Agricultural Transformation in Ethiopia: State Policy and Smallholder Farming (Africa Now)

For thousands of years, Ethiopia has depended on its smallholding farmers to provide the bulk of its food needs. But now, such farmers find themselves under threat from environmental degradation, climate change and declining productivity. As a result, smallholder agriculture has increasingly become subsistence-oriented, with many of these farmers trapped in a cycle of poverty. Smallholders have long been marginalised by mainstream development policies, and only more recently has their crucial importance been recognised for addressing rural poverty through agricultural reform. This collection, written by leading Ethiopian scholars, explores the scope and impact of Ethiopia2019s policy reforms over the past two decades on the smallholder sector. Focusing on the Lake Tana basin in northwestern Ethiopia, an area with untapped potential for growth, the contributors argue that any effective policy will need to go beyond agriculture to consider the role of health, nutrition and local food customs, as well as including increased safeguards for smallholder2019s land rights. They in turn show that smallholders represent a vitally overlooked component of development strategy, not only in Ethiopia but across the global South Cover 1 About the editor 4 Title Page 6 Copyright 7 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 10 Note on reference citations of Ethiopian authors 11 Contributor Biographies 12 List of Abbreviations 15 List of Tables and Figures 17 State policies and questions of agrarian transformation 18 Introduction 18 Socio-technical perspectives of smallholder agriculture 21 Diverse pathways of agricultural change 22 The political landscape of the state–smallholder relationship 25 Brief introduction to the chapters 28 Enduring issues concerning smallholder agriculture 31 Note 34 References 34 1: Agricultural input supply and output marketing systems 40 Introduction 40 Agricultural input use and supply systems of smallholder farmers 40 Marketing systems of agricultural products of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia 52 Institutional support services for agricultural input supply and output marketing 53 The role of cooperatives in agricultural input supply and output marketing 56 Conclusion 57 References 59 2: Agricultural Investment Alternatives and the Smallholder Farming Sector 62 Introduction 62 Brief background to agricultural modernization in Ethiopia 64 Methods and data sources 66 Case 1: Large-scale agricultural investment and the smallholders in Gambella and Benishangul 67 Case 2: Potato value chain in traditional versus contract farming 71 Conclusions 77 References 78 3: Large-scale canal irrigation management by smallholder farmers 80 Ethiopia’s focus on water 80 Irrigation – underdeveloped, but emerging 82 Policy drive for modern irrigation for smallholders 83 Collective management and collaboration 84 Case study: Koga Dam and Irrigation Scheme 84 Issues and gaps in irrigation management 89 Conclusions 93 Notes 94 References 94 4: Determinants of Climate-resilient Agricultural Practices among Smallholder Farmers 97 Introduction 97 Why is conservation agriculture relevant for the Ethiopian highlands? 99 Survey design and administration 100 Modelling the decision to convert conventional farming into conservation farming 101 Results and discussions 105 Conclusion and policy recommendations 112 Notes 113 References 113 5: SocioCultural Dimensions of Food: The Case of Teff 117 Introduction 117 Studies on food: a brief review 118 The study area 120 Brief description of the crop 121 Food items from teff 122 Sociocultural and symbolic uses of teff 125 Sociocultural and ritual practices in teff cultivation 127 Discussion 129 Conclusion 131 Acknowledgement 133 References 133 6: The Impact of Malaria Epidemics on Agricultural Production in Dembia and Fogera, 1950–2000 136 Introduction 136 Rural health and farm labour 137 Malaria epidemics in Dembia and Fogera districts, 1950–58 139 Malaria epidemics since 1959 151 Conclusion 152 Notes 153 References 155 7: Women farmers’ land rights in the context of constraining cultural norms 160 Introduction 160 Methods 161 Gendered agriculture 161 Selected descriptions from the qualitative data 168 Gender division of labour, agriculture and the future generation 171 Conclusion 174 Note 174 References 174 8: Rural transformation through robust land rights 177 Introduction 177 Historical overview 178 Land rights in present-day Ethiopia 181 Rural land laws 185 Expropriation 191 Conclusion 192 Recommendations 193 Notes 194 References 195 Concluding remarks 197 References 202 Index 203 Résumé de l'éditeur" : For thousands of years, Ethiopia has depended on its smallholding farmers to provide the bulk of its food needs. But now, such farmers find themselves under threat from environmental degradation, climate change and declining productivity. As a result, smallholder agriculture has increasingly become subsistence-oriented, with many of these farmers trapped in a cycle of poverty. Smallholders have long been marginalised by mainstream development policies, and only more recently has their crucial importance been recognised for addressing rural poverty through agricultural reform.0This collection, written by leading Ethiopian scholars, explores the scope and impact of Ethiopia's policy reforms over the past two decades on the smallholder sector. Focusing on the Lake Tana basin in northwestern Ethiopia, an area with untapped potential for growth, the contributors argue that any effective policy will need to go beyond agriculture to consider the role of health, nutrition and local food customs, as well as including increased safeguards for smallholder's land rights. They in turn show that smallholders represent a vitally overlooked component of development strategy, not only in Ethiopia but across the global South "For thousands of years, Ethiopia has depended on its smallholding farmers to provide the bulk of its food needs. But now, such farmers find themselves under threat from environmental degradation, climate change and declining productivity. As a result, smallholder agriculture has increasingly become subsistence-oriented, with many of these farmers trapped in a cycle of poverty. Smallholders have long been marginalised by mainstream development policies, and only more recently has their crucial importance been recognised for addressing rural poverty through agricultural reform. This collection, written by leading Ethiopian scholars, explores the scope and impact of Ethiopia's policy reforms over the past two decades on the smallholder sector. The contributors argue that any effective policy will need to go beyond agriculture to consider the role of health, nutrition and local food customs, as well as including increased safeguards for smallholder's land rights. They in turn show that smallholders represent a vitally overlooked component of development strategy, not only in Ethiopia but across the global South"--Page 4 of cover An examination of Ethiopia's agriculture system, and the vitally overlooked importance of this component of development strategy for health and food security in the wider region.