Current Trends of Investment Effect on Land-Use Practices of Ethiopia

Ethiopia's economy and the livelihoods of its population are highly dependent on agriculture. In spite of the long history of agricultural practice in the country, the sector is still in its traditional subsistence form while the country would have benefitted a lot in transforming the lives of many given the country's endowment with immense natural resources. Vast and fertile lands, availability of water bodies and the varied agro-ecological suitability could have an impact in securing food at household and national levels. As compared to the earlier times, agricultural production and productivity have showed vast improvement. However, weak market linkages, environmental degradation, land tenure insecurity, increased cost of agricultural inputs, climate change, low level of awareness and other factors are still weakening the performance of the sector. Mechanized plant and animal production, agroprocessing, manufacturing, mining, green energy and tourism can be mentioned as the prominent agricultural investment opportunities in the country.