In the last three years, the Ethiopian economy has faced various challenges ranging from COVID-19's impacts to locust invasion, the unprovoked war of TPLF, drought to price inflation.
Though Ethiopia planned and executed to turn the adversity resulted from the pandemic to an opportunity by taking various measures, the service sector, tourism, in particular, had been worst hit. Also, government and private institutions were forced to run their day to day businesses by a few people, while the rest had worked from homes.
Despite this, the national-flag carrier, Ethiopian, is one of the business entities which could change the COVID-19 threat into an opportunity. When many airlines were giving up their service, Ethiopian had been transporting donations critical to arrest the pandemic throughout the world.
When we see the agricultural sector, though it was hit by natural calamities, it had been able to overcome the challenge and had contributed its share to the nation's Gross Domestic Production. In fact, the sector is the means of living for 80 percent of the population and the mainstay of the economy but still it remains subsistence and rain fed. However, since the last decade, the registered economic growth are partly attributable to the sector. The utilization of agricultural inputs such as fertilizer, pesticide and herbicide have enabled to enhance productivity and the volume of the product.
Here one needs to understand that the expansion of manufacturing sector is intended to linking agriculture to the industry, to add value on the raw products, to substitute import and to boost export. Today, several industrial parks, have taken shape along the country's major parts that are in good proximity to sea outlets.
The other achievement of the sector registered in the last two years is the cultivation of wheat through irrigation system in lowland areas.
It is practiced both in the lowland and the highland parts of the country of course and from year to year the volume of the production is increasing by leaps and bounds.
The natural calamities occurred in the southern and eastern parts of the country posed a disastrous impact particularly on the livestock. Reports from the regions indicated that due to the drought about hundreds of thousands of cattle are lost.
The impact of the war in the northern part is obvious. The terrorist group has already destroyed several key infrastructures.
Passing through such calamities, reports have shown that the Ethiopian economy has managed to perform relatively well. For instance, over the last six months, the country has obtained 1.63 billion Dollars in the form of Foreign Direct Investment. As compared to the same period of last budget year, the amount has surpassed by 23 percent. In the last six months, the country has collected 172.3 billion Birr in revenues which is 92 percent of the plan.
With no shred of doubt, the home-grown economic reform is bearing fruits, and this must go sustainably.
Artmotion S.Africa
