Background of the Agriculture Sector

 Policies & Strategies

Land Resource

Land Utilization Pattern in Ethiopia (2001/02)

TABLE I

Source: Statistical Report on Socio-Economic Characteristics of the population in agricultural households, Land use, and area & production of crops (Part I) July, 2003.

Major Crops

Food Crops

Ethiopia has rich soil and diversified climatic regions suitable for the production of food crops. About 146 types of crops are grown. The major food crops grown in the country are cereals, pulses and oil seeds. The main cereal groups include teff, barely, wheat, maize and sorghum; and pulses comprise beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils, soybeans and haricot beans. Oil seeds are grown in Ethiopia in several varieties. Among the major oil crops are sesame, niger seed, groundnut, rape and linseed. Sunflower and castor beans also have great potential.

Despite the country's high potential for agriculture, the production from this sector, except for 1996 crop year, could not be commensurate with the size and growth of the population. For as long as the rate of population growth remains high, increasing food production at a rate higher than the population growth becomes imperative. In line with this, an integrated agricultural extension programme has been launched throughout the country. By implementing the programme for the last several years, encouraging results have been registered in various regional states. To further strengthen this effort, the involvement of the private sector in large scale commercial farming and agro-industrial activities is vital.

Cash Crops

Coffee, cotton, tobacco, sugar, tea, spices and horticulture are the major commercial cash crops grown in Ethiopia.

Livestock and other Animal Resources

The livestock population of Ethiopia is the largest in Africa and ranks 9th in the world. The country has about 41 million cattle, 15 million sheep, 14 million goats and 43 million poultry. Hides and skins are the second major foreign exchange earners, second to coffee.

Water Resources and Irrigation Potential

Ethiopia has abundant water resources that can be used for irrigated agriculture. There are nine major rivers (7,000 km long) and a number of lakes (7,400 sq. km in area). Because of this, the country is often referred to as the "water tower" of Northeastern Africa. The country's total surface water availability is estimated at about 110 billion m3. On the other hand, the nine great river systems have an estimated total annual discharge of 102 billion m3.

Based on present indicative information, the total potential irrigable land in Ethiopia is about 10 million hectares. To date, only about 160,000 hectares have been developed, and yet more land has to come under irrigation to feed the fast growing population, provide raw materials for local industries, and combat recurring droughts. Table II below presents the potential irrigable area existing in the major river basins and the size of actually irrigated area.