Thursday, December 16, 2010

Ethiopia woos Punjabi farmers; 40 exploring possibilities

(Dec, 16, 2010, FnBneews.com)--About 40 enterprising farmers are presently exploring the opportunities to set up their farms in Ethiopia, informed Mehreteab Mulugeta, minister councilor, economic and business,

Ethiopia, on the penultimate day of the Punjab International Trade Expo (PITEX) 2010 on Saturday, according to Tribune News Service. With surplus cultivable land available with the African nation, the Ethiopian government established a land bag of 1.7 million hectares under the ministry of agriculture for the Foreign Direct Investment last year.

Mulugeta said, “My government is extending full cooperation to the Punjab farmers to set up farms to produce wheat, rice, oil seeds and vegetables, in addition to tea and coffee in his country.”

He said as per the norms, land was given on a minimum lease for 25 years. All investors are facilitated with a seven-year tax holiday. Besides, the investors who export 75% of their produce are eligible for a loan from local banks to the tune of 70% of the total project. The investors are empowered to repatriate even 100% of their earnings to any country out of Ethiopia, ha added.

Dalip Sharma, regional director, PHD Chamber, said a delegation from India had visited Ethiopia last month and explored trade opportunities there. He said because of little population and availability of surplus land there were ample opportunities for investment in agriculture, food processing and mining in Ethiopia.
Source:  FnBneews.com

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