Addis Ababa — The Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research yesterday inaugurated Agricultural Quality Research Laboratory. The renovated crop testing laboratory will improve the quality of agricultural products making the country competitive in the international market.
Inaugurating the laboratory, Agriculture Minister Deribew Tefera said that, it was almost two years ago today that the Ministry opened the first agricultural products quality Monitoring and Testing Laboratory to be the country's main quality laboratory for coffee and other agricultural commodities. The lab was established in collaboration with Digata Industries and Development Partners, UNDP and JICA.
"The renovation and remodeling of this laboratory is also conceived with the basic theme of quality where all agricultural research is to begin with data quality objectives framework that takes into account the quality criteria of destination markets or internationally acknowledged quality standards. We will continue aligning our human resources and institutional processes to fulfill our development objectives and our principal goal of eradicating poverty through transformed agricultural sector," the Minister added.
Institute Public Relations Head Deresse Teshome told journalists that the institute equipped itself with a modern sample crops technology museum which allows stakeholders and investors to access accurate information on agricultural products in Ethiopia.
It was indicated that the renovation also included the training of laboratory technicians and researchers in quality management and the application of latest standard procedures. By the end of the national Growth and Transformation Plan period (2014/15), Ethiopia expects to generate 6.58 billion USD revenue from the export of 3.81 million tonnes of agricultural products. As it is known, agriculture is the cornerstone of the Ethiopian economy and accounts for 41 per cent of the GDP, close to 80 per cent of export earnings and employs 80 per cent of the country's labour force.
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