Ciara Varley, Angharad Johnston, Peter McKeown, Charles Spillane.
In March 2025, while running the ‘Consultative Workshop Co-Designing the Ethiopia Climate Smart Legume Production Guide’ in collaboration with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the LEG4DEV team from the University of Galway attended a week of bilateral meetings in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A part of the bilateral meeting schedule was a briefing visit to the Embassy of Ireland, Ethiopia.
The University of Galway team was delighted to be welcomed by H.E. Olivia Leslie, Ambassador of Ireland to Ethiopia and her team to discuss LEG4DEV research activities in the Addis Ababa city region, and across the country. Also invited to attend were the members of the parallel EU-funded DESIRA project EcoFoodSystems, also led by the University of Galway and partners, and supported by IFAD which works closely with food systems stakeholders to enable transitions of consumers in Addis Ababa towards diets that are more sustainable, affordable and healthy.
The LEG4DEV and EcoFoodSystems project teams from the University of Galway extend their thanks to Ambassador of Ireland to Ethiopia, H.E. Olivia Leslie, and her team for a warm welcome and a fruitful discussion on amplifying the impact of both projects in Ethiopia. LEG4DEV look forward to progressing our research and innovation activities in Ethiopia in the coming months, and alignments with the Irish Embassy’s priorities where possible.