Despite its long history of self-sufficiency, Ethiopia has experienced crop failures repeatedly during the last two decades. Famine of 1972-73 led to the death of hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians. It has been estimated that about one-fifth of the population of Wollo province had died from starvation. In 1984, the country again underwent a prolonged period of drought and famine with a severity that approached that of 1972-73. It affected about one-fourth of the total population. With the continuous fall in agricultural output in more recent years, it is likely that another human tragedy of vast proportion may occur. It is said that the poor performance of agriculture was mainly due to drought which affected agricultural sector adversely. With drought the area under irrigation had been reduced. But the loss of so many lives in Ethiopia was not simply due to lack of rainfall. Other factors besides drought too have contributed to the lethal proportions of the famine. The main aim of this book is to assess the performance and strategies followed for the development of the agricultural sector during the pre and post Revolutionary periods and pinpoint various constraints to its development.
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