Dawit Alemu

The impact of a small-scale irrigation scheme on malaria transmission in Ziway area, Central Ethiopia

Objective  To assess the impact of a small‐scale irrigation scheme in Ziway area, a semi‐arid area in the Central Ethiopian Rift Valley, on malaria transmission.

The Rapid Expansion of Herbicide Use in Smallholder Agriculture in Ethiopia: Patterns, Drivers, and Implications

Adoption of herbicides by Ethiopian smallholders has grown rapidly, with application on cereals doubling to more than a quarter of the area under cereals between 2004 and 2014. Relying on unique data from a large-scale survey of producers of teff, the most widely grown cereal in Ethiopia, we find considerable positive labor productivity effects of herbicide use of between 9 and 18 per cent. We show that the adoption of herbicides is strongly related to proximity to urban centers, access to all-weather roads, and levels of local rural wages. All these factors have changed substantially over the last decade in Ethiopia, explaining the rapid take-off in herbicide adoption. The sizable increase in herbicide use in Ethiopia has important implications for rural labor markets, potential environmental and health considerations, and capacity development for the design and effective implementation of regulatory policies on herbicides.Cet article étudie l’utilisation des herbicides en Éthiopie. Il révèle une augmentation rapide des importations d’herbicides dans le secteur privé en Ethiopie (une valeur quadruplée au cours de la dernière décennie). L’adoption des herbicides par les petits exploitants a augmenté rapidement, en particulier l’application dans le domaine des céréales qui a plus que doublé au cours des dix dernières années, attenant plus d’un quart de ce secteur en 2014. Nous constatons d’importants effets positifs sur la productivité du travail pour ceux qui adoptent de 9 à 18 pourcent. Nous montrons que l’adoption des herbicides est fortement liée à la proximité d’une ville, aux salaires ruraux, et à l’accès aux marchés. Tous ces facteurs ont considérablement changés au cours de la dernière décennie en Éthiopie, ce qui semble expliquer la popularité de l’adoption des herbicides. Ce changement a des répercussions importantes sur les marchés du travail ruraux, sur les considérations potentielles en matière d’environnement et de la santé, et sur les besoins en matière de renforcement des capacités pour la conception et la mise en œuvre de politiques réglementaires.

Negotiating New Relationships: How the Ethiopian State is Involving China and Brazil in Agriculture and Rural Development

This article provides an overview of Brazilian and Chinese agricultural development cooperation activities in Ethiopia. Development cooperation is carefully managed and coordinated in Ethiopia, a highly aid‐dependent country, in line with the national ‘Growth and Transformation Plan’. The government promotes harmonisation and an alignment process of Western donor support through the Ethiopian High Level Forum. Brazil and China are currently not engaged in these coordination platforms, working instead on a bilateral basis. Core activities include experience‐sharing in public governance, technical cooperation, and the attraction of private and public investments. In the case of Brazil, the cooperation focuses on renewable energy sector development mainly related to biofuels derived from sugar cane production, whilst in the case of China, cooperation is more focused on infrastructure, agricultural technology and skill transfer. The approach adopted by Ethiopia reflects a commitment to a ‘developmental state’ approach. This seems to be delivering results in the agricultural sector, and beyond.