BY MENGESHA AMARE
Needless to state, agriculture in Ethiopia has always been the mainstay of the economy. However, as the sector has not yet been received the right form of policy and strategic interventions as it deserves, the country has long been dependent on aid and assistance. This has also hindered the country’s ambition to achieve agricultural transformation.
The sector plays a pivotal role in terms of production in the country’s economy and is the fundamental driver of the rural economy. It accounts for a meaningful share of GDP, export earnings and employment. Surprisingly, Ethiopia’s agriculture has still been characterized by low throughput and poor vintages in spite of the good climatic conditions prevail in almost all parts of the nation.
Of the country’s estimated 110 million people, over 60 percent live in rural areas, the majority of which is engaged in agricultural activities for survival and constituting the bulk of the poor in the country.
These smallholder farmers, who unfortunately lack the investment capital to improve production and develop the agriculture sector, contribute over 65 percent of all agriculture production and nearly all food production.
This sector has to be prioritized if Ethiopia is to bring about real change in all aspects as it has been contributing a lot to the overall development and growth of the country.
These days, especially for the past six or so years, the sector has been receiving special attention in the effort to ensure food self-sufficiency, and expand export if possible.
To achieve these goals, the government has capitalized on developing potential state farms in various parts of the country. The irrigated agriculture wheat farm in Oromia State is a case in point in this regard where higher government officials including the prime minister paid a field visit.
The farm is found in Gemeda Kebele at Akaki woreda of Oromia State. Visiting an irrigated lowland wheat development along with a number of federal, and state officials, Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed said, “If we work hard and increase production, we can easily hit two main targets: we confidently feed all citizens and substitute import.”
Appreciating the initiative in the areas, the Prime Minister said it is a viable means to expand best practices gained from one area to other places.
Such a lucrative approach needs to be promoted to various places and the projects should be commenced in other places too, he said.
“Some donors would like to twist our hands providing us with their aid and endowments. The best remedy for such discreditable acts is working hard employing all possible means with a view to scaling up production and productivity to the extent that our capacity can substitute imports,” he underlined.
The splendid initiatives demonstrated in a range of sectors such as agriculture, tourism, trade and innovation, have to be well consolidated and expanded to many areas and equip farmers with the required skills and technologies to be much more productive.
Ethiopia is highly endowed with multifarious resources and abundant assets. “What have challenged our positive move which is instrumental in making a difference in all aspects are the inability to think out of the box,” he added.
According to the Prime Minister, if the country is in a position to effectively utilize its resources and potential possessions, it is easy to bring about change and prosperity within the shortest time possible.
In areas with high population densities, smallholder farmers usually cultivate small farmlands in combination with livestock or animal husbandry.
As deduced from the activities revolving around the sector, the federal government and state administrations have a major role to play for the sustainability of agriculture projects to a greater extent. However, to a lesser extent, other stakeholders in the sector have to be brought on board to perform their functions to redeem the trust and have the sector run in a sustainable manner.
Of course, this involves looking at other influencing factors like politics and climate change patterns whose impact has to be looked at and issues involved addressed.
Leaving the agriculture sector to be run in a traditional fashion leads nowhere. This bearing has a negative impact on the sustainability of agriculture projects implemented in either rural communities or urban localities.
This has been a clear manifestation that the regional governments have a role to play in ensuring the sustainability of agricultural projects in various parts of the country, especially in areas incorporated in their demarcation.
True, bringing the youth into the sector is significantly useful in promoting production and productivity.
Of course, prime challenges related to institutional governance including weakness in planning and implementation of government projects and plans, the prevalence of poor service delivery, lack of adherence to financial management procedures, corruption and misappropriation of public resources, weak monitoring and supervision of the local governments are attributable to the low level of production.
Besides, inadequate extension services, lack of participation and ownership from the farmers, dependency syndrome and the poor climatic conditions are expected to be done away with if the country, in general, is ready to stamp out shackles of the agriculture sector.
“The respective regional governments have to effectively discharge duties and responsibilities towards ensuring the sustainability of agriculture projects. In so doing, it would be possible to help the country meet the set targets,” added the Premier.
He also said “great work has been undertaken so far in Oromia region to grow 130,000 hectares of summer wheat through irrigation. This current progress of a total 300,000 hectares planned, greatly demonstrates our import substitution aspirations and capacity.”
In order to tackle the weakness in institutional governance and improve service delivery, either the federal government or the state ones is expected to strengthen farmers’ capacity and get the sector mechanized as this helps improve the records it has had so far.
According to the Prime Minister, improving coordination, monitoring, inspection and evaluation of government programs at all levels as well as encouraging the youth to embrace agriculture projects with a lot of vigor so as to keep continuity from the elders as a way of guaranteeing sustainability is also another important means to buttress agricultural productivity.
In a nutshell, the government should institute a clear policy on promoting the agriculture sector and keeping the diversity of crop production with a view to ensure the import substitution mission apart from ensuring food security at the national level.
The Ethiopian Herald February 5/2013