Research and development (R&D) refers to investigative activities conducted to identify and address challenges or improve existing ways of doing things through innovation of new technologies. Public or private organizations engaged in the production of goods and services conduct R&D to improve product quality, productivity, and service delivery.
The budget organizations allocate to R&D is a significant factor to its outcomes. Countries and organizations that have realized this allocate a significant deal of resources to Research. Although Ethiopia is hugely investing in the education sector, it’s one of the countries known for allocating insignificant amount of resources for R&D. Even with a robust economic growth experienced for over 10 years, the country keeps to allocate small budget. EBR has explored the issue to offer this report.

A Draft Policy Aims to ‘Revolutionise’ Animal Breeding, Key to Improve Productivity’

Ethiopia ranks first in livestock population in Africa. However, the productivity of the sector remains poor due to the lack of appropriate policies which limit the use of improved technologies; and incentives to attract and retain investment.
While the productivity of improved breeds is upto ten times higher than the native breeds, there are less than one million improved livestock breeds, far less than 1Pct of the total livestock population in the country. This is very small especially when one notes that artificial insemination, a technology that helps to improve animal breeding, and productivity was introduced to the country 60 years ago. The result of the neglect to the sector is evident in that hotels, airlines and supermarkets in the country import a large amount of animal products, which sometimes include raw meat, milk and their processed forms.
With the establishment of a new federal institution – The Ministry of Livestock and Fishery Development; and a draft policy tabled for approval to govern the sector – many hope that the situation will change. EBR consulted research and stakeholders; and analyses the hope the policy could brings.

The Driving Factors Behind, the Implications on the Economy

For a new visitor of Addis Ababa, the thriving construction sector in many parts of the city and lofty traffic jam might suggest about the growing economy in the country. This is indeed part of a sign of an economy undergoing rapid growth for over a decade. As more and more people get richer, they tend to develop appetite for acquiring properties caused by lifestyle changes, among other reasons.
However, there is a concealed factor as to why individuals and corporate entities rush into spending their money in the acquisition of real assets such as vehicle, land and building.
In a country where population doubles every 25 years and per capita income grows fast, while real assets such as land are finite resources, it is common for buyers to rush to acquire the scarce resources. Inflation and inflationary expectations, which Ethiopia has been experiencing for over a decade, further drive the demand for property acquisition. Buyers use them as a strategy to evade the adverse effects of inflation.
The trend is dangerous because it diverts scarce resources that should be used for investment in the productive sectors of the economy. Macroeconomists argue that the situation calls for improving the entire macroeconomic governance because the continuation of resource misallocation ruins the pillars the national economy rests upon.