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The Local Politics of Ethiopia's Green Revolution in South Wollo

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2013

Teferi Abate Adem
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Abstract:

This article argues that Ethiopia's agricultural extension program, which received more government funding and donor support than other similar programs in Africa, reinforced the rural presence and authoritarian powers of the ruling party while largely failing to improve smallholder agriculture. The principal reason for this outcome has to do with the systematic entanglement of the Green Revolution package delivery system with the immediate goal of guaranteeing the party's political security. In one Amharic-speaking community that provided ethnographic information for this article, overzealous party leaders rewarded supporters at the expense of imagined opponents. This distortion, coupled with a culturally embedded concept of success (defined as upward mobility), caused pervasive fear, insecurity, suspicion, and rivalry among farmers. Not surprisingly, this insecurity has a deleterious effect on hardworking farmers. The article suggests that any meaningful attempt at improving the program must recognize the centrality of politics, especially at the community and household levels, where parochial interests interface with cultural expectations.

Résumé:

Résumé:

Cet article soutient que le programme d'extension agricole en Éthiopie, qui a reçu plus de financement gouvernemental et de donations que d'autres programmes similaires en Afrique, a renforcé la présence rurale et les pouvoirs autoritaires du parti en place tout en échouant sa mission d'amélioration de l'agriculture à petite échelle. Ce résultat est principalement dû à l'imbroglio systématique du système de livraison mis en place par la Révolution Verte, ayant pour objectif immédiat de garantir la sécurité politique du parti. Dans une communauté de langue amharique ayant fourni des données ethnographiques pour cet article, des chefs de parti trop zélés récompensaient leurs supporters au détriment d'opposants imaginaires. Cette distorsion en s'ajoutant au concept culturel de succès (défini comme la capacité de monter de grade) a engendré une peur envahissante ainsi que de l'insécurité, de la suspicion et de rivalité parmi les fermiers. Il n'est pas surprenant que cette insécurité ait eu des effets néfastes sur les fermiers déjà durs à la tâche. Cet article suggère que toute tentative d'amélioration du programme devra reconnaître la centralité du rôle que joue la scène politique, en particulier au niveau de la communauté et des ménages, où les intérêts de chaque groupe se heurtent aux attentes culturelles.

Type
Research Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 55 , Issue 3 , December 2012 , pp. 81 - 102
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2012

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