UNOPS Ethiopia procured 400,000MT of Wheat on behalf of the Ethiopia government

It has been two years since the rapidly evolving pandemic has become a global crisis requiring a coordinated and coherent global response. In Ethiopia, the outbreak of COVID-19 has brought a tremendous pressure on the economy impacting the agriculture sector largely through disruption of the transport and logistics system that delivers vital agricultural inputs leading to reduced crop production.

The effects of the lockdown measures and the reduction in economic activity in the agricultural sector is having ripple effects on the entire economy and across the agriculture sector. This has consequently affected the food insecure households in rural communities and the urban vulnerable population with shortage of staple crops like wheat. This has resulted in the high rise of major staple food items’ prices which becomes unbearable for the people living in poverty. To this end UNOPS is requested by the government of Ethiopia to provide urgent support through emergency procurement to import wheat.

UNOPS has procured and delivered 106,900mt of wheat in 2021 that will be used as a market stabilization strategy for the inflated cost of food items observed following the COVID-19 pandemic. The remaining 293,100mt will be delivered in 2022.

UNOPS is working closely with the UN family, governments, and other partners to support all mitigation and response endeavors all over the world.