Successful policy / Desta Hailu/
Ethiopia is a country of farmers and pastorals. 85 percent of the country led their lives by farming and animal rearing. It is impossible to think of Ethiopia without its farmers and pastorals. It is impossible to understand Ethiopia by forgetting the farmers and pastorals. The economy, culture, history of the country is the history of the farmers and pastorals.
However, this fact wasn’t given attention during previous regimes. The fact that the Ethiopians farmers are the basis of the country’s economy, and also the fact that the issue of the country’s prosperity and growth is interlinked with the prosperity of the farmers and pastorals wasn’t given the focus and attention.
During the feudal and monarchial system, the farmers used to be landless tillers to the kings. And the pastorals during those times used to be labeled as nomads because the move around and were not suitable for taxation and for being subject to the rulers as a result to it. They used to not get any kind of government service; and they were not considered as citizens.
The farmers were made to own their own small land during the Derg era as a result to the land to the tiller proclamation issued in February 1973. However, another oppressor was imposed on them by the name of agriculture crop market organization. The military regime at the time setup a mechanism where food was taken from the farmers forcedly in order to squash urban dissatisfaction by providing food in cheap price.
In this mechanism, the farmers were forced to provide the organization in by crop variety and quantity without taking into account factors like soil fertility and climate, the farmers’ capability and the fact that if whether they have the farming cattle and tools.
The farmers forcedly provided the organization by taking away from their own families. If they were not able to provide their quota they were forced to sell their animals and use the money to buy from the market at a loss to fulfill their duty. If they were not able to do this, they were arrested. As the farmers were not owners of the product they harvest during the times of the monarchial regime, they were not motivated to increase their productivity. The farmers were no better than the cattle during those times. And also during the military Derg regime, the farmers were no different from a tool that provides food crops to deter rising living condition induced public opposition/riot.
In addition, it was the farmers that provided food for the army of the regime that was stretched to many wars it entered into. Thus, improving the livelihood of the farmers was not the priority of the regimes. There was no support given by the regimes to help increase the productivity of the farmers – as they were not he owners of their products. However, the country’s economy during both regimes was based on the rural area of the country and the agriculture sector. More than 85% of the people were farmers that lived in the rural areas. No less than 8 percent of the country’s GDP and foreign trade comes from agriculture.
Thus, it is through this agriculture sector that it was possible to create capital that would enable the country to improve citizens’ social and economic situation, and to create the industry and service sector. But this same important sector was forgotten. Therefore, it was not possible to develop the economy and improve the livelihood of the people and alleviate poverty.
Disregarding the agriculture sector, which is the country’s economy basis, and thinking about developing the country’s economy or creating and building industry and service sector is unthinkable. The main reason the past two regimes put the country to a situation that put the country in a downward spiral instead of developing the country has to do with the low attention given to the development of the agriculture sector.
This changed when the Derg regime was toppled. It was understood that it is not possible to improve the livelihood of the country’s citizens, developing the country’s economy by disregarding the farmers, agriculture sector and the rural area. Thus, the country’s economy and social development policy were made to focus around the rural and agriculture sector.
When the country’s development started by planning the livelihood of the farmers, it is by taking into the rural part of the country and the farmers into account. The aim of making farmers whose lives are based on small farmland to be self-sufficient in food started 12 years ago.
First, the farmers were made to get improved agriculture and technology, and get fertilizer and best seed through loan subsidy and fair price. These measures have helped Ethiopia’s farmers to start to break free from the shackles of poverty and backward agriculture system. And following this, their productivity started to increase. And in relation to this, their income also improved.
When their income started to increase, our country’s farmers started to eat three times a day. In addition to this, they started to consume things that used to be considered for the urbanites alone like food, oil. They have also started to use house supplies such as radio, tape recorder, bed and mattress and the likes. There are farmers that have moved beyond this. There are many who have generated wealth in the millions, built business and living houses for rent, setup mill, and bought public transport camions. There are also those that have elevated themselves from farmers to investors.
Side by side to this, the government has expanded social services like schools and health services near the farmers’ houses. This in addition to the income of the farmers has been able to improve the livelihood of the farmers. The increase on the income of the farmers wasn’t limited with just improving their livelihood, but it also created a huge national market demand. This huge market demand that is created by the increase of the farmers’ income has helped increase the profitability of the manufacturing, trade and service sector by expanding their market. This situation has generated investment capital in each sector.
Although this generated capital still has limited involvement in the manufacturing sector, it still has helped grow the manufacturing sector as much as those local investors participated. It has also created a capability competent enough to create service and construction sector that have huge role in the economic development. And this capital reserve is created from the agriculture sector.
When the agriculture based industry policy started to generate & expand national capital in addition to bringing tangible change on the livelihood of the farmers, the government has started to give recognition to development model farmers that played a huge role in the economic development mobilization. All these benefits are due to the successful developmental policy that the government has used for the last 15 successive years. I think this policy will help us to achieve our poverty reduction efforts.