The Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA), a specialized agency of COMESA, is holding its third Regional Stakeholder Farmers Meeting in collaboration with Ethiopia's Ministry of Agriculture, July 30 to August 1 in Addis Ababa.

The three day conference being held under the theme "Financing Value Chains: How effective in helping farmers in the Region?" has brought together farmer's organizations, private sector representatives, government officials, development partners, civil society and academics to share their experiences on the financing of value chains.

Speaking to the conference, Ato Wondirad Mandefro, Ethiopia's State Minister of Agriculture, noted that "expanding access to credit is vital to ensure sustainable development of small scale agriculture ". He further pointed out that Ethiopia's best practice in the provision of credits to small-scale farmers had brought significant changes in productivity. ACTESA expert, Argent Chula, pointed out that adding value to small-scale farmers' products through agro-processing would have an important role in increasing the income of farmers when compared to the direct export of primary agricultural products.

She added that financing value added activities for products would help Africa increase its competitiveness in global markets, and so improve state revenue earnings. The three day conference will be deliberating on ways to strengthen regional integration through the financing of value chains.