THE GLOBAL SUPPLY NETWORK

ACOS Ethiopia

Acos has been present in Ethiopia since 2005, when we first made contact with the Ethiopian Government about setting up a production plant near Addis Ababa, the country’s capital.
Since October 2006 Acos Ethiopia has been running at full capacity: it is a modern plant which is at the cutting edge not only for the horn of Africa but probably for the whole African continent. The plant is in Nazreth, about 100 km south-east of the capital, near the legume cultivation areas.

Plant
The plant employs 350 people. They work inside a new structure, designed to satisfy the most stringent hygiene and health requisites. The ultra-modern plant is in line with European standards for the farming and food industry and offers of a safe work environment in which operations are carried out in full respect of people’s rights. The plant, which covers a surface area of over 3,000 m², has modern machinery for legume processing, a high-tech optical selector, conveyor belts for hand picking and 6 steel silos equipped with external stairways, each with a capacity of around 1,000 tons. Through its plant in Ethiopia, Acos will be able to control the supply chain of legumes in Ethiopia, from the search for raw materials all the way to shipment of the merchandise to the final customers.
The processing in the plant regards above all Navy Pea Beans, but also Dark Red Kidney Beans, chickpeas and sesame seeds. Acos Ethiopia’s customers are the major legume and dry cereal processing industries, particularly Baked Bean producers. 

Research and development
Acos Ethiopia’s success is based on a combination of synergies, including the implementation of agreements with farming cooperatives for the cultivation of the legumes, which undertake to produce according to Acos quantity and quality specifications. Through an agreement with the Agricultural Research Centre (EIAR), research will be carried out aimed at studying the varieties of pulses best adapted to the Ethiopian pedo-climatic environment, leading to the definition of the best agronomic techniques. The institute will also deal with the improvement of varieties and the preservation of seed purity. All the know-how developed from the studies will be entirely passed on to the farmers, favouring the development of the Ethiopian agricultural sector, the true foundation of the economy of this African state.

Corporate Social Responsibility
To top off this cooperation, Acos is also committed in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility, and has undertaken to promote, along the entire production chain, respect for people, the prevention of discrimination of any kind, safety in the workplace, and protection and social development of the communities involved. Acos has also established a Primary Schools near to the agricultural cooperatives. This will provide the workers’ children with access to primary schooling, something that today is rare, thus also encouraging the social development of the community. In this way the workers of Acos Ethiopia will be able to work in the confidence that their children are in safe hands.