Agri Service Ethiopia was established fifty years ago. For me, it was an honor to join the Board of Directors of Agri Service Ethiopia back in 2016.
Uninterrupted fifty years are major milestones for an institution serving the disadvantaged community in the remote and challenging environments, as it is for an individual. Our celebration is an occasion to pause and look back at this fifty year journey and a moment to look ahead to the future. Many people have been critical on this journey. I want to pay tribute to all who contributed to the success of ASE. The organization they created and worked for has an impeccable reputation and is continuously growing and adapting to address rural community needs.

Fifty years ago, Ethiopia was a slightly different place for farmers. Agriculture was and remains to this day the economic mainstay of the country. The farmers were mostly illiterate. We have higher literacy rate among farmers now, than ever before. Options for health care, education and other public services were rare. These areas have also somewhat improved. All the same, in Ethiopia, true today as fifty years ago, he/she who has the farmer has the country.

At any rate, it was fifty years ago, before some of the improvements were made to the life of the
Ethiopian farmers that a French Priest, Father Henri Raven (1920-2009), and some other Ethiopian and French men came together to start a nonprofit organization that went on to help improve the lives of rural farming communities by creating groundbreaking programs. In due time, the organization became the comprehensive and successful indigenous civil society organization we all know today; an organization on the lips of every Ethiopian farmer whose life it has touched.