major problems of agriculture in ethiopia

4 Why agriculture is the backbone of Ethiopian economy? However, Ethiopia is almost rainfall-dependent as there are no practices of water harvesting technology (Ayalew, 2018). Perhaps, environmental degradation, climate change, and limited advanced agricultural technology tend to be affecting much more the older farmers than their younger, healthier, and better-educated counterparts. The reason for the underutilization of the resources and water resources, in particular, are many, among which lack of technology and finance is just to mention a few (Table 10). Agriculture leads the economies of developing countries like Ethiopia and it is the fastest growing agricultural sector in the countries (3.77% for livestock vs. 2.71% for crops in last decade (Rs et al., 2016). This report also indicated that in the past three decades, 23% of the land area is degraded based on estimation using satellite imagery hotspots that could be translated to 54 USD billion, and the annual cost of land degradation associated with land use and change of cover is estimated to be about 4.3 USD billion. Major destinations for Ethiopia's exports in 2017/2018 were: Asia 39.8% (of which China accounted for 22.3%), Europe 28.7% and Africa 20.9%. However, the main causes of poverty in Ethiopia are brought on by the effects of its economy revolving around agriculture. Deforestation is a contributor to global climate change, and is often cited as one of the major causes of the enhanced greenhouse effect [7]. Table 4. Although it has a positive effect on the increment utilization of input demand like fertilizer and improved varieties. Ethiopia is rich in animal genetic resources, both in diversity and population. Hunger and extreme poverty are reduced globally since the 1990s (FAO, 2016). This made the farmers unable to withstand seasonal risks of crop failure or animal deaths that even worsen the problem and force them to live in continuous poverty and are hopeless. The adverse impact of climate variability varies. ), grain moths (Sitotroga cerealella), and bean bruchids (Acanthoscelides obtectus, Bruchus pisorum, and Zabrotes subfasciatus)], aphids, thrips, two-spotted spider mites (Tetranchus urticae), white mango scale insects (Aulacaspis tubercularis), etc. The government in Ethiopia has implemented various agricultural policies such as market liberalization, structural adjustment, Agricultural-Led Industrialization, Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Program, Participatory and Accelerated Sustainable Development to Eradicate Poverty and successive Growth and . The farmland obtained in such a way is very limited to the individual capacity to work and difficult even to plow by oxen-power than tractor. Agricultural expansion affecting Acacia Woodland in Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia Impacts of Deforestation Atmospheric Impact Deforestation is ongoing and is shaping climate and geography of Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, bananas are one of the main commodities with huge export market potential. These are the combined constraints that reduce the soil mass, productivity, health, soil quality, and fertility (Woreka, 2004). In Ethiopia, agriculture is started during the Neolithic revolution era, ten thousand years ago. Therefore, this paper is devoted to reviewing the existing agricultural challenges and future prospects in the country. The major producers of horticultural crops are small scale farmers, production being mainly rain fed and few under irrigation. It also declines the levels of arable land availability (Campbell, 2011; Pender et al., 2006). More than 80% of the population lives in rural areas where farming (i.e. For instance, rainfall is one of the most noticed climate variables in the country. (2020) reported that in Ethiopia, land fragmentation resulted in food insecurity and increased the amount of time spent moving from one parcel to another that lowered agricultural output and reduced productivity. Globally, it was forecasted that in the coming decades, the world is likely to be not only more populous and urban but also demographically older (FAO, 2017). Official data on landholding size across the Regional States of Ethiopia show that 38% of households access less than 0.5hectares of land, 23.65% access between 0.51 and 1.0hectares, 24% between 1 and 2ha, and 14% have more than 2hectares of land (Diriba, 2020) (Tables 1 and 2). Arable land is the most basic resource for farmers life which the majority of the energetic Ethiopians lacked or too small to use because it is divided into a number of small-sized parcels, degraded, fragmented and infertile. Deforestation impacts agriculture through natural disturbance, including biodiversity loss (Oljirra, 2019; Bishaw, 2009), damaged habitat, aridity, adverse soil erosion, degradation of wasteland, extinction of life, and displacement of populations (Culas, 2006). In addition, the countrys agriculture highly depends on rain-fed. They farm on very small plots of fragmented land and often are used unsuitable primitive techniques that are not effective for their agro-ecological zones (Lebeda et al., 2010). According to Diriba (2020), the practice of mechanized agriculture in Ethiopia is estimated at 0.7% for land preparation while it is less than 0.8% for crops thresher machines. This report also indicated that much of the temperature increment happened in the dry and hotspots of the country. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Ethiopia's GDP growth rate will increase by around 7.8% to 10% by 2023. The country is known for the regular food shortage that occurred due to droughts, sudden outbreaks of natural disasters, pests, lack of rainfall, and shortage of technological advancement in the past centuries. 3 What is constraints of Ethiopian agriculture? One of the keys will be changing the way agriculture is financed and incentivized. 2 The main contributions, potentials, characteristics and problems of Ethiopian agriculture. Because agriculture is the primary source for . Monthly, seasonal and annual rainfall trend analyses from 1979 to 2013years, Table 6. Nevertheless, arable land is an indispensable resource for Ethiopians to secure food and food self-sufficiency. But this has been used for fuel as the forest trees diminished. Although soil erosion, overgrazing, and deforestation have seriously damaged the plateaus, nearly half the potentially cultivable land is still available for use. These situations have resulted in the losses of resources, the rising tide of hunger and poverty. Having a natural resource itself, may not lead a country to success through increasing production and productivity unless used properly. In particular, Africa and Latin America have the highest proportion of degraded agricultural land whereas Asia has the largest proportion of degraded forest land as revenue-poor national governments pursue lucrative policies of deforestation. ELPAA (Ethiopia Land Policy and Administration Assessment). In some parts, utilization of the water resources is hindered because of the undulating topography of the country. However, agriculture is still the backbone of the country which represents about 33.88% of its GDP (Plecher, 2020). The population of Sub-Saharan Africa countries projected to be doubled by 2050 (increased by 99%) (UNDESA, 2015). While, Gebreyesus and Kirubel (2009) reported that the heavy reliance of some 85 percent of Ethiopia's growing population on an exploitative kind of subsistence agriculture is a major reason behind the current state of land degradation. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate trends and controversies of population growth and . Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Furthermore, mitigating the variability of climate change helps the most vulnerable group of the society to stabilize farmers income during drought and poor output (Shekuru et al., 2020). Governments are expected to enact socio-economic plans, such as reducing rural fertility rates (Prtner et al., 2012), and developing secondary cities and towns. In the coming decades, ensuring food security is one of the greatest challenges in Ethiopia. Since Ethiopia's economy depends mostly on agriculture (about 45 to 50% of GDP), natural causes such as drought and sometimes unpredictable flooding put the entire economy of Ethiopia in a very bad shape and leave many starving. Yet agriculture is the countrys most promising resource. If this has come to the fact, the proportion of energetic productive man is decreased and negatively impacts on world production and productivity due to their retirement. Ethiopia's economy is dependent on agriculture, which accounts for 40 percent of the GDP, 80 percent of exports, and an estimated 75 percent of the country's workforce. Leaving crop residue in the farmland and adding organic matter is used for improving soil fertility and maximize the water-holding capacity of the soil (Pisante et al., 2012). The annual rate of soil loss is higher than the annual rate of soil formation. Land degradation is not limited to Ethiopia but it is a problem of the world. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. (2010). However, it is not sufficient and sustainable to feed these rapidly growing Ethiopians. ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute). Deforestation 4. Most of the Ethiopian farmers have farmland that is fragmented into two to three plots or parcels (Table 3). Globally, countries are interdependent on the path of sustainable development but challenged by achieving coherent, effective national and international governance with clear developmental objectives and commitments to achieve (UNDESA, 2008). In Ethiopia, it is characterized by high-input and resource-intensive farming systems that harmoniously caused losses of important microorganisms, massive deforestation, freshwater scarcities, soil nutrient depletion, and high levels of greenhouse gas emissions and then hindered agricultural outputs (FAO, 2017). It also did not indicate methods of curbing environmental degradation that could result from the lease of the natural resources to private investment be it agriculture or mining. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Ethiopia is home to a large number of people living below the international poverty line, and although the economy is diversifying, farming is still the main source of income for many people. Ethiopia's major industries include agriculture, construction, manufacturing, resources and . Do you need underlay for laminate flooring on concrete? It is too old in the case of the current context or generations. Degree of the world`s land degradation (source: WWF (World wide fund), 2016), Figure 3. Pest management support services strategy for Ethiopia. This is the root of all agricultural problems in the country. Ethiopia's development plan has laid out enhancing agricultural production and productivity as one of the major strategic pillars. Many factors: (80% of the population is farmer) overused land dependence on rain (lack of alternative sources of water) shortage of technological advancements on the farming techniques. Presented by Dr. Abera Deresa (State Minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) at the 'Dialogue on Ethiopia's Agricultural Development', 12 November 2015, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Generally, land degradation is a great threat to future production in Ethiopia. As FAO (2010) report indicated, the soil erosion hazard, aluminum toxicity, soil shallowness, and hydromorphone are constraining 1316% of the global arable land areas. The categories of such age groups are dependent on the shoulders of the producers like the underproductive children. These policy regulations may include changing the current fragmented agricultural activities into unified mechanized farming systems as a strategic developmental plan. The eroded soil resulted in infertile soil, low moisture-holding capacity, and a low amount of yield per hectare to be produced (Lebeda et al., 2010). Ethiopia is relatively close to major export markets such as the Middle East and Europe, Djibouti and Somalia, and can benefit a lot from banana exports. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Depressed commodity prices are the leading cause of this drop in exports. What is constraints of Ethiopian agriculture? Therefore, it requires taking critical actions to solve it. For instance, waterlogging is highly problematic in Vertisols of the highlands while salinity is in lowland areas of the country (Merga & Ahmed, 2019). What are the major problem of agriculture in Ethiopia? Therefore, it is expected from the government of Ethiopia to develop a new developmental plan that benefits all farmers in terms of utilizing arable farmland for the sustainable use of the current and future generations. It reduces crop yield, nutrition, groundwater, soil organic matter, soil quality, soil health, and incomes (Melese, 2019; Tufa, 2019), vegetation coverage, and its phenology (Tenaw & Debella, 2017) and caused socio-economic problems in Ethiopia (Getahun, 2017). Ethiopia was ranked 92 in the world in Global Hunger Index 2020. Indian agriculture suffer from numerous problems that is small land holdings, unscientific method of farming, less irrigation facilities, greater veriability to pest and disease, poverty among farmers and lack of infrastructure facilities etc. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. International governments and organizations could support the country not only by the provision of credit and donation but also should make sure that the political and economic environment for permitting the intended goals. In the coming decades, ensuring food security is one of the greatest challenges in Ethiopia. Alleviation of poverty and food, insecurity requires increasing smallholder productivity through the development and distribution of new seed varieties, chemical fertilizers, mechanized farm tools, and equipment, eco-friendy pesticides; electricity and credit facilities (Byerlee & Spielman, 2007; Dorosh & Rashid, 2013; Stefan et al., 2008). Furthermore, feeding the population in the near future in developing countries like Ethiopia is expected to increase production and productivity. Economical irrigation potential by river basin of Ethiopia. To evaluate the efficacy of some non-chemical control methods, Eucalyptus . The above-raised problems contributed a picture of increased degradation of existing arable land, as well as difficulties with making new arable land in the future. For instance, the wholesale price unit of maize grain in the capital city of Ethiopia (Addis Ababa) alone increased from 1,469 to 5,013 from 2005 to 2012 in Ethiopian Birr (ETB) per ton (FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations), 2015) and the price is tripled in the last five years. This report also indicated that around 2027, India will be ranked first in the world by the population followed by China. See answer. It accounts for about 33% of the land area (FAO , 2015). Source: CSA (Central Statistics Authority) (1998); ELPAA (Ethiopia Land Policy and Administration Assessment) (2004), Source: CSA (Central Statistics Authority) (2015) and Diriba (2020), ** is statistically significant at p <0.05. What ways affect agricultural development in Ethiopia? Principal crops grown are coffee, pulses, oilseeds, potatoes, sugarcane, and a few vegetables. The study area was purposively selected, and a simple random sampling method was used to selected households' fatteners from each kebele and interviewed using structured questionnaires. Arable land refers to the potential of land where its soil and climatic conditions are suitable for growing crops and rearing animals. Feed shortage was the primary constraint in both areas. Table 1. Ethiopia is a country of peasants with primitive agriculture. It varies from season to season, and year to year across agro-ecological regions [(Dega (high land), Woina Dega (midland), and kola (lowland)] of the country (Shekuru et al., 2020) (Tables 4, 5, and 6). Ethiopia s agriculture is plagued by periodic drought, soil degradation caused by overgrazing, deforestation, high levels of taxation and poor infrastructure (making it difficult and expensive to get goods to market). In contrast to this finding, Knippenberg et al. Ethiopia has no: Less than 21 soil types with varying physical and chemical features. Ethiopias total export earnings by value increased by 12% from the previous year. It is the water towers of East Africa that can be used for irrigation agriculture and more importantly hydroelectric power for East African countries in an attempt to address the problem related to global warming. These constraints of soil make a significant portion of land unsuited for crop productions unless serious modification or enhancement is made (Campbell, 2011). PASDEP implementation as the main instrument for delivering agricultural growth through strong push for intensification to increase yield and productivity in the smallholder sector. Fragmentation of farmland affects the smallholder communities highly to produce in a sustainable manner following an inadequate policy that used to respond with the available endogenous technological changes and population growth (Headey et al., 2014). Majorly, it focused on the shortage of farmland, climate change, fragmentation and degradation of farmland, unevenly distributed constructions and urbanizations, pests, lack of integration among stakeholders, political instabilities, and its prospects. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. It is the responsibility of the government to establish strategies for the growth . Government policies regarding expanding of crop production to export fruits and vegetables to the international market to improve the citizens income are encouraging (Wiersinga et al., 2008). The author received no direct funding for this research. The rapid population growth and the higher proportion of the youth are the current challenges facing Ethiopia as these younger generations are landless. The country intends to be a middle-income economy by 2025. It posed a huge challenge to Ethiopians. Across Ethiopia, nearly 9 million people are in need of food assistance. According to the most recent studies, 842 million people or 12 percent of the world's population were unable to meet their . Arthropod pests such as locust (Schistocerca gregaria), fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), African armyworm (Spodoptera exempta), stalk borer (Busseola fusca, Chilo partellus and Sesamia calamistis), cutworm, fruit flies (Ceratitis cosyra, C. fasciventris, C. rosa, C. anonae, and C. capitata, Bactrocera dorsalis, B. invadens), termites (Macrotermes, Odontotermes, Microtermites, etc), weevils [(Sitophilus spp. The uses of improved drought-tolerant crop varieties are also helpful in saving water. Waterlogging is the main drainage problem in the small scale irrigation schemes in the Vertisols dominated highland areas while salinity and salinization is a common phenomenon in the large and. The variability of food price increment occurs within a short period of time, season, and years. Agriculture and Food Security. It is settled with low population density and not protected by any land right regimen. It accelerates soil erosion, flooding, and drought. The traditional vegetables of Ethiopia have the potential for increased production and expansion of use to areas where they are less popular or not known at all. Small-scale producers and landless households are the most vulnerable to climate change in Ethiopia. On the other hand, the agricultural problems in the developed and developing countries like Ethiopia are not the same. This farming system is typically found in areas of higher elevations, usually above 2000 m but sometimes down to 1500 m of altitude. The maize lethal necrotic viruses, leaf and fruit spot of citrus (Pseudocercospora angolensis), Bacterial wilt (Pseudomonas solanacearum) of ginger (Duressa, 2018), garlic rot (Sclerotium cepivorum Berk), Bacterial wilt of ginger (Ralstonia solanacearum), and new races of wheat stem rust (Puccinia graminis f. sp.tritici (1b) are among the major crop diseases (MoANR (Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources), 2016). A high density of termite mounds is common in the Maki-Batu area of the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. To make a sustainable intensification of crop and animal production, conserving water resources, adoption of ecosystem-based approaches, such as conservation agriculture, applying environmentally safe agricultural inputs, keeping soil healthy, and use of improved genetic material and nutrient management are required to boost Ethiopian agriculture. For many low-income families, low harvests mean they do not have enough food and are unable to eat nutritious food on a regular basis. How much of Ethiopias land is under cultivation? The agricultural sector of Ethiopia has shown remarkable resilience over many centuries though it is now increasingly failing. Of Ethiopias total land area of 1,221,480 square kilometers, the government estimated in the late 1980s that 15 percent was under cultivation and 51 percent was pasture. This is because the land rent becomes unavailable and the government police are also inefficient on this side. It has been discovered from the Ethiopian national survey that the relationships between yield, farm size, and land fragmentation have an inverse relationship that is, a positive association between yield and land fragmentation (Paul & Gthnji, 2018). Because many family members will be becoming jobless since the land is not enough to engage them as full-time farmers. This report also argued that the farmers are barely able to feed their families and contributed to further environmental deterioration. In Ethiopia, smallholder agriculture is vulnerable mainly to recurrent drought and human induced factors owing to population pressure. The vast majorities of smallholder farmers of Ethiopia living in perpetually substandard conditions, relying on traditional systems, undercapitalized; farm on fragmented land, depleted soil fertility with high competition of pests, and low investment in agricultural inputs (chemical fertilizer, improved seeds, and pesticides) (ATA, 2014). Weak institutional and policy frameworks further may fail to enforce proper land administration and use (Dubovyk, 2017). Overcoming these challenges is not an easy task. Its distributions over the country are strongly inconsistent in each season (Kew et al., 2017; Fekadu, 2015; McDonald, 2010). Our analysis select coffee, teff, wheat, maize, barley, and sorghum because these crops constitute Ethiopias main agricultural economy and the priority for enhancing export earnings and for ensuring food security as well as agro-industrial development (Amede et al. IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development). The agriculture sector is projected to grow at 6.2 percent per annum over the next ten years. Excessive use of chemical fertilizers, mono-cropping; deforestation, soil erosion due to poor soil management practices such as over-cultivation of soils or overgrazing added to the problem. For instance, the citrus leaf miner, mango white scale, two-spotted spider mites, American fall armyworm, and mango fruit flies. However, in recent times in Ethiopia resettlement of farmers to the new arable farmland or to other national regional states of Ethiopia are unthinkable. Particularly, the GOE under the new administration has given renewed emphasis to develop the agriculture sector and ensure food security. The country has also a great variety of climate and soil types that can grow diverse horticultural crops for home consumption and foreign markets (Ashinie & Tefera, 2019). A crossectional study was conducted to identify the major health problems of dairy cattle and associated risk factors in and around Hawassa Town, Southern Ethiopia. These are reducing the farmland and increasing displacement of the farming community. It increased by around 70% based on the current estimation backgrounds. IUCN (international union for conservation of nature). Review, Small farms, smaller plots: Land size, fragmentation, and productivity in Ethiopia, Agricultural innovations for sustainable crop production intensification, Ethiopia: Share of economic sectors in the gross domestic product (GDP) from 2009 to 2019, Family planning and fertility: Estimating program effects using cross-sectional data, The rain doesnt come on time anymore: Poverty, vulnerability, and climate variability in Ethiopia, The impact of farm size on agricultural sustainability, Variability and trends of temperature and rainfall over three agro ecological zones in North Shewa, central Ethiopia, Review of climate change and health in Ethiopia: Status and gap analysis, The impact of agricultural extension and roads on poverty and consumption growth in fifteen Ethiopian villages, Briefing note 5 economic assessment of the costs of deforestation in South-West Ethiopia, Land degradation: A challenge to Ethiopia, Climate change and its effects on vegetation phenology across ecoregions of Ethiopia, Population growth and cultivated land in rural Ethiopia: Land use dynamics, access, farm size, and fragmentation. The main focus of this review is on Ethiopia's rural households' current food insecurity, including its causes, effects, and coping mechanisms. There are a number of weed species that are invasive, introduced, into Ethiopia at different times are including parthenium (Parthenium hysterophorus L. (Asteraceae)); water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (C. Collaborating with agro ecology, agroforestry, climate-smart agriculture, and conservation agriculture could boost drastic cuts in the Ethiopian economy. ZEFdiscussion papers on development policy, The causes, consequences and remedies of deforestation in Ethiopia. The cost is too expensive and sometimes lost half of the farmer's profit. The reduced precipitation and rise of temperature could influence agricultural practices and their results widely (Shekuru et al., 2020). In addition, it is required that establishing a policy of investment that supports producing hybrid cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry. More than 85% of the Ethiopian land is degraded to various degrees (Gebreselassie et al., 2016). The key agricultural problems worldwide are price volatility in agricultural markets, food insecurity, undernourishment, shortage of land and water resources used in agricultural activities. Therefore, this paper is devoted to reviewing the existing agricultural challenges and future prospects in the country. USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). Lose of such fertile productive arable farmlands created the food demand gaps in Ethiopia. These older farmers might be discriminated against accessing credit, training, and other income-generating resources (FAO, 2017). What are the major problems of soil in Ethiopia? Working and investing toward changing the behavior, attitudes, and beliefs of Ethiopians have become important in the future to boost agricultural production and productivity. Table 3. But increased input alone does not increase the food supply and staple crop yields, and thus farm income declines as population density increases. It is reported that over the last 4050years, the mean annual temperature of Ethiopia increased from 0.2C to 0.28C per decade (McSweeney et al., 2010).