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Endowed with abundant natural resources, Ethiopia has one of the most diverse agro-ecological configurations in the world. With 74.3 million hectares of arable land spread over 18 major agro-ecological zones at altitudes ranging from 148 meters to 4,620 meters above sea level, the country’s diversity makes it suitable for growing over 100 types of crops. Agriculture forms the biggest component and bedrock of Ethiopia’s economic development, contributing to about 32.7 Pct of the country’s GDP and 65.6 Pct of employment. With 85 Pct of Ethiopia’s 105 million people living in rural areas, the agriculture sector primarily consists of smallholder farmers who make their living from less than one hectare of land. The agricultural sector has reported considerable growth rates over the past decade as the result of an estimated doubling in the use of modern farm inputs, rapid expansion of arable land, increased labor productivity, government investments in the extension system, and an improved road network. The light of hope in the farming fields, however, is dimmed by startling losses following harvests, writes EBR’s Bamlak Fekadu.


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The Ethiopian-Chinese partnership has developed substantially over the past three decades. Ethiopia is a central hub for China’s Belt and Road Initiative, adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 150 countries as part of the centerpiece of Xi Jinping’s foreign policy. Over 300,000 Chinese immigrants are thought to be living in Ethiopia, creating a niche market for Chinese food. The phenomenon has led to the thriving Rwanda Market, where dozens of stores cater to their customers with a focus on Chinese ingredients. More and more Chinese restaurants are springing up throughout Addis Ababa as well, offering a new kind of cuisine to an increasingly curious
Due to the nations’ economic cooperation, Over 300,000 Chinese immigrants are thought to be living in Ethiopia, creating a niche market for the consumption of Chinese food and turning the former Rwanda Market into the only urban food market in Addis Ababa that focuses on Chinese items. Due to the close economic ties with China and other Asian nations, in addition to the open-air China market, many restaurants have sprung up throughout Addis Ababa offering a variety of Chinese dishes to fellow Chinese expatriates as well as a growing number of Far East Asian cuisine fans, altering the city’s food landscape, writes EBR’s Bamlak Fekadu.


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The history of duty-free privileges dates back as far back as 1986, when they were applied to petroleum extraction investments, and 1993 when they were applied to the mining sector. Recently, Ethiopia has adopted a new investment incentive regulation, Number 517/2022, which was approved by the Council of Ministers in May and was published in the Federal Negarit Gazette in July. The incentive regulation has repealed the investment incentives provided under a 2012 Council of Ministers regulation. However, directives issued prior to the enactment of the new incentive regulation will remain under enforcement until replaced by new ones to be issued by the Ministry of Finance . In this article, EBR’s Bamlak Fekadu reviews the new incentive regulation.


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Ethiopia’s economic growth over the last two-plus decades has been lauded as exemplary by many, including the World Bank and IMF. Nonetheless, development in terms of food self-sufficiency, unemployment reduction, and self-sustaining industrial growth have remained distant goals. The reality of the economy’s most important sector – agriculture – highlights the lack of meaning in encouraging annual economic reports or praise for unprecedented economic growth. Although there has been improvement, agricultural output remains low and the country still imports a large portion of the grains it consumes. Skyrocketing inflation and growing import bills have pushed the administration to double down on initiatives aimed at better productivity. It is the right call, but it will be difficult to achieve the goals without addressing the core issues plaguing farmers – lack of access to finance, the unavailability of mechanization, surging prices for inputs, and an ever-decreasing average landholding size. EBR’s Bamlak Fekadu explores the realities facing the Ethiopian agricultural sector and what the future holds for smallholder farmers.


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As PM Promises Chicken for Every Meal

Ethiopia boasts the largest livestock population in Africa, and its cattle, goats, sheep, and camels are integral parts of the agricultural sector, national GDP, and export earnings. Although agriculture accounts for more than a quarter of GDP and an even higher proportion of income from exports, livestock’s share remains low as productivity and commercialization lag behind. This is despite decades of intervention by the government and international donor agencies to improve the sub-sector. As a new round of efforts led by the Prime Minister takes off, EBR’s Bamlak Fekadu takes a look at the challenges facing the livestock business.


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The bars of gold, the diamonds, the gemstones, and the oil were stories Ethiopians have lived with about the riches of their country under the earth. Not materialized enough to change lives, those stories have remained a myth. Even though various administrations admitted the economic value of gemstones and mining in general, the lack of proper policy and legal frameworks, skilled labour, private investment, and market promotion at local and global scale have challenged the robust growth of the sector. This seems to be the thing of the past as the current administration of Abiy Ahmed (PhD) has put the sector at the heart of its ten-year perspective plan. With an overhauled institution under the leadership of Takele Uma (Engi.), the Ministry of Mines is set to enable the country make the most out of its mineral resources. Even though there are still high hopes for gemstones with positive global market prospects, production is still challenged by conflicts, parallel markets, and artificial products, among many other challenges, writes EBR’s Bamlak Fekadu.


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The administration of Abiy Ahmed (Ph.D.), has been undertaking wide-ranging legal reforms as part of its pledged economic liberalization and modernization process. Legislation has been devised or amended to regulate exchange rates, interest rates, demonetization, transaction limits, a loan freeze, and capital thresholds, among others, over the past couple of years. Among the reforms was also a revision of the half-a-century-old Commercial Code that many saw as overdue. However, changes to foreclosure laws in the new Code have left banking executives uneasy, writes EBR’s Bamlak Fekadu.


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After the Ethiopian new year holiday season and two months of winter vacation, students return to school. It is definitely tough to take-on day-long classes after a vacation packed with fun. The holiday season right before classes begins offers some solace to students, but the greatest burden of lifting children’s spirits for the new academic year falls on their guardians, both physically or morally. The procurement of new school supplies, uniforms, backpacks, lunch boxes, and other materials is expected of parents and guardians at the beginning of each year. Every year though, the procurement of these school supplies has proved to be nothing but a signal of a bad start. This year is no different—skyrocketing prices of school supplies have hit parents hard, writes EBR’s Bamlak Fekadu.


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Since the inception of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the concepts of economic union and integration have existed without realization due to various factors including the similarity of goods produced, subpar infrastructure, and dissimilar legal systems, to name a few. Relative to other regions, the continent is primarily reserved to small-scale trading. Ethiopia, like many other African nations, enjoys such cross-border trade along its borders with neighboring nations. For many years, such trade has been treated as illegal, and the traders were nothing but contrabandists. Despite the significance of these trade points and the signing of framework agreements among neighboring countries, the severe lack of infrastructure and skills necessary to oversee the trade process has prevented countries from reaping the benefits of developed cross-border trade. Even though there are few improvements on the Ethiopian side in terms of setting up free trade zones and other infrastructure, ongoing security and natural challenges prevent this landlocked country from realizing the full potential of cross-border trade, writes EBR’s Bamlak Fekadu.


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Startups are heralded for their numerous economic benefits. However, starting a business in Ethiopia—whether small, medium, or big—has always been a nightmare for entrepreneurs and investors. This has been well-evidenced throughout the years in ease of doing business rankings. One sticky point in getting a business off the ground has been the lack of financing. Startups are a driving force in the business community, responsible for the creation of new jobs, development of innovative products and services, and expansion of overall productive economic opportunities. There are now few pieces of evidence which support the view that the current administration has a decent understanding of the role of startups. Through the governmental push and other endeavors, the culture of financing startups is slowly rising. Still, the country could further benefit from better capacitated venture capital and angel investors, writes EBR’s Bamlak Fekadu.



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