In the fertile highlands of Ethiopia, farming shapes daily life and underpins the economy. Yet across Africa, the challenge is intensifying. By 2050, the continent's population will reach 2.2 billion. Food production will need to triple to meet demand - in a system where losses are high and yields low. At the same time, climate change is disrupting rainfall, extreme weather is damaging harvests, fertile soil is being lost at alarming rates, and water sources depleted and polluted.
Ethiopia has made important strides in boosting domestic food production, as recognized at the Second United Nations Food Systems Summit Stock take this week. The UK is supporting Ethiopia's own strategies by strengthening sustainable agricultural productivity and building long-term resilience so farming communities and agribusinesses can continue to thrive in a challenging climate and environment under stress.
This week in Addis Ababa, I saw how this partnership is changing lives. At Green Agro Solutions, I met with the impressive Ethiopian entrepreneurs at Green Agro who have pioneered a new platform that is already serving 300,000 smallholder farmers. Their platform offers better access to credit, soil information, weather forecasts, market prices, and tailored advice on more climate and nature positive production practices - with a human face in the villages where farmers live. This is helping to increase yields, earn more and build resilience to climate change, and create jobs for young people in farming communities and on the digital platform in Addis. It's an amazing story - we hope Green Agro reach their ambition to reach one million farmers by 2030.
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At the Melkam dairy farm, I saw how they are working to develop, produce and sell an organic liquid fertilizer for Ethiopia derived from the bi-product (bio-slurry) of its cows and dairy produce business. This offers a greener, more accessible alternative to chemical fertilizers - boosting yields and incomes. Both Melkam and Green Agro are supported through the UK's Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA) programme, that helps farming businesses improve their productivity, and helps Ethiopian agribusinesses grow and create jobs, including for youth.
We've also supported other manufacturing companies, like Love grass, who are turning teff, Ethiopia's ancient grain, into nutritious products sold worldwide, working directly with smallholder farmers to improve rural incomes.
Nature preservation (including wetlands, grasslands, soils and forests) underpins our food systems. Nature regulates climate, prevents floods, and supports harvests. Protecting it is critical.
Farmers in Ethiopia understand that healthy wider ecosystems are central to food security and climate resilience. Forests such as the Congo Basin influence rainfall patterns that sustain 300 million people across Africa, including Ethiopian farmers who depend on reliable seasons. That is why the UK has been such a strong advocate for the international Congo Basin initiative, which we hope to discuss at the upcoming Africa Climate Summit 2 here in Addis.
At home, the British Government works with farmers to support nature-friendly, sustainable agriculture that improves soil health and biodiversity, with more than 50,000 farm businesses benefitting from farming schemes. We are applying these lessons from the UK to our work in Ethiopia and across the world.
For example, in Ethiopia, the UK's Darwin Initiative and the UK's renowned Kew Gardens are supporting more than 20 biodiversity projects that are restoring forests, protecting watersheds, and improving soil fertility. These actions directly benefit communities by increasing crop yields, stabilizing water supplies, and creating healthier local environments.
And more broadly, our support to African continental frameworks like the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Plan (CAADP) and the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), alongside our efforts to drive more sustainable investments in Africa's food and agriculture sector, is boosting trade and supporting farmers across the continent to grow more food, protect their environments, and adapt to a changing climate.
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The UK's approach is fully aligned with the goals of the United Nations Food Systems Summit Stock take that took place in Addis Ababa this week: innovation, investment, and collaboration.
This summit was an opportunity to turn commitments into action. The UK-Ethiopia partnership shows what can be achieved when innovation, investment, and local leadership work together: stronger rural economies, more sustainable farming, and restored ecosystems. The tools are already in place. Digital platforms, modern processing facilities, and conservation projects are proving their worth. With sustained collaboration and targeted investment, these solutions can grow to meet the challenges ahead.
Ethiopia's experience shows that building sustainable food systems is possible when partnerships are genuine and resources reach the communities driving change. As we prepare for November's CoP climate negotiations in Brazil, where food systems and forest protection will be central topics, Ethiopia and UK together offer valuable examples of practical, integrated solutions.
