Addis Ababa: The Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today signed a regional program for Livestock and Pastoralism Climate Adaptation in Eastern Africa. Over centuries pastoralists have provided ecosystem service that are difficult to convert into commercial values, which those intangible values comprising of many interrelated environmental benefits. Livestock in pastoral areas has multiple roles including economic, social and cultural functions, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. The program will be implemented in four cross-border cluster areas namely Mandera, Karamoja, Mara-Sereneti and Bahr Al Arab covering seven countries; Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Our Country Ethiopia is represented in the Mandera and Karamoja Clusters. This program is funded by the EU to the tune of 47 million Euro, of which 6.25 million Euro is for Ethiopia. State Minister of Agriculture, Fikru Regasa said that we fight the impact of climate change an d we are working hard to deal with the effects of climate change, especially in the pastoral area. The state minister added that we will work together to implement the program signed today with the World Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). On the Occasion, FAO Representative to Ethiopia Farayi Zimudzi on her part said that this program is in line with FAOs strategic framework of Better Production, Better Nutrition, Better Environment and Better Life. She added that the ministry of agriculture is the principal implementing partner in this project, playing coordination roles at federal, national and cluster level. This program is expected to enhance the resilience to natural and man made disasters of pastoral and agropastoral communities in the target areas. Source: Ethiopian News Agency