Fintrac Harvest Fall 2010

Fintrac Health Initiatives Reach Thousands of Ethiopians

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Fintrac’s Agribusiness and Trade Expansion Program (USAID-ATEP) is having an enormous impact on health by leveraging our presence in the field and teaching people about nutrition and HIV prevention. A recent UNAIDS report on poor AIDS-affected households in Africa found that monthly income fell by 66-80 percent from coping with AIDS-related illness.

In Metema, Ethiopia, Fintrac is helping the Kokeb Association, a group of people living with HIV/AIDS. The group was given 10 hectares by the Ethiopian government, which Fintrac is helping them develop into a sustainable horticulture farm that provides income and nutrition in their ongoing fight against disease.

The 30 group members are learning to establish crops such as barley, tomatoes and green peppers. In only two growing cycles, the group has harvested 60 quintals of barley, 25 quintals of tomatoes and 15 quintals of green peppers.

In less than a year, the sales generated from these crops alone are $626, a lot of money in a nation where 39 percent of the population live on less than $1.25 per day. With higher yields and better production, the members of the association are able to grow and buy healthier food, which is helping them maintain their weight, improve the effectiveness of HIV medications and increase tolerance of medications.

After their first harvests, the group started to see that they can support themselves. Others in the community are now coming to their farm to learn new agricultural technologies and about HIV/AIDS prevention and nutrition. This has inspired others in the community to get tested and learn about health and prevention. “Because of this program, we realized that we are capable of being productive and supporting ourselves and even others,” said Kokeb’s Ato Ibrahim Dejen.

The group is starting to diversify with production of cabbage, onions and bananas as well as different varieties of tomatoes and peppers.

Fintrac is implementing health initiatives in 34 woredas of Oromia, SNNPR, Amhara and Tigray, which will help more than 50,000 farmers. Funding for this effort comes from USAID through PEPFAR.

The major objectives of Fintrac’s health component in Ethiopia are to set up and improve income generation activities for vulnerable populations and people living with HIV/AIDS, mainstream HIV/AIDS education into horticulture and provide capacity building of partner NGOs.