Middle East Research Journal of Agriculture and Food Science

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.36348/merjafs.2024.v04i05.004

Agricultural Policies and Strategies in Ethiopia: A Review on Transformation

Towards an Improved Agricultural Extension
Sura Degefu1*, Gemechu Beri1
1Quality Assurance and Evaluation Research Directorate, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract: In Ethiopia, economic development policy has historically been dominated Review Paper
by subsistence agriculture, leading to unrealized agricultural potential characterized by *Corresponding Author:
low productivity and a focus on subsistence farming practices. This would necessitate Sura Degefu
giving agricultural policies top priority and launching an improved initiative to speed up Quality Assurance and Evaluation
the transition from traditional farming. To this end, this review was to summarize the Research Directorate, Ethiopian
Institute of Agricultural Research,
strengths and drawbacks of Ethiopia's agricultural policies and strategies, as well as make Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
recommendations for improved interventions and the potential for scaling them up. This How to cite this paper:
may be very helpful in directing policymakers to introduce the valuable interventions and Sura Degefu & Gemechu Beri
handle related issues. Since 1991, the government of Ethiopia has implemented various (2024). Agricultural Policies and
agricultural policies in order to boost agricultural productivity and production, which in Strategies in Ethiopia: A Review
on Transformation Towards an
turn reduces poverty and food insecurity. However, the results have been found to be Improved Agricultural Extension.
unsatisfactory. This is mainly due to the poor performance of the agricultural extension Middle East Res J. Agri Food
system in terms of its coverage and quality of implementation. Thus, the review argues, Sci., 4(5): 186-192.
addressing such challenges and commercializing the sector could lead Ethiopia to further Article History:
exploit its agricultural potential. In this regard, the recently implemented cluster farming | Submit: 08.09.2024 |
| Accepted: 07.10.2024 |
is the right way to overcome these problems and support subsistence farming by | Published: 11.10.2024 |
increasing smallholder farmers bargaining power, increasing the faster diffusion of
research recommendations and extension packages, knowledge transfer, and market
linkage. Therefore, the review recommends that policymakers and development
organizations should consider cluster farming as a main farming strategy to increase
smallholder farmer’s productivity and support initiatives to attain the intended goals.
Keywords: Agricultural Policies, Agricultural Strategies, Cluster farming,
Transformation and Agricultural Extension.
Copyright © 2024 The Author(s): This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
License (CC BY-NC 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial use provided the original
author and source are credited.

1. INTRODUCTION order to enhance their productivity and technical

Ethiopia's economic growth policy has efficiency, smallholder farmers need to have better
historically been centered on subsistence agriculture access to technology, market and improve their
(Mellor, 2014). Like other developing countries, bargaining power. In addition, although increasing
agriculture in Ethiopia has been critical to the country's agricultural production by increasing the area is still
economic development and contributing to 32.4% of possible, current land availability has become quite
GDP (NBE, 2022) and 65% of employment (CSA, limited due to the country's population growth and land
2021a). Despite, increasing the agricultural sector's shortage. Low productivity of agriculture in the country
productivity and smallholder farmer’s technical is partly because of the poor performance of agricultural
efficiency is seen as the main path out of poverty in the extension system in terms of its coverage and quality of
country; Ethiopia has not yet realized its full agricultural implementation (NPC, 2016).
potential as farming practices are still subsistence-
oriented with low level of productivity (Diao et al., 2012; Since 1991, Ethiopian government has put in
Dzanku et al., 2015). place a number of agricultural policies aimed at
increasing output as well as productivity in the sector,
However, Ethiopian smallholder farmers have which will ultimately lower poverty and food insecurity.
faced several challenges such as lack off financial Among these the most noticeable medium-term plans
services and market access, small land size, and limited and policies implemented in the country are
access to resources like improved technology and “Agricultural Development Led Industrialization
agricultural inputs (Gebeyanesh et al., 2021). Thus, in (ADLI) strategy, Sustainable Development and Poverty
Peer Review Process: The Journal “Middle East Research Journal of Agriculture and Food Science” abides by a double-blind peer review process such that
the journal does not disclose the identity of the reviewer(s) to the author(s) and does not disclose the identity of the author(s) to the reviewer(s).
186
 Sura Degefu & Gemechu Beri; Middle East Res J. Agri Food Sci., Sep-Oct, 2024; 4(5): 186-192
Reduction Program (SDPRP), Plan for Accelerated and The Agriculture Development Led
Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP), Industrialization (ADLI) strategy was developed in the
Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) I and II”. mid-1990s to serve as a roadmap to transform
Despite a number of interventions through agricultural smallholder agriculture. The 1960s development theories
development programs and initiatives, the results have served as the framework for ADLI, which holds that in
been found to be unsatisfactory. Currently Ethiopia order to support demand for industrial goods and
initiated 'Ten-Year Perspective Development Plan' industrialization's inputs, agriculture (smallholder) must
(2021– 2030) and ‘Home-grown Economic Reform first be developed (WB, 2016). Objective of ADLI is to
(HGER)' agenda. Despite all of these policies have been strengthen the linkages between agriculture and industry
implemented in order to boost agricultural productivity by increasing the productivity of small-scale farmers,
and production, which in turn reduce poverty and food expanding large scale private commercial farms, and by
insecurity, the results have been found to be reconstructing the manufacturing sector in such a way
unsatisfactory (ATA, 2021). that it can use the country's human and natural resources.
By utilizing the country's massive labor force, abundant
This would necessitate giving agricultural agricultural lands, a variety of agro-climatic zones, and
policies on top priority and launching an improved abundant water supplies in rural areas, the government
initiative to fasten transition from traditional farming. In will prioritize developing the capacities of small-scale
this regard, cluster farming (CF) is practiced in the farmers as a primary aim in the implementation process
country more recently as an effort to change subsistence (Lulit et al., 2010). The function of ADLI in enhancing
farming, improve productivity and technical efficiency agricultural output and reducing poverty in rural regions
by transforming subsistence farming to market oriented has been identified as a success. However, it has not led
farming through collective action group. From the to agriculture-based industrialization as had been
standpoint of a smallholder farmer, cluster farming offers expected, and the average agricultural production is
great benefits. Farm scale is reached within the CF by insufficient to offset rapid population growth (Diao,
grouping farmers in one cluster, where group of farmers 2010).
gather on adjacent land to farm as one and adopt the
recent full-package farm recommendations which in turn Sustainable Development and Poverty
improve their productivity and technical efficiency Reduction (SDPRP) Program was launched and
(ATA, 2021). implemented from 2002/03 to 2005/06 with the goal of
achieving sustainable development in rural areas by
Therefore, the purpose of this article was to increasing farm productivity (yield), reducing poverty,
review the strengths and drawbacks of Ethiopia's improving food security, increasing the volume and
agricultural policies and strategies as well as to make variety of industrial raw materials (primary products),
recommendations for the improved interventions and the and producing for the export market (Kassa, 2003). It
potential for scaling them up. The Ethiopian extension was the first comprehensive Poverty Reduction Strategy
system has been reviewed and recommended previously Paper (PRSP) developed and put into practice by the
(eg. Abate, 2007; EEA/EEPRI, 2006; Kelemework, government to improve agricultural extension services
2007), and this study expands on those findings by by training extension agents and farmers, water
focusing on the current farming initiatives, cluster harvesting and irrigation, better marketing opportunities,
farming. reorganizing peasant cooperatives, and supporting
microfinance institutions (MoFED, 2002). However, the
2. LITERATURE REVIEW agricultural sector's high reliance on rainfall amount and
This section provides details on the history of timing causes production to vary constantly. As a result,
agricultural extension in Ethiopia and the current the productivity of the agricultural sector has not
extension system. Key lessons from alternative extension improved significantly (Diao, 2010).
approaches are shared that inform the overall study.
Participatory and Accelerated Sustainable
1.1 Agricultural Policies and Strategies in Ethiopia Development to Eradicate Poverty (PASDEP) launched
Since 1991, Ethiopia's government has and implemented from 2005/06 to 2009/10. PASDEP
undertaken a various agricultural policy to increase made major improvements to SDPRP by extending the
production and productivity, including Agricultural-Led policy's focus beyond smallholder agriculture to other
Industrialization, Sustainable Development and Poverty sectors, particularly the industrial sector and the urban
Reduction Program, Participatory and Accelerated sector. Understanding the crucial role that agriculture
Sustainable Development to Eradicate Poverty, and plays in economic development, the plan placed more of
successive Growth and Transformation Plans (GTP) I an emphasis on commercializing and intensifying
and II. Despite all of these policies have been agriculture to link up farmers with markets, both locally
implemented in order to boost agricultural productivity and internationally (MoFED, 2005). Ethiopia achieved
and production, which in turn reduce poverty and food significant growth during the PASDEP period, which can
insecurity, the results have been found to be be attributed to government-led development
unsatisfactory (ATA, 2021). investment, global commodity demand, and incentives
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 Sura Degefu & Gemechu Beri; Middle East Res J. Agri Food Sci., Sep-Oct, 2024; 4(5): 186-192
for specific export industries (e.g., floriculture). After insufficient financial resources, major infrastructure
initially being driven by agriculture growth has gaps, poor market linkages, sub-optimal agronomic
broadened, with mining, services, and manufacturing practices constrain the ability of farmers to improve
sectors. Although the economic performance has been yields, and highly dependent on rain-fed farming,
positive, the PASDEP's core macro-objectives making the sector highly vulnerable to challenging pest
(including exports and government revenues) were not and weather patterns (ATA, 2015; ATA, 2021).
attained, and over the time, policy changes were needed
as a result of a spike in inflation and the creation of Thus, Ethiopia’s ambition to become a middle-
external imbalances (IDA and IMF, 2011) income economy and deliver shared and sustained
prosperity is also driven by the current government’s
Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP I), was ‘Ten-Year Perspective Development Plan’ (2021 –
launched from 2009/10 to 20014/15 in order to achieve 2030), which supplements the existing vision for a
larger scale development in a sustainable way. In GTP I, ‘Home-grown Economic Reform (HGER)’ agenda. The
it was clearly indicated that the agricultural sector would primary objective of the HGER is to increase the overall
continue to be the main source of economic growth. The economy's productivity and competitiveness and then
GTP-I goal was to significantly increase the share of gradually shifting growth from being driven by the
industry in the economy while also increasing public to the private sectors. According to this viewpoint,
agricultural production, strengthen the agricultural the HGER agricultural sector reform aims to enhance the
extension system, use improved agricultural role and involvement of the private sector, expand small-
technologies, scale up the best results of smallholder to large-scale irrigation development, enhance supply of
farmers, pay close attention to research-extension inputs and finance, increase livestock productivity,
linkages, and transform the agricultural sector (MoFED, safeguard the environment and natural resources,
2010). During the period of the plan's implementation, advance agricultural production strategies, reduce post-
there is an improvement in real agricultural GDP growth harvest loss, promote research-based food security
rate of 6.6% percent annually. Smallholder farmers are systems, and encourage import substitution for major
encouraged to switch from subsistence to high-value crop products. Raising export of agricultural output and
agricultural production and productivity of smallholder import substitution through contract farming, cluster
farmers were increased. Despite the attempts to farming approach and land consolidation is considered
commercialize and shift agriculture from the subsistence as one of the focus areas of agricultural sector under the
production to the production of high-value crops, due to current development plan of the country (PDC, 2020).
the country's weak extension system the performance has
been not satisfactory as expected (NPC, 2016). 2.2. Agricultural Transformation Agenda in Ethiopia
Despite government took a number of
The second growth and transformation plan interventions through agricultural development
(GTP II) were developed and implemented from 2015/16 programs and initiatives, the results have been found to
to 2020/21 based on the success and the lessons drawn be unsatisfactory. In 2009, Ethiopia was in the final year
from the first plan. Agriculture, and in particular of PASDEP and beginning to design its next five-year
smallholder agriculture, will continue to be the key GTP. The primary barriers to agricultural growth at the
driver of economic growth during the GTP II period. time were described by several stakeholders as "Narrow
High-value crops and livestock are prioritized in this approach to sectoral change" (the plan concentrates on
strategy. The agricultural transformation agenda in the selected parts of the sector leading to disconnected
second phase of the GTP plan is a combination of interventions) and lack of implementation capacity. As a
initiatives that address the agricultural sector's result, the Agricultural Transformation Agency was
difficulties and help it shift from subsistence-oriented, founded in 2010 by Regulation 198/2010, as an
low-output smallholder farming to a high-performing autonomous federal entity with its own legal personality
sector (NPC, 2016). Despite the increase in productivity, (ATI, 2022). The two founding aims of ATA are to: 1)
agricultural extension faces challenges such as; identify systemic barriers to agricultural development;
subsistence farming leaves little marketable surplus; the and 2) enable successful agricultural development
majority of farmers are smallholders with low input, low activities by assisting in the establishment of strong
output, traditional and outdated farming techniques, institutional links (ATA, 2015; ATA, 2021).
heavy reliance on unreliable rainfall, and limited
mechanization (ATA, 2015). The Transformation Agenda was launched in
2013 during the country's first Growth and
To sum up, the main problem of agricultural Transformation Plan (GTP I), by the Ministry of
strategies in the country was the poor performance of Agriculture (MOA) in collaboration with other
agricultural extension system in terms of its coverage and stakeholders. “The agricultural transformation agenda
quality of implementation including limited technology consists of a package of interventions that free up
adoptions, difficulty in prioritization of commodities, systemic bottlenecks in the agricultural sector in order to
unclear institutional arrangements, poor alignment and accelerate the transition from a low-performing, and
integration with other programs and activities, subsistence-oriented sector to a high-performing one that
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 Sura Degefu & Gemechu Beri; Middle East Res J. Agri Food Sci., Sep-Oct, 2024; 4(5): 186-192
is fully incorporated into the national economy while interconnected farms or plots of land for selected crops
also being environmentally sustainable and inclusive” with the goal of addressing common challenges and
(ATA, 2015). Following that, ACC initiative, which is pursuing shared opportunities (Dejene, 2019) where
primarily owned by regional governments and regional farmers in the group recommended to adopt full
bureaus of agriculture (RBoAs), was established in packages of extension services including fertilizer,
collaboration with ATA and MOA with the goal of chemical and seeds (ATA, 2021). In Ethiopia, cluster
commercializing smallholder farmers in strategic farming engages approximately 30–200 smallholder
commodities and high-potential geographies across the farmers whose adjacent farm plots are pooled voluntarily
country (ATA, 2015; ATA, 2019). to leverage targeted government assistance and benefit
from economic agglomeration within the cluster (ATA,
2.3. Cluster Farming in Ethiopia 2021; Tabe-Ojong and Dureti, 2022). Farm households
The scope and orientation of Transformation participating in the clusters are required to contribute at
Agendas were broadened in the GTP II, and the focus least 0.25 ha of land, and the cumulative land per cluster
switched from just improving output and productivity to must be at least 15 ha to harness the full benefits of
enhancing the downstream or market components of participation. In these clusters, farmers commit to
agricultural and livestock value chains.. In 2014, the cultivating cluster priority crops and adhere to the best
government of Ethiopia introduced the new concepts of farm agronomic recommendations. Beyond farmers, this
ACC, in order to integrate Transformation Agenda approach involves many stakeholders directly or
initiatives along specific value chains for a small number indirectly at each stage along the cluster crop value chain
of priority (or high-value) products in high-potential (research, inputs, production, transportation, storage,
regions (known as geographic clusters or economic marketing, and consumption) and fosters backward and
corridors) throughout the country. Regional forward-linkages (ATA, 2019). Cluster households are
governments and Regional Bureaus of Agriculture are expected to benefit from economies of scale such as
the primary owners and implementers of the ACC greater affordability of modern technology (e.g., sharing
program (ATA, 2019). This spatially oriented strategy is the overhead costs of purchasing tractors), stronger
based on the successful experiences of Asian, Latin bargaining power (e.g., negotiating favorable prices for
American, and African nations in the agricultural their products), and stronger market linkages to serve
transformation and rural industrialization process bulk buyers or a large-scale buyer (e.g., contract farming
(Gálvez-Nogales, 2010). with large processors) (Louhichi et al., 2019; ATA,
2019).
Under the concept of ACC a lot of efforts were
done by the government of Ethiopia by identifying 2.4. Successes from Cluster Farming and
clearly defined geographic clusters specializing in Opportunities to Consider Cluster Farming as
priority commodities across different woredas in Improved Extension Strategies in Ethiopia
Amhara, Tigray, SNNPR and Oromia regions of the Clusters Farming in the country is still in their
country. The ACC initiative focuses on ten targeted infancy. However, it achieves the great role in increasing
commodities in these clusters: wheat, maize, sesame, agricultural production and productivity which in turn
malt barley, teff, tomato, onion, banana, mango, and improves farmers welfare, strengthen the agricultural
avocado. The intention of the identified ACC woredas extension system, use improved agricultural
was to act as a center of Excellence (CoE), where the technologies, scale up the best results of smallholder
regions were supported to maximize production and farmers, pay close attention to research-extension
productivity by integrating commercialization activities. linkages, and transform the agricultural sector. Large-
These clusters are therefore meant to serve as models for scale national field days, in which the prime minister and
learning as Ethiopia intensifies the ACC approach and other senior government officials participated, were
scale up best practice across the county (Louhichi et al., recently held in several regions, including Oromia
2019). Increasing agricultural production and around Arsi on wheat and barley, the Amhara region
productivity, through several policy interventions around Debre Birhan, and West Gojjam on maize and
including import substitution and increasing export wheat. These events attracted media attention and
commodities, have got the main concern under both the confirmed an extensive dedication to cluster farming.
current Ethiopian 'Ten-Year Perspective Development
Plan' (2021– 2030) and ‘Home-grown Economic Reform Furthermore, different studies found a positive
(HGER)' agenda (PDC, 2020). performance of cluster farming initiatives in the country.
For instance, Anduamlak et al., (2022) found that,
Among these efforts, under ACC, cluster Largescale demonstration of kora variety teff through a
farming (CF) is practiced more recently as an effort to cluster approach was impressive and important for the
change and improve productivity of smallholder farmers transfer of skills and knowledge of technology and
and transforming the country’s agricultural sector by production management practices between peer groups
changing the traditional way of farming. In the context of smallholder farmers in the area.
of farming in Ethiopia, cluster farming is a modern
agricultural production strategy that uses spatially
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 Sura Degefu & Gemechu Beri; Middle East Res J. Agri Food Sci., Sep-Oct, 2024; 4(5): 186-192
Gashaw et al., (2018) evaluated the impact of According to Tabe-Ojong and Dureti (2022),
the Wheat Initiative on yields among a promotional involvement in agro-clusters boosts income and lowers
group of Ethiopian farmers who received agronomic poverty. They argues, because agro-industrial parks have
practices training, certified wheat seed on credit, urea the potential to open up long-term market prospects for
fertilizer, gypsum (as an in-kind per diem for agro-clusters, it will be crucial for policy to take into
participating in the training), and marketing assistance account how to connect these agro-clusters with other
after harvest to a treatment group who only received development initiatives.
marketing assistance. They found that the total package
resulted in a 14 percent greater yield on average, but the Further, the primary opportunity to consider
marketing assurance had no effect on yields. cluster farming as the most viable extension strategy is
the national agriculture and rural development policies
Using the farm household model FSSIM-Dev, focused on the commercialization of certain
Louhichi et al., (2019) conducted a detailed study to commodities for domestic as well as export markets.
assess the impact of scaling up the ACC initiative on Another major opportunity for cluster farming is the
smallholder performance in Ethiopia. Their findings growth of agro-processing companies across the country,
confirm the hypothesis that the ACC initiative has a which needs a huge quantity of agricultural products as
positive impact on staple crop productivity and raw materials. In some agro-ecological zones, a novel
production, as well as improving farm performance and clustering approach is encouraging farmers to move from
livelihood. But their findings were considered with the fragmented small plots to large-scale farms and has
strict assumption of their simulation method of prompted them to join together to buy massive
exogenously given output price and all farmers assumed production machinery. This all brings opportunity to
to adopt cluster farming in their study area. consider cluster farming as the better extension strategy
and the initiatives that fasten transformation of
Emnet and Worku (2019) used descriptive agricultural sector from subsistence farming in the
technique analysis to investigate the impact of country.
Agricultural Commercialization Clusters (ACCs)
interventions on malt barley small holder farmers in Arsi 3. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. According to the results Subsistence agriculture has continuously
of this study, more than half of the participants saw a dominated economic development policy in Ethiopia.
change in their livelihood after participating in the However, Ethiopia has not yet realized its full
ACCs. The influence on crop quality, production agricultural potential as farming practices are still
quantity, productivity, cost of production, and subsistence-oriented with low level of productivity. This
investment was investigated. As a result, the most would call for structural change in the agriculture and an
significant improvement was seen in the quantity and initiative that improves transformation from traditional
quality of the crop produced. This means there will be farming is in needed.
enough commercial items to sell on the market.
The purpose of this study was to review the
Solomon and Belayneh (2021) have evaluated strengths and drawbacks of Ethiopia's agricultural
the impact of cluster farming on maize productivity and policies and strategies as well as to make
commercialization in Dera woreda of South Gondar recommendations for the improved interventions and the
Zone of Amhara National Regional state by using logit potential for scaling them up. Since 1991, the
model, PSM and IPWRA estimation methods. government of Ethiopia has implemented various
According to the findings, cluster farm participants agricultural policies, in order to boost agricultural
generate more yields. The results suggest that cluster productivity and production, which in turn reduce
farming is on the right path in transforming subsistence poverty and food insecurity, however, the results have
smallholder production farming to market oriented been found to be unsatisfactory. The primary reason
farming. behind this situation is attributed to the inadequate
performance of the agricultural extension system,
Getachew et al., (2023) employed PSM to marked by limited coverage and subpar implementation
evaluate impact of CF on the smallholder farmer’s asset quality. This includes challenges such as restricted
building in Ethiopia. The results of the study show that adoption of technology, difficulty in prioritizing
smallholder wheat farmers who participate in wheat commodities, unclear institutional structures,
cluster farming have better asset building status, as insufficient alignment with other programs, and a lack of
measured in Ethiopian Birr, which is worth ETB 8374.29 financial resources. Additionally, there are significant
(about 155.37 dollars). Therefore, it was determined that infrastructure gaps, weak market connections, and
cluster farming has a favorable and significant effect on suboptimal agronomic practices hindering farmers'
wheat production, which helps smallholder farmers in capacity to enhance yields. Moreover, heavy reliance on
the study area to build their assets. rain-fed farming exacerbates the sector's vulnerability to
adverse weather conditions and pest outbreaks (ATA,
2015; ATA, 2021). Therefore, addressing these
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 Sura Degefu & Gemechu Beri; Middle East Res J. Agri Food Sci., Sep-Oct, 2024; 4(5): 186-192
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