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Ottawa, April 22, 2013 -- The Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) is partnering with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to help small landholder farmers in Ethiopia better cope with climate change.
The Amhara region of northern Ethiopia provides much of the nation's food needs. Deforestation, declining rainfall and unsustainable farming practices are contributing to environmental degradation in this sensitive region.
CCA will work with two local natural resource associations, Ethio-Wetlands Natural Resources Association (EWNRA) and Self Help Africa (SHA) to help 12,000 farmers learn environmentally friendly techniques to increase their economic, social and ecological resilience to climate change.
"Climate change is a critical issue in Ethiopia," says CCA Senior Director, International Development Jo-Anne Ferguson. "Farmer co-operatives are natural avenues for introducing important new knowledge and practices that help these and other vulnerable rural communities adapt to climate changes and protect and improve their livelihoods."
Farmers will be introduced to drought resistant seeds, people powered irrigation pumps, tree planting, minimum tillage practices and other conservation farming techniques that restore forests and grasslands by conserving water resources, preserving soil fertility and preventing soil erosion.
The fifteen-month project will also strengthen the capacity of farmer owned co-operative enterprises to stabilize and improve farmer livelihoods by improving the production, storage and marketing of vegetables, ground nut, linseed, and garlic that they grow and by linking farmers to sources of needed credit.
"It is appropriate to launch this climate change initiative on Earth Day," said Ms. Ferguson. "People in Canada and around the world are using the co-operative model to sustainably manage and preserve the earth's resources for future generations."
The project has a budget of $2.128 million. Of that, $1.8 million will come from CIDA. Nearly $320,000 will be raised for the project by the Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada.
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For further Information contact:
David Shanks, Manager Publications and Media Relations
David.shanks@coopscanada.coop
275 Bank St., Suite 400, Ottawa, Ontario K2P 2L6
613 238-6711 ext. 207 Toll Free 1-866-266-7677
The Canadian Co-operative Association is a national association for co-operatives in Canada, representing more than nine million co-operative and credit union members across the country. CCA provides leadership to promote, develop, and unite co-operatives and credit unions for the benefit of people in Canada and around the world. CCA members come from many sectors of the economy, including finance, insurance, agri-food and supply, wholesale and retail, housing, healt, and the service sector. Visit our web site at www.coopscanada.coop
The Canadian Co-operative Association gratefully acknowledges the Canadian International Development Agency for their continued support.
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