The State of Eritrea

Ministry of Agriculture Newsletter

A Monthly Newsletter Prepared by the Public Relations Division, Issue No 54, December, 2022

Eritrean Women in Agri-business Association:
A Promising Women Entrepreneurship

The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) of the State ofEritrea is working with a goal to ensure safe andnutritious food security. As a result, it has been
seeking different ways to reach this goal. Providing
technological support and creating enabling
environment to small and medium commercial
farmers (SMCFs) is one of the focus of the MoA. The
overall goal of the Small and Medium Commercial
Farmers Strategy (SMCFS) is “to support farmers whoengage in highly-productive, profitable agriculture
value chains linked to domestic and international
markets by 2028. The SMCFs will supply domestic
agro-industries with high-value agricultural products,
contribute to higher farmers’ incomes, utilize natural
resources in a sustainable manner and generate a
growing high-quality employment.”

Ms. Senait Tesfaldet

In this regard, women, who make up 50% of the society,must be provided with conducive environment andthat is why the MoA encourages active participationof women in agribusiness through promoting tailoredcapacity building programmes and other supports.
The Eritrean Women in Agri-bussines Association(EWAA) is one of the beneficiaries. The Public
Relations Division of the MoA has conducted aninterview with Ms. Senait Tesfaldet and Ms. Genet
Bekuretsion, Chairperson and Deputy Chairpersonof the association respectively, to brief our readerson the general establishment and activities of EWAA,
and also with Ms. Selamawit Mekonen, Secretaryof the association and chairperson of the COMESAFederation of Women in Business (COMFWB) EritreaChapter, to highlight on the current activities of theFederation.

Ms. Senait: Just to start with its background, it began
as part of African Women’s Agri-business Network in
2003 through the National Chamber of Commerceby Ms. Tsehaytu Daniel, who is tasked with capacity
development of women’s businesses. At that time, its
objective was focused on networking of women whoare engaged in agricultural businesses in the Hornof Africa region and connecting them to sustainablenetwork of markets. Although there were no women
who had achieved export capacity at that time, Ms.
Tsehaytu dared to organize a total of 10 committed
women, including myself, with a vision that wewould steadily grow to that level. This organization
continued until 2013 focusing mainly on the carryingout of training courses. Since it started engagementwith the MoA, the number of its members grew
bigger. Ultimately, it transformed in to a recognizedassociation under the umbrella of the MoA and
officially embraced a new name: EWAA.

Question (Q): Please introduce yourselves to ourreaders.
Answer (A): My name is Senait Tesfalidet. I am theChairperson of Eritrean Women in Agri-business
Asscociation (EWAA).
A: And I am Genet Bekuretsion, Deputy Chairpersonof (EWAA).

Q: What was the initial number of EWAA’s members
and how inclusive and impactful was the latterorganization?
A: When it was organized in 2013, it had a total of 30
members. With the view of having a national scope,it, soon, started to carry out promotional activities inall regions of our country to increase its membership

Q: Ms. Senait, let’s start with a brief explanation ofEWAA’s objectives and activities?

1scope, which, at the beginning, stood beyond one
hundred. However, many of the women who joined
the association couldn’t sustain their membershipdue to lack of awareness. They had an expectationthat associations support with supplies and facilities
at a reasonable cost; whereas our association focuseson equipping women with continued training. To date,
we can’t dare to say that this association is strong, interms of outreach, as it should be. However, we havemanaged to win the interest of around 35 new young
women who became members recently and havealready completed a training course.
Q: So, can we attribute the major challenge of theassociation to lack of awareness?
A: Yes. There has been an apparent lack of awarenessregarding the merits of training. Generally, many
people, including women, tend to focus on thefinancial, technical and other aspects of investment
rather than on the prime need of investing on
their minds. We could sustain our agri-businesses,
against all odds, flexibly, thanks to the continued
training courses we have been taking. Yet, we could
recently witness steadily growing awareness among
members and the concerned women with regards toimportance of trainings. There are several members
who continuously ask about training courses thatare on the pipeline. This is my personal perspective
regarding the underlying problem.

Ms. Genet Bekuretsion

with major focus on management, book-keeping,customer handling, coaching and the like; and took
the form of a regular class of three-week period. Then,starting in 2013, more advanced training courses,
which are anchored on practical needs assessment,
were conducted. For instance, as for myself, thetrainers visited my nursery and horticultural businessin advance and carried out needs assessment forme. They also did the same thing with the otherassociation members who are engaged in different
fields of agri-business. Then, they gave us tailored
training based on the study’s conclusions. The
training lasted for around two months and had direct
impact on our businesses.

Q: How many training courses have been organized
by EWAA since its official establishment in 2013?

Furthermore, we have become beneficiaries ofseveral short training courses in several fields such as
management and entrepreneurship.

A: Well, they are not few; 50 to 60 trainig courses. The
training courses we took previously were basic ones

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Equally, worth mentioning is the fact that theassociation, in collaboration with the MoA and otherstakeholders, has ensured that members of thisassociation get training through exposure visits andshort courses in different countries like Japan, China,India, Kenya, Israel and other countries.
Q: Okay, let me direct my question to Ms. Genet
Bekuretsion, Deputy Chairperson of EWAA: Howdiverse are the agri-business engagements of thisassociation’s members?
Ms. Genet: They are engaged in almost all aspectsof agricultural production activities, namely; poultry,mushroom, livestock fattening, rabbit, horticulture,crops, food processing and spices, among others. We
are confident that there are many potentially capable
women in all spheres of agricultural production.

Training and Consultancy. They give us many training
opportunities. There are individual resource persons
like Dr. Abel Tedla and Mr. Tekeste Asgedom whogive us management-related training courses aswell. The National Confederation of Eritrean Workers(NCEW) has also become an important stakeholder,assisting us in various areas. The MoA, above all, hasenabled us to work efficiently under its umbrella.
The Association of Eritreans in Agricultural Sciences(AEAS) is also one of our stakeholders which has beenhighly involved in organizing training courses for us.
We share a lot of factors in common.

Q: What advantages can interested women get fromjoining this association?
A: The major advantage they get is enlightenment.
If they exactly know what they can do, they can becompetitive. So, we usually stress on sustainabletrainings. We are always engaged on trainings
and refresher courses and because of this we arewitnessing growing potential of producing export-standard processed and packaged products.

Q: How is EWAA related to COMESA Federation of
Women in Business (COMFWB)?

Q: Ms. Senait, let me come back to you, what are thecriteria for membership in EWAA?

A: We have started working together recently. Sofar, we have engaged in joint training sessions andmonthly bazar events. So, we have got opportunities
to display our products to our people directly. Inaddition, EWAA took part in COMFWB’s meeting inUganda and a subsequent annual bazar which washosted by Zambia. A cooperation of this type has
opened a doorway to many opportunities for ourassociation.

A: According to the association’s policy, female
individuals who are 18 years and above, who have
two years of experience in agri-business can bemembers of EWAA.
Q: Okay, Ms. Senait, please brief us about EWAA’s
stakeholders and the joint activities thereof.
We work closely with SMAP - Institute of Education,3

Q: What direct technical support does the MoA give
to EWAA?

various initial loan opportunities. We are working tothis effect in collaboration with the NCEW.

A: The MoA is not merely a stakeholder. We areworking under its umbrella. On top of this, it organizes
free training courses through its experts whenever it isnecessary and it is through this ministry that we securesupplies –For example, improved seeds, rabbits,
technical and material support for the mushroom
production group among others. The MoA has greatrole in making EWAA’s endeavors impactful.

We further focus on encouraging members to engage
themselves in group-owned agri-businesses, whichenable us to organize more in-depth and fine-tuned
training courses. Currently, we are making more focus
on in-depth courses and exploring loan opportunities
in a bid to equip new members adequately in a shortperiod of time.

Q: Does your association carry out promotional
activities targeting its potential audience or customers?
A: Well, we can’t dare to say that we have disseminatedads. It had once got media coverage through DimtsiHafash radio program and Tigre news paper, Eritriye
Haddas. We can’t even figure out the impact of thispromotion. What we can say, for sure, is that there issteadily growing awareness about EWAA.
Q: What are the planned programs of EWAA for thefuture?
A: We have a plan to lay a groundwork for members
to put the knowledge they have acquired into practiceand thereby ensure businesses growth based on

Q: Any final words you would like to add?
Ms. Senait: I thank you for making special focus tocover EWAA’s activities and I would like to encourage
concerned women to pay attention to the meritsof membership and thus avail themselves to bebeneficiaries of the growing opportunities.
Ms. Genet: Let me just add one remark here: It has beenclear to us that many of our members are struggling
with securing packaging materials for their products.
So, I’d like to remind the MoA and other stakeholders
to ensure a means through which our association can
get packaging materials for its members.
Thank you!

A Highlight on COMFWB, Eritrea Chapter
COMESA Federation of Women in Business (COMFWB)
embraces women who are engaged in businesses
activities and are members of associations.
Subordinating the chairperson of the federation’s
national chapter, exists a hierarchy of different officers:
Liaison Officer and then a team of an executive bodythat is composed of the chairpersons of the relevant
national associations of women. In Eritrea, there
are five national associations of this type, namely;
Eritrean Women in Agri-business Association (EWAA),
Association of Fish Processing and Fishnet Making,
Association of Ceramics and Handcrafting, Associationof Fashion Designers, as well as Association of Weaving
Business.
These national associations carry out their respective
activities independently and when they started
engagement with COMFWB, their chairpersons
became members of the national chapter’s executive
body immediately. Such an organizational system
ensures a workflow that enables members of thenational associations to have connection with
COMFWB’s activities through their respective
association chairpersons.

Ms. Selamawit Mekonen

On the other side, there could be women members ofnational associations who do not wish to be membersof COMFWB. So, the federation requires that womencomplete the membership form.
Ms. Selamawit Mekonen, is currently working as
the Secretary of Eritrean Women in Agri-business

4Association, as well as Founder and Chairperson ofCOMFWB’s Chapter in Eritrea. In explaining about thecourse of the chapter’s establishment in Eritrea, Ms.
Selamawit points out that the initiative thereof wasinspired in 2019 in connection with her exposure toa conference which was hosted by African Free Trade
Continental Area in Addis Ababa, where she took partas a member of EWAA. She further explains that athen-new Eritrean CEO for COMESA, Ms. Ruth Negash,
who was tasked with the founding of COMFWBchapters in various African countries, played a bigrole in encouraging her to work on the federation’s
establishment in Eritrea.
“Ms. Ruth held talks with all the participating
women from 21 African countries, including me, andencouraged us to ensure that all pertinent women’s
associations get organized under the umbrella of
the Ministry of Trade and Industries with the intentof opening an office thereof and guaranteeingorganizational structure as well as a clear work plan.
COMFWB was due to replace FEMCOM, which didn’t
bring about active participation from many Africancountries. In Eritrea the local activities were carriedout through the support of the National Union ofEritrean Women,” Ms. Selamawit explains.
According to her, although she engaged herself
actively in the pursuit of expediting the federation’s
establishment in Eritrea following her return fromthe conference, the subsequent global challenge of
COVID-19 pandemic had impeded and complicatedthe possible cooperation among the concerned parties
such as the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry ofTrade and Industry. The noble first step was federating
the existing relevant associations of women, including
EWAA. Even during the pandemic, some informal
mutual efforts were underway with a view of laying
the groundwork for its establishment.
Ms. Selamawit gives further details as follows:“Meanwhile, Ms. Ruth encouraged me to keep trackof all COMFWB meetings that were being conductedvirtually so that Eritrea doesn’t fall behind the other
African nations due to a possible vacuum which could
result in the suspensions of the formal establishment
and legalization of the chapter in Eritrea. Then, in July
2021, His Excellency Mr. Osman Saleh, Foreign Ministerof Eritrea, focused on the importance of the matter,
while Ms. Ruth emerged successful in federating all
the 21 African countries, and a decision was taken by
the government to establish it urgently.”
His Excellency Mr. Arefaine Berhe was tasked with theprocess of setting up COMFWB’s chapter in Eritrea
under the umbrella of the Ministry of Agriculture(MoA) and the fact that there were already fiveidentified relevant associations of women was agood stepping stone to this end. The new COMFWB’schapter was welcomed by the MoA and a total of30 representatives could immediately participate
in the first training course on Financial Literacy andProduct Internationalization that was organized forparticipants from the 21 member states. This was thetime COMFWB was officially established in Eritrea andembraced its first continental activity. Therefore, we
had to subsequently present financial, pictorial andnarrative report vis-à-vis the training budget, Ms.
Selamawit said.
Ms. Selamawit further sheds light on the fact that they
were in a position to be represented by six members
in COMFWB’s regional trade fair in Zambia, right after
one month, in September, thanks to the Ministry ofAgriculture and the Ministry of Marine Resources
co-funds for the five participants. They could display
a gratifying number of products there.
Such a debut of participation also gave
rise to quick acquisition of experienceand thus moved the executive body of thenational chapter to focus on two things:
Proper harnessing of local resources
and standardization targeting productdemonstration on events of this type. Asa result of this, it locally staged first bazaarof women’s products in December 2021,
just after two months. The event was set

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in coincidence with New Year and its outcome wascommendable.

we could earn a gratifying country image, which isvery crucial in building partner confidence in all tradetransactions, especially given our region’s volatile
political situation. We heard overwhelming personal
testimonials from the participants concerning thisand it motivated us a lot,” she said.

Ms. Selamawit indicates that, at the beginningof this year, COMFWB’s Chapter in Eritrea waswell institutionalized and equipped, utilizing its
budget under the regulatory role of the Ministry ofAgriculture.

Moreover, the Eritrean Chapter participated in theAnnual General Meeting of COMFWB. Concurently,
11 members participated in the 3rd annual COMFWB
Trade Fair Program convened in Kampala, Uganda fromthe 24th-26th August of 2022. The team displayed agribusiness, fisheries, weaving, ceramics and fashiondesigned products. From a total of 19 participating
countries, Eritrea was awarded: ‘The Best Presenterof the Year’ for its upper the varieties of products,
number of presenters and greater exhibition area. Ms.
Selemawit also commended the role of the Eritrean
Embasy in Uganda and the Eritrean community fordecorating the display areas and for rendering allround assistance for the exhibition.

“Then it was time to organize a second training
course on Trade Readiness for Export, which isfine-tuned in the context of regional scope, and 54
women became beneficiaries of this training course.
It is logical that success in regional trade exchange isan indispensable prerequisite for continental trade.
So, the 21 African member states are divided into five
regional categories: The Horn region, Eastern region,
Indian Ocean region, Southern region and Northernregion” She adds.
Ms. Selamawit further explains that: COMFWB wasdue to hold the Horn of Africa’s regional summit ofthis year and, to our surprise, Eritrea was approachedto host it as the only candidate country based on
the merit of its sustainable peace. Otherwise, themajority of the region’s countries surpass Eritrea interms of experience on the organization. “So, wemanaged to host an impressive three-day summit,
from 27th to 30th of July, witnessing participants fromSudan, the Chair of the region, Zambia board chair ofCOMFWB, Somalia, Djibouti and Eritrea, besides thepresence of the Chairperson of entire COMFWB”, shesaid.

Meanwhile, the national chapter of COMFWB
has been staging monthly product bazars seeking
continued improvements towards standardization.
There, products like hand crafts, agricultural product,ceramic products and others are regularly displayedand sold. This strategy entails dependence ontechnical and voluntary popular feedbacks that arereceived in written form during such events. Then, themembers of the executive board engage themselves
on immediate assessment meetings. So far, they havestaged a total of eight bazars, and thus registering
remarkable impetus in product improvement,
packaging and pricing, among others.

“Therefore our outstanding state of peace was also
promoted through the hosting of this summit andEditor-In-Chief: Ermias Solomon, Director of Public Relations Division: Email:- ersohab@gmail.com, Tel: 182225/ 07143877
Editorial Board: Filmawit Measho, Sophia Fekadu Translator: Medhanie Tsegai
Photo Credit: Aradom Bereket, Habteab Andemariam, Abraham Berhane

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