Ethiopia: Taking Action for Sustainable Development

Before I have never saved income from the sale of milk. Now, I have opened a bank book and saved 1100 Birr (55 USD) in 2016.

After saving enough, my plan is to purchase another milking cow and increase the milk supply to generate more income.

Safaya Kabato with her bank book, which she uses to save her income from the milk business. © SDG Fund / UN Women / Fikerte Abebe Safaya Kabato

What are the bold actions being taken by the Government to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in Ethiopia? Empowering women living in livelihoods and rights in concert rural areas is crucial to ending with the Sustainable poverty and hunger, achieving Development Goals and with food security and empowering all Ethiopia’s Growth and Using the loan, I purchased an women and girls. Transformation Plan II. ox for 4,000 Birr (182 USD), paired it with the one I had and The Rural Women Economic The programme has used the plough a half hectare of land Empowerment SDG Fund Joint following multifaceted strategies: that I own. I sowed improved Programme (RWEE JP) —a five- wheat seeds, which I purchased year programme implemented • Support women as right for 1,200 Birr (55 USD). by the Government of Ethiopia in holders to access credit, partnership with UN Women, technology, skills trainings After applying fertilizer worth IFAD, WFP, and FAO—seeks to and strengthen their voices in 1,400 Birr (64 USD), I harvested accelerate progress in providing local planning and within their 5 quintals. economic empowerment for households; 2,374 rural women farmers and • Address the capacity building Ila Robale pastoralists in two pilot regions, needs of Savings and Credit Afar and Oromia. The Cooperatives and Regional Programme aims to secure their and District Bureaus of

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Ethiopia: Taking Action for Sustainable Development

Agriculture to enable them to deliver for women; • Build on the comparative advantages of the UN participating agencies; • Conduct gender focused community conversations and; • Create enabling policy and institutional environment for gender equality

Why do the above actions matter to the people in Ethiopia?

The economy of Ethiopia is dominated by the agriculture sector, which accounts for 46.3 per cent of the nation's GDP, 83.9 per cent of exports, and 80 Ila Robale at the storage where she keeps the wheat, which she harvested using her own pair of oxen purchased per cent of the labor force. with the loan provided under the program. © SDG Fund / UN Women / Fikerte Abebe Additionally, the vast majority of Rural women still lack access to The project focuses on Goal 1, farmers are smallholders, key resources such as land, Target 4: By 2030, ensure that dependent on subsistence extension services, agricultural all men and women, the poor agriculture and vulnerable to inputs, technology, and business and the vulnerable, have equal external shocks. On average, development services and rights to economic resources, as rural women farmers perform up finance, thereby limiting their well as access to basic services, to 75 per cent of farm labor but engagement in the value chain. ownership and control over land they only hold 18.7 per cent of These are further compounded and other forms of property, agricultural land and head only by women limited decision- inheritance, natural resources, 20.1 percent of rural households. making power within households appropriate new technology and and the community at large and financial services, including Despite the recent policy low levels of formal education microfinance. initiatives to address gender and skill trainings. disparities, evidence suggests that rural women still face What SDGs have been individual, community, and particularly advanced through institutional barriers to fully the project? exercise their rights.

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