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Review of Challenges and Prospects of Agricultural Production and Productivity in Ethiopia Journal of Natural Sciences Research www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3186 (Paper) ISSN 2225-0921 (Online) Vol.4, No.18, 2014 Review of Challenges and Prospects of Agricultural Production and Productivity in Ethiopia Urgessa Tilahun Bekabil Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Haro Sabu Agricultural Research Center, Kellem Wollega, Dale Sadi P.O.Box 10, Haro Sabu, Ethiopia [email protected] Abstract Agricultural production in Ethiopia is characterized by subsistence orientation, low productivity, low level of technology and inputs, lack of infrastructures and market institutions, and extremely vulnerable to rainfall variability. Productivity performance in the agriculture sector is critical to improvement in overall economic well-being in Ethiopia. Low availability of improved or hybrid seed, lack of seed multiplication capacity, low profitability and efficiency of fertilizer, lack of irrigation development, lack of transport infrastructure, inaccessibility of market and prevalence of land degradation, unfertile soil, overgrazing, deforestation and desertification are among the constraints to agricultural productivity during last period. However, in 2011 the sector grew by 9% driven by cereal production which reached a record high of 19.10 million tons in Ethiopia. Keywords: Challenges, Prospects, Agricultural Production, Productivity, Ethiopia 1. INTRODUCTION The history of agricultural and rural development since the end of World War II in 1945 is characterized by changing priorities and concerns. Immediately after this war and the widespread experience of serious malnutrition, there was a determined effort to increase food production in the developed world (Reimund et al. , 2007). Rural areas are home to 75 percent of Africa’s people, most of whom count agriculture as their major source of income. Fortunately, Africa has experienced continuous agricultural growth during the past few years. However, much of the growth has emanated from area expansion rather than increases in land productivity. In most countries, future sustainable agricultural growth will require a greater emphasis on productivity growth, as suitable area for new cultivation declines, particularly given growing concerns about deforestation and climate change (IFPRI, 2012). Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the world’s poorest regions. Its population and land area are approximately three times that of the USA. The region’s economies are heavily dependent on agriculture, which accounts for two-thirds of the labour force, 35% of GNP and 40% of foreign exchange earnings. Productivity performance in the agricultural sector is thus critical to improvement in overall economic well-being in Sub- Saharan Africa (Lilyan et al. , 2004). According to Paul et al. (2012) agricultural production and proximity (as measured by travel time) to urban markets are highly correlated in Sub-Saharan Africa, even after taking agro ecology into account. According to IFPRI (2012) poor resource endowments, minimal use of inputs (fertilizer, improved seeds, and irrigation), and adverse policies that continued for a long period have been identified as the major causes of the low and declining performance of the agricultural sector in SSA. Continuing environmental degradation, high population growth, and low levels of investment in agricultural infrastructure also aggravate the resource limitations of agriculture in Africa. Key constraints to agricultural productivity in Ethiopia include low availability of improved or hybrid seed, lack of seed multiplication capacity, low profitability and efficiency of fertilizer use due to the lack of complimentary improved practices and seed, and lack of irrigation and water constraints. In addition, lack of transport infrastructure and market access decreases the profitability of adopting improved practices (Kate & Leigh, 2010). According to Mulat et al. (2004) the Ethiopian economy is among the most vulnerable in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is heavily dependent on agricultural sector (Berhanu, 2009), which has suffered from recurrent droughts and extreme fluctuations of output. As explained by Jordan et al. (2011) the opportunities and constraints facing Ethiopian agriculture are strongly influenced by conditions which vary across geographical space. These conditions include basic agricultural production potentials, access to input and output markets, and local population densities which represent both labor availability and local demand for food. The impact of rainfall on crop production can be related to its total seasonal amount or its intra-seasonal distribution. In the extreme case of droughts, with very low total seasonal amounts, crop production suffers the most. But more subtle intra-seasonal variations in rainfall distribution during crop growing periods, without a change in total seasonal amount, can also cause substantial reductions in yields. This means that the number of rainy days during the growing period is as important, if not more, as that of the seasonal total. Generally, the 70 Journal of Natural Sciences Research www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3186 (Paper) ISSN 2225-0921 (Online) Vol.4, No.18, 2014 effect of rainfall variability on crop production varies with types of crops cultivated, types and properties of soils and climatic conditions of a given area (Woldeamlak, 2009). The agricultural sector, which accounts for 80% of employment, remains a key source of growth. In 2011 the sector grew by 9%, driven by cereal production which reached a record high of 19.1 million tons in 2011. Agricultural production has been boosted by favorable weather conditions in cereal- growing areas, enhanced government support services to smallholders, improvement in yields and expansion in the area under cultivation. Increases in productivity are mainly responsible for increased yields, rather than extension of the cultivated area. This is consistent with the government’s massive push to promote and deliver technology packages to smallholders (AfDB, 2012). Increasing productivity in smallholder agriculture is the Government’s top priority. This recognizes that: (i) smallholder agriculture is the most important sub-sector of Ethiopia’s economy; (ii) there remains a high prevalence of poverty among smallholder farming communities; and (iii) there is a large potential to improve crop and livestock productivity using proven, affordable and sustainable technologies (MoARD, 2010). 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1. Agricultural Production and Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa As stated by Lilyan et al. (2004) the Sub-Saharan Africa countries showed some progress in the 1960s, suffered a regression in productivity during the 1970s, but after the mid-1980s recovered to achieve a reasonably robust rate of productivity improvement through the end of the century. The overall average rate of productivity growth for the four decades was estimated at 0.8% per year. As stated by Paul et al. (2012) the impacts of investments in road infrastructure on agricultural output and productivity are particularly important in Sub-Saharan Africa for three reasons. First, the agricultural sector accounts for a large share of gross domestic product (GDP) in most Sub-Saharan countries. Second, poverty is concentrated in rural areas. Finally, the relatively low levels of road infrastructure and long average travel time result in high transaction costs for sales of agricultural inputs and outputs, and this limits agricultural productivity and growth. Thus, investments in road infrastructure and related transport services can have a significant impact on rural and national incomes through their effects on agriculture (Paul et al. , 2012). 2.2. Agricultural Production System in Ethiopia Agricultural production is dominated by smallholder households which produce more than 90% of agricultural output and cultivate more than 90% of the total cropped land. Smallholders drive their income either in cash or through own-consumption from agricultural production. According to the national accounts, the agricultural sector consists of crop, livestock, fishery and forestry sub-sectors. Crop production is the dominant sub-sector within agriculture, accounting for more than 60% of the agricultural GDP followed by livestock which contributes more than 20% of the agricultural GDP. The contributions of forestry, hunting and fishing do not exceed 10% (Mulat et al. , 2004). The viability of the agricultural production systems in Ethiopia, as in many areas in developing countries, is highly constrained by degraded soils and increasing lack of reliability in rainfall resulting from climate change (Menale et al ., 2010). There are two main production systems in Ethiopia: the pastoral nomadic system, and the mixed crop production system. The pastoral livestock production system dominates the semi- arid and arid lowlands (usually below 1500 meters above sea level). These regions cover a vast area of lands with a small livestock production. The crop production system can be classified into smallholders’ mixed farming, producers’ cooperative farms, state farms, and private commercial farms based on their organizational structure, size, and ownership. The major objectives of small holder farmers’ production are to secure food for home consumption and to generate cash to meet household needs such as clothing, farm inputs, taxes and others. Ethiopia has a variety of fruits, leafy vegetables, roots and tubers adaptable to specific locations and altitudes. The major producers of horticultural crops are small scale farmers, production
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