About the project

• Background

  Ethiopia continues to face major challenges related to food security, nutrition, climate change, and sustainable agricultural development, despite rapid economic growth over the past two decades. Agriculture remains the primary livelihood for the majority of the population, yet productivity growth is slowing due to land and soil degradation, climate variability, reliance on rain fed systems, limited access to technology, and high post harvest losses. At the same time, access to affordable and nutritious food—particularly fruits, vegetables, pulses, and animal source foods—remains uneven.

  In response, Ethiopia has launched comprehensive national strategies, including the Home Grown Economic Reform, the Ten Year Development Plan (2021–2030), and the Ethiopian Food Systems (EFS) framework, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Food Systems Summit Action Tracks. These policies emphasize the critical role of higher education, research, and innovation in building institutional capacity, developing sustainable technologies, and supporting evidence based policymaking for food system transformation.

  Within this context, Norway has been a longstanding development partner of Ethiopia, promoting sustainable food systems through capacity building, inclusive growth, and environmentally responsible food production. The institutional collaboration between Hawassa University (HU), Mekelle University (MU), and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) has been a cornerstone of this partnership for nearly three decades.

• About Phase V (2022-2028): Strengthening Ethiopian food systems

  Phase V of the Institutional Collaboration Program (ICP V) builds on over 25 years of successful partnership between HU, MU, and NMBU. The program focuses on strengthening Ethiopian food systems through education, research, and policy dialogue, fully aligned with Ethiopia’s Food Systems priorities, national development plans, and climate‑resilient strategies.

  The ongoing phase emphasizes human and institutional capacity development, strengthening linkages between higher education, action‑oriented research, and policy processes. It supports PhD, Master’s, and short‑term training programs, applied and interdisciplinary research, and structured dialogue with key stakeholders, including government institutions, regional authorities, NGOs, and the Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI).

  Key thematic areas are aligned with the Ethiopian Food Systems Action Areas and address critical challenges such as sustainable agricultural production, nutrition‑sensitive food systems, climate resilience, equitable livelihoods, and evidence‑based policy development. By building on the enhanced research infrastructure and academic capacity developed in previous phases, Phase V aims to generate usable knowledge, pilot and disseminate sustainable solutions, and contribute to policies that improve food security, livelihoods, and resilience.

  Through continued institutional collaboration, ICP V seeks to deliver long‑term impacts by strengthening universities as drivers of national development, supporting the transformation of Ethiopia’s food systems, and contributing to sustainable and inclusive growth.

  The ICP-V programme initiatives:

  Initiative 1: Human and institutional capacity development in HU, MU, and stakeholder

  Initiative 2: Research, Dissemination and Community Engagement

  Initiative 3: Linking Research and Policy

• Partner universities

  • NMBU
  • Hawassa University
  • Mekelle University

Project participants from NMBU

• Researchers

• Coordinators

External project participants

• Hawassa University

  Dr. Chirotaw Ayele Gizaw

  President

  Dr. Tafesse Matewos Karo

  Vice President for Research and Collaboration

  Dr. Andargachew Gedebo Abitea

  Program coordinator at HU

• Mekelle University

  Dr. Fana Hagos Berhane

  President

  Dr. Eyasu Yazew Hagos

  Vice President for Research and Collaboration

  Dr. Mekonen Teferi Gebrehiwot

  Program coordinator at HU