Chinese Government provides RMB 40 million grant for Ethiopia-China Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center Project

On May 30, 2008, China and Ethiopia signed an agreement to construct an Ethiopia-China Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center in Ethiopia. The center consists of a cluster of buildings, training facilities, and dormitories. Its construction was supported by an RMB 40 million grant from the Chinese government. These funds were drawn from two separate Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreements (ETCAs): 50% of the funding came from an ETCA signed on December 18, 2006, and the other 50% came from an ETCA signed on March 20, 2007. The purpose of the Ethiopia-China Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center is to promote the transfer of physical agricultural technologies and knowledge from China to Ethiopia and to ensure local capacity building through demonstration and training (see 'Negotiating New Relationships: How the Ethiopian State is Involving China and Brazil in Agriculture and Rural Development'). The project contractor was Guangxi International Construction Engineering Company (see 'An Overview of Chinese Agricultural and Rural Engagement in Ethiopia'). Guangxi International Construction Engineering Company employed 32 Chinese engineers and technicians and more than 200 Ethiopians during the implementation of the project; their road subcontractor, who had been working in Ethiopia for many years, had a team of 4 Chinese, 7 or 8 skilled permanent Ethiopian staff, and 80–90 temporary workers. When the center was completed, it was turned over to Guangxi Agricultural Science and Technology Company, which managed it for three years with financing from the Chinese government (see 'An Overview of Chinese Agricultural and Rural Engagement in Ethiopia'). The center is located 8 km beyond Ginchi town, 90 km from Addis Ababa. It is established on 52 hectares of land, and its overall design shows that it will use 5 hectares for offices and training facilities, 3 hectares for experimentation, 31 hectares for crop technology demonstration, 3 hectares for animal raising and demonstration, 2 hectares for fish ponds, 2 hectares of edible fungi demonstration garden, 2 hectares for post-harvest treatment and technology demonstration, and the remaining 4 hectares will be for roads, water channels, walls, and fences, etc (see 'Negotiating New Relationships: How the Ethiopian State is Involving China and Brazil in Agriculture and Rural Development'). On April 24, 2010, Wei Hongtian, the temporary representative of the Embassy of Ethiopia, went to the Ginchi area of the state of Eoromo to inspect the project site with the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture and the mayor of Ginchi (see '韦宏添代办视察援埃塞农业技术示范中心项目工地'). On May 14, 2011, Wei Hongtian again visited the project construction site (see '韦宏添代办视察援埃农业技术示范中心项目建设情况'). A handover ceremony from the Chinese side to the Ethiopian side was held on June 19, 2012, and agricultural experts began work at the center on November 26, 2012 (see '中国驻埃塞大使解晓岩出席中国援埃农业技术示范中心项目移交仪式' and '援埃塞农业技术示范中心项目启动技术合作' and '我援埃塞农业技术示范中心项目举行移交仪式').

Number of official sources

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Number of unofficial sources

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