ADDIS ABABA – The opposition party, Ethiopian Citizen for Social Justice Leader and aknown Economist Berhanu Nega said, the country’s economy will not suffer further harm if the agriculture sector is spared the brunt of the pandemic. Otherwise, he said, the challenge will be high.
He told EPA’s journalists that agriculture is what underpins country’s economy and from which the largest segment of the population eke out a living. Luckily COVID-19 has not yet set its tentacles on this backbone of country’s economy. Except floriculture and horticulture, it has not started challenging the highest agriculture sector.
In addition, it has surfaced before the production time and still it has not encroached on rural areas. If it is march is halted and if agricultural production proves Okay up to next year, the economy will befine.
But if it the opposite turns out to be true, the country will be confronted by hunger. So the economic challenge of the pandemic depends on how much the nation averts it and which type of economic sectors could be challenged by the pandemic. So it is very critical and it needs higher attention, the politician stated.
As to him, the pandemic has made it negative influence felt through decreasing foreign exchange. It has curtailed exports. The stay at home message has contained foreign remittances .This has led to higher limitation of exchange.
Berhanu also appreciated the government’s apt response in forestalling impacts of the virus here. It is doing its best to cushion the challenge. This is a good move to buttress the economy. But it is difficult to expect the government to inject relief into the sector fully. That’s why most African countries are not focused on barring everything. The people and the government do not have a capacity to cater to needs. Ethiopia is also doing the same, he added.
The Ethiopian Herald Sunday Edition 24/2020
BY GENET FEKADE
