Cycles of famine in a country of plenty: The case of Ethiopia

Abstract

Ethiopia is blessed with immense agricultural potential. A large portion of its territory contains ample agricultural resource to produce food in sufficient amount that can provide a well-balanced, adequate diet for its entire population. The climatic and soil conditions are, for the most part, favorable for the development and support of a wide variety of crop plants and food animals. Its highlands, with their diversified terrain and cli atic parameters, are identified among the eight or so major centers where the world's most important cultivated plants originated. Such major food plants as wheat, barley, sorghum, millet and over three dozens of other species are known to be endemic to the Ethiopian highlands.1) Yet, Ethiopia's history is littered with records of recurrent hunger and devastating famines. In this century alone it has suffered ten major famines affecting largely the Ν portion of the country. The evidence suggests each succeeding famine inflicts more casualities than the one preceding it. Drought has always been considered the principal cause of almost all the famines that Ethiopia has experienced. There is no doubt that recurrent droughts have led to poor harvest and severe food shortages, and have left millions of peasant farmers and cattle keepers in a state of destitution. But the question is: Is there a causeeffect relationship between drought and famine? Can drought, the simple absence of precipitation, be responsible for the total consequences of famine? At one point or another droughts have occurred in various parts of the worl , in rich as well as poo countries and in both densely and sparsely populated regions or nations. Howeve , dr ught did not result in starvation deaths in every situation. For instance, a prolonged drought in Austr lia a few years ago claimed no lives at all. No one in the United States starved to death when drought hit the South in 1985. During the drought of the early 1980s, w ich hit most sub-Saharan Af ica countries, Kenya and Tanzania suf ered n deaths attributable to drought. Zimbabwe also managed o abs b the recent adverse cli at c conditions, which did not jeopardize the lives of its people. On the other hand, Ethi pia, nce known as the "breadbasket of the Middle Eas ," w th relatively low population densi ies and abundant arable land and wate resources, suffer d perhaps the worst famine in its history. This paper advances a number of interrelated arguments regarding Ethiopia's recent major famines. First, there is nothing in the environmental resource base of the country that suggests that famine ought to have been a problem for its inhabitants. The country is endowed with large expanses of arable land (a good proportion of which is still unused), abundant supply of water, and huge humanpower that can be turned into an asset. Second, the Ethiopian fami es are linked far more d rectly to the ocial and political structure than to the vagaries of climate. Finally, current internal political and economic policies, if not altered, will insure the r curence of major famine in the future.