A three year project aiming to introduce a Geographical Indications (GIs) system suited to the Ethiopian local and national context through designing a legislative framework, implementing a pilot GI on coffee and capacity-building efforts among private and public sectors inaugurated on 24 May, 2023 at Addis Ababa.
In the framework of this project, a French program funded by AFD, Ethiopian Intellectual Property Authority (EIPA), Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA), Jimma University, and CIRAD collaborate to implement the project “Geographical Indications for Origin-linked Products in Ethiopia”.
His Excellency Dr. Belete Molla, Minister of Innovation and Technology announced the official launch of the project and said that it is very important to guide Ethiopia’s well-known agricultural products through the GI system because it enables to enhance economic development and market competitiveness.
Former Director General of the EIPA His Excellency Dr. Ermias Yemanebarhan explained the work done to introduce GI and said that as Ethiopia is potentially endowed with valuable agricultural products it is important to implement the system to benefit systematically from it. Director General of ECTA, Dr. Adugna Debala, also spoke about the benefits of the system in the coffee sector.
The coordinators and representatives of the project explained the purpose and implementation of the project and a discussion was held with the participants.
