that Africa needs to develop its own AI or risk being left dependent on others. … “Today’s most powerful AI systems are trained mainly on Western data, which does not reflect the diversity of populations. We need local AI systems built with local context, so they can solve local problems. … [C]ompanies go to countries like Kenya to label data, which is needed to train AI systems. The working conditions are often not fair, people are not well paid and they can be exposed to traumatic content. There is no proper legal framework. That is a form of digital colonisation. There is also the issue of data sovereignty. Data can be used without compensation, and large companies benefit without paying Africans for their work.”