Annual Bright Future in Agriculture event inspires and motivates participants and partners

On 14 and 15 January the annual review and planning event of the project Bright Future in Agriculture (BFA) took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. All project partners attended and strengthened existing and new alliances. It was an inspirational event where achievements were reflected upon, next steps and new ideas were discussed and sister project BFA South was officially launched.

During the first day of the two-day event, the overall achievements of the first project year were reviewed. In 2019, BFA started building a network between the Technical Vocational Education & Training (TVET) and the private sector. This has been of great importance for raising awareness of TVET management and instructors and the opportunities that lie in working with the private sector.

The project can trust on the full support of the Dutch as well as the Ethiopian government. Deputy Ambassador of the Netherlands Thijs Woudstra highlighted the support of the Dutch Government on food security and business growth in the Ethiopian agricultural sector in his speech. TVETs are in the midst of these developments and important for the necessary skill development.

As a result of the support of both governments the project was able to develop with at least one activity every month, such as a value chain training, a training on gender awareness, fieldtrips, baseline studies, triple helix scoping sessions and meetings.

To keep the project in full speed, a busy but interesting planning has been composed for 2020. At the end of January, a leadership & management training at Maastricht School of Management (MSM) has been scheduled. Furthermore, dairy processing and horticulture trainings are planned and intervention plans will be finalized in the first months of the year.

Bright Future in Agriculture Award
During the event, the Bright Future in Agriculture award was introduced. The award was called into life to stimulate entrepreneurial behavior of TVET students. Because in the end, the project is about the future of the Ethiopian youth. The award is created in partnership with the Entrepreneurship Development Center (EDC) – Ethiopia and will be awarded to the most promising, innovative and feasible business idea.

Bright Future in Agriculture South
To conclude the two-day event a ceremonial inauguration for the new sister project, Bright Future in Agriculture South (BFA South) was organized. Project Director Huub Mudde of MSM and Dr. Yisehak Kechero of Arba Minch University signed the cooperation agreement to officially start working together on this new project.

This project is targeting explicitly the South region of Ethiopia (the axis Addis Ababa – Hawassa – Arba Minch), rich in vegetable and fruit production with high export opportunities and linkages with the Dutch horticultural businesses.

Attending project partners BFA:
Federal TVET Institute
Amhara TVED Bureau
Oromia TVET Bureau
Bako TVET college
Kombolcha TVET College
Merawi TVET College
Woreta TVET College
Maastricht School of Management
Q Point BV
Stellenbosch University
EPHEA
ECMA
Citaverde ATVET College

Attending project partners BFA south:
Arba Minch Univeristy
SNNPR Agricultural Bureau
Bishoftu Polytechnic College
Wolaita Soda TVET College
Alage TVET College
Maastricht School of Management
Q Point BV
Stellenbosch University
Scalda ATVET College
Acacia

Nuffc Orange Knowledge Programme
This project is part of the Orange Knowledge Programme. Nuffic OKP contributes to a society’s sustainable and inclusive development by providing access to education and training for professionals and organisations in technical vocational education and training (TVET) and higher education. It is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of its development cooperation policy. The subsidy programme is managed by Nuffic, a Dutch non-profit organisation for internationalisation in education. It offers funding for long-term, demand-driven partnerships between Dutch knowledge institutions and organisations in 19 participating countries, as well as individual scholarships and Tailor-Made Trainings in all 53 selected countries. The € 195-m, five-year programme ends mid-2022, enabling tens of thousands to change their future. From the Dutch development cooperation policy, 4 priority themes have been selected on which to focus in the programme: Food and Nutrition Security; Water, Energy and Climate; Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights; and Security and Rule of Law. Cross-cutting themes in this programme are inclusion, employability and environmental sustainability.

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