KOPIA Ethiopia Center

KOPIA ETHIOPIA CENTER News Letter, monthly edition.

From May 18–20, 2026, the KAFACI Annual Evaluation Meeting was held at the Capital Hotel, bringing together delegates from over 25 African nations, alongside partners from Africa Rice, EIAR and RDA Korea. The opening ceremony featured inspiring remarks from EIAR Director General Prof. Nigussie Dechassa and a congratulatory message from Dr. Song Yong-sup, Director of KOPIA Ethiopia Center, highlighting major achievements in climate-smart agriculture, pest management, and soil-livestock intensification. Participants engaged in parallel project sessions, field visits to Holetta ARC, and country-by-country evaluations. Together, we are not just reviewing progress, we are cultivating a food-secure future for Africa.

https://www.inews365.com/news/article.html?no=919697

[충북일보] 에티오피아 농촌, 청년과 여성의 역할을 찾아서 에티오피아 수도 아디스아바바에서 비쇼프투 농업연구센터로 향하는 차창 밖 농촌 들녘은 평화롭기만 하다. 하지만 이곳에서 농업은 단순한 산업이 아니라 생존과 직결된 삶의 방식이다. 그 중심에 서 있는 청년과 여성의 현실...

On May 15, 2026 the Ethio–Korea ODA Profile Review Meeting was held at the Ministry of Finance in Addis Ababa, bringing together H.E. Ms. Semereta Sewasew, State Minister of M*F, and H.E. Mr. Jung Kang, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, alongside key agencies including KOPIA, K-EXIM, KOICA and KOFIH.
KOPIA Ethiopia Center, celebrating 15 years of impact (2011–2026), showcased its achievements: over 40 crop varieties introduced, 7 improved vegetable varieties registered, 200 farmers trained annually, and 30+ publications. A new project (2026–2028) was unveiled to improve livelihoods and food systems through sustainable soil health technologies in Ada’a and Becho plains.
The meeting reaffirmed Korea’s commitment to aligning ODA with Ethiopia’s national reform priorities and deepening long-term agricultural cooperation, strengthening Korea-Ethiopia Partnership for Agricultural Innovation.

The KOPIA Ethiopia Center and EIAR brought together a dedicated refinement team (8 members) in Addis Ababa (KOPIA Eth Center Meeting Hall) to fine-tune the new Technical Cooperation Project (TCP) on Soil Health Technologies. The two-day workshop (May 12–13, 2026) focused on making the TCP document practical, integrated, and ready for joint implementation—turning pipes and pumps into lasting farm-level success. We expect the new project to take a step forward through this fruitful workshop.

Two officials from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Ethiopia, the Consul in charge of Overseas Safety and the Defense Attaché, visited the KOPIA Ethiopia Center. (May 6th 2026)

The KOPIA team visited apple nursery and research fields of Holetta ARC and participated on farmers training on April 29, 2026. On April 30, 2026 Dr. Song Yong-sup (Director, KOPIA), Dr. Adugna W. (Advisor), Dr. Direba H. (Director, Holetta ARC) & Mr. Hong (KOPIA Expert) with three staff members (Habtom, Bereket & Oboye) of Hansol Paper Co., Ltd. Company have visited ATC (Agricultural Training Center), Demonstration Site, Irrigation & Water Supply reservoir for potable water at Becho/Teji Ground Water Irrigation Project and Rural Development. The team holds bright expectations and higher hopes for the overall initiative, with optimistic views on both the current Becho site activities and the upcoming project, namely ‘Improving Livelihood and Food Systems through Soil Health Technologies in Becho and Ada’a Plains of Ethiopia’.

A meeting was held in Adama with the Director of KOPIA Ethiopia Center and officials from KAMT (Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative) on April 22, 2026.
The meeting aimed to share the status of agricultural machinery training and rental programs and to assess local demand for agricultural machinery.
The KAMT program contributes to improving the level of agricultural mechanization through machinery training and rental systems.
To expand the use of agricultural machinery, it is essential to provide maintenance and repair training alongside equipment support, and further expansion of related programs should be considered. The KOPIA Ethiopia Center plans to improve the performance of the project by providing agricultural machinery education to farmers when implementing the new project.