Rural Industrialization Initiative shifts focus toward empowering rural producers and creating value within communities.
EED: “We Must Learn Not Only to Take from Rural Communities, But Also to Give Back!”
Rural Industrialization Initiative shifts focus toward empowering rural producers and creating value within communities.
Adama, September 28, 2018 E.C. — A high-level consultation was held on the performance and upcoming plans of the Rural Industrialization Initiative, with the participation of senior officials from regional and city administrations, along with experts in the manufacturing and development sectors.
During the discussion, Mr. Paulos Berga, Deputy Director General of the Ethiopian Enterprise Development (EED), emphasized that the new direction of the initiative represents a shift from merely extracting value from rural communities to actively contributing to their development and industrial participation.
“We must learn not only to take from rural communities, but also to give back to them,” said Mr. Paulos Berga, highlighting that the program aims to build a mutually beneficial relationship between rural areas and the national economy.
Recalling that in the past, development activities often focused on taking resources from rural communities without providing sufficient return, Mr. Paulos noted that the Rural Industrialization Program is designed to empower those same communities by giving them access to industrial production, value addition, and economic participation.
“We and our forefathers are products of the countryside,” he added, “and this initiative ensures that rural citizens—who have long been the backbone of our nation’s productivity—can now become direct beneficiaries of industrial growth.”
Mr. Paulos further explained that the program will help farmers and rural producers enhance and modernize their agricultural tools, technologies, and production systems. He emphasized that rural industrialization should be understood as a means to create the capacity for transformation, not just as an expansion of factories into rural areas.
He also stressed that while challenges are expected, it is important to remain realistic and proactive:
“We must acknowledge that progress will not come without obstacles. What matters is showing the determination and commitment needed to overcome poverty and drive our collective development.”
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