Ethiopia is located in East Africa, north of Kenya. The country’s total land area is 1,104,300 sq km. In comparison, Ethiopia is slightly smaller than twice the size of the state of Texas in the U.S., and about the size of Bolivia. The country’s climate is considered tropical monsoon, but varies based on elevation and other topographic factors. Of the total land area, just over 10 percent is utilized for cultivated crops, with less than 0.65 percent of the total area dedicated to permanent crops such as fruit- and nut-bearing trees. Three major crops are believed to have originated in Ethiopia: coffee, grain sorghum and castor bean. Environmental issues include deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, desertification and water shortages caused by water-intensive farming.
Ethiopia’s population is approximately 85 million. The country’s poverty-stricken economy is based on agriculture, accounting for about 45 percent of GDP, and 85 percent of total employment (32 million laborers). The sector faces the dual challenges of frequent drought and outdated agricultural practices. Coffee is critical to the Ethiopian economy, with exports of some $350 million in 2006. But historically low prices have caused many farmers to switch to qat (an evergreen shrub with leaves used as a narcotic) to supplement incomes. A war with Eritrea in 1998-2000 and recurrent drought have buffeted Ethiopia’s coffee production. In November 2001, Ethiopia qualified for debt relief from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. In December 2005, the IMF forgave Ethiopia's debt.
Under Ethiopia's constitution, the state owns all land and provides long-term leases to the tenants. This continues to hamper private enterprise growth, as entrepreneurs are unable to use land as collateral for loans. Although GDP growth has since rebounded from a 2002 drought that led to a 3.3 percent drop in GDP, soaring commodity prices and the global economic downturn have led to an export deficit against imports. The issue was partially alleviated by recent emergency funding from the IMF. Other agricultural products from Ethiopia include cereals, pulses, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes, cut flowers, fish and livestock. The East and Southern Africa Division is responsible for IFDC activities in Ethiopia.
Current IFDC Projects in Ethiopia
- Agricultural Growth Program - Agricultural Marketing Development Project (AGP-AMDE) in Ethiopia, 2011-2015
The goal of the AGP-AMDE project is the long-term reduction of poverty and hunger through improvements in the productivity and competitiveness of value chains that offer income opportunities for rural households. As a member of the ACDI/VOCA Support for Food Security Activities (SFSA) team, IFDC is helping to build agro-input supply and distribution systems and facilitate farmers’ access to and use of agro-inputs. IFDC is also supporting the development of private sector agribusinesses to produce and market seeds.
DONOR: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Recent IFDC Projects in Ethiopia
- Accelerating Agribusiness in Africa – Bridge (AAA-Bridge), 2011-2012
The AAA-Bridge project was an extension of Strategic Alliance for Agricultural Development in Africa (SAADA-B) activities. The objective of AAA-Bridge was to expand IFDC activities and best practices developed in West Africa, such as the Competitive Agricultural Systems and Enterprises (CASE) solution, Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM), fertilizer deep placement (FDP), fertilizer resource assessments and market information systems (MIS), into other regions of Africa. Specifically, this project expansion was designed to replicate the CASE approach and other aspects of the IFDC agribusiness model in select countries of eastern and southern Africa.
- COMESA Regional Agricultural Inputs Program (COMRAP), 2010-2011
COMRAP responded to rising food prices by increasing agricultural productivity through improved access to finance, training, fertilizer and seeds. Over the course of its implementation, the project targeted three million smallholder farmers in Burundi, Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. COMRAP was implemented by the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA).
DONOR: The European Union Food Facility Program
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Ethiopia Information
Articles
New IFDC Projects in East and Southern Africa (Taken from IFDC Report Volume 36, No 4)
IFDC Core Competency: Gender Equity is Key to Feeding the Hungry (Taken from IFDC Report Volume 36, No 4)
Over 4,500 Agro-Dealers Trained Through COMRAP Project (Taken from IFDC Report Volume 36, No 2)
New Agro-Dealer Development Project: COMESA Regional Agricultural Inputs Program (COMRAP) (Taken from IFDC Report Volume 35, No.3)