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Scientific Research and Essay Vol. 2(6), pp. 199-203, June 2007
Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/SRE
ISSN 1992-2248 © 2007 Academic Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Organic farming and sustainable development in
Ethiopia
Rani Devi1, Ashok Kumar3 and Bishaw Deboch2
1Department of Energy and Environmental Sciences, Ch. Devi Lal University, Sirsa, Haryana, India.
2Department of Environmental science and technology, Public Health Faculty, Jimma University, PB-378, Ethiopia.
3District Food and Supplies Officer, Sirsa, Haryana, India.
Accepted 8 May, 2007
The main objective of this paper was to find out the feasibility of organic farming as a part of
sustainable development in Ethiopia. The average total cost of chemical fertilizers and biofertilizers
used for one hectare of land per year for various crops was calculated to be US$ 150 and US$ 40
respectively while for chemical pesticides and biopesticides, it was US$ 100 and US$ 25 respectively.
The total estimated cost of crop production per hectare per year for organic farming was US$ 190
(1634 Ethiopian Birr) and for inorganic farming, it was US$ 320 (2752 Ethiopian Birr). The cost of
production for organic farming was about 40.6 % less than that for inorganic farming. The
calculations were also done for estimation of total nutrients and other substances required for
organic farming for the whole country. In organic farming, the important nutrients required for total
agricultural land of country were found as compost/ vermicompost 3.25 x 1010 ton, poultry manure 3.2
x 109 ton, FYM (Farm Yard Manure) 9.7 x 107 ton and biopesticides 1.6 x 1010 ton. The present status of
organic components available in the country was compost/vermicompost 1.6 x 1011 ton, poultry
manure 8.5 x 109 ton, FYM 1.8 x 1010 ton and biopesticides in abundant quantity. As the resources are
in abundance for organic farming, hence-forth might be a good opportunity for diverting from
inorganic farming to organic farming system and as a result, sustainable development could be
achieved in the country.
Key words: Inorganic farming, organic farming, sustainable development.
INTRODUCTION
Ethiopia is a land-locked country known as ‘Horn of Afri-
ca’. It has diversed topography, encompassing moun-
tains over 4000 m above mean sea level, high plateaus,
deep gorges cut by rivers and arid lowlands. The mean
annual rainfall is highest (above 2700 mm) in the south-
western highlands and lowest in the northeastern low-
lands (100 mm) (Ininda and Befekadu, 1987). The mean
temperature ranges from a highest of 45°C (April – Sep-
tember) in the afar depression to 0°C or even lower
during night in the highlands (November - February)
(Ward and Yeshannew, 1990). Understanding the nature
of the Ethiopian climate, it is important to know the pat-
tern of food production and environmental sustain-ability.
There are mainly four seasons in Ethiopia namely Kiremt,
Tsedey, Bega and Belg (NMSA, 1998).
*Corresponding author. E-mail: rani_sahu@yahoo.com. Tel:
+91-1294006166, 67.
These seasons determine the seasonal farming
activities such as land preparation, sowing and planting,
weeding and harvesting. “Kiremt” is (June- August) the
main rainy season in (Kassahun and Bokretsion, 1999)
and most of the crops are sown during this season. The
“Tsedey” (September - November) is the spring season
and is very good for food production and also for health
point of view. The “Bega” (December - February) is the
dry, windy and sunny season in most highlands of Ethio-
pia. Farmers harvest their Meher crops during this dry
period. The “Belg” (March - May) season is the small rai-
ny period and 5 -10% of crops are produced during this
season but in some areas up-to 50% of local food is
produced (Kassahun and Bokretsion, 1999) from this
season.
Ethiopia is basically an agricultural and pastoral coun-
try. About 85% population depends on agriculture for
their livelihood. In Ethiopia, there are mainly three farm-
ing systems - mixed farming of the highlands (both crops
200 Sci. Res. Essays
Table 1. A statistical data of Ethiopia during 2005-2006.
Items Description
Total population (million) 76.5
Male/Female ratio (%) 51/49
Population growth rate (annual %) 2.7
Adult literacy rate (%) 41.5
Life expectancy (years) 45.5
Rural population (million) 56.9
Urban population (million) 15.4
Population density (km2) 62
Livestock (million) 78 million (35 million cattle, 25 million sheep, and 18 million goats)
Export (%) 75 (Crops and livestock)
GDP (%) 45 (Agriculture and livestock)
Land area (hectare) 108.5 million hectares-Arable Land 45%, of which; Irrigated 3%; Forests, woodlands
and savannas 25%; Other 30%
Source: United Nations Development Programme (Last Updated: February 03, 2006).
and livestock production are integrated), pastoralism in
the lowlands and the root crop based farming system
(EEA/EEPRI, 2002). Commercial agriculture using the
river basins, such as the Awash Basin, is a recent phe-
nomenon (Harris et al, 1998).
Ethiopia is one of the least developed countries in the
world and its economy is based mainly on agriculture
(Bekalo and Bangay, 2001). It accounts for more than 75
percent of total exports and about 45 percent of its GDP
(gross domestic product) (UNDP, 1992). Coffee alone
makes up to more than 87 percent of the total agricultural
exports (UNDP, 1992). The UNDP has put Ethiopia at
170th rank out of the 175 countries in terms of its develop-
ment index on HRD (Human Resources Development)
scale (HDR, 2004; UNDP, 1992).
The country currently faces a number of environmental
challenges resulting directly or indirectly from human acti-
vities due to agricultural practices, rapid population grow-
th and the consequent increase in the exploitation of
natural resources (Unwin, 1997). The challenges range
from land degradation to environmental pollution due to
the misguided application of chemicals in agriculture for
domestic purposes or for the manufacture of industrial
products. The use of agrochemicals by small and margi-
nal farmers is rapidly increasing; and this is in addition to
the substantial amounts already deployed on the few
large-scale farms, particularly cotton farms (Philippe et
al., 2000).
The misuse/overuse of pesticides and fertilizers are
damaging human health and polluting the surrounding
environment and thus violating the sustainability of eco-
system (Karp et al., 1995). So, environmentally sound
farming system is the vision for the society to cope up the
problems of chemical based farming system (UNCTAD,
1995). There are several evidences in the literature which
are forcing the steps towards organic farming (Buys,
1993). There are also certain cases in literature regarding
organic farming of some crops like coffee, cocoa and tea
(IFOAM, 1996).
By looking these environmental problems due to this
chemical based farming, the government of Ethiopia iss-
ued a new policy guideline on Rural Development in Wor-
ld Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannes-burg,
South Africa, and 26th August - 4th September 2002. It
included the rehabilitation as an essential factor for
increasing soil productivity.
The basic aim of this paper is to evaluate the signify-
cance of organic farming in Ethiopia and its relevance in
context to utilize its present natural resources. Thus, ulti-
mately goal of this study is towards the new revolution for
sustainable development in this country.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Survey
The present investigations were conducted at country sites around:
Gonder, Jimma, Moyas, Harar and Diredawa towns. These selected
sites represented different agro-ecological zones across Ethiopia.
Survey was conducted during 2005 - 2006 and 100 farmers were
interviewed in each study area using specific questionnaire reg-
arding land use patterns, types of crops growing throughout the
year, environmental awareness about significance of organic farm-
ing and impact of agrochemicals used for inorganic farming prac-
tices among local peoples and availability of organic fertilizers and
pesticides. Some secondary data like total geographical area of the
country, total population, population growth rate, population density,
population distribution in urban and rural sectors, literacy rate, M/F
ratio, types and total population of livestock, percent export of the
country in terms of agricultural and livestock products and GDP rate
of the country were collected from UNDP data source as shown in
Table 1.
Farming systems of the country
Study was done about the farming systems in villages situated
Devi et al 201
Table 2. Different types of crops grown round the year in Ethiopia.
Types Crops
Cereals Tef, barley, maize, wheat, sorghum, oats and finger millets
Pulses Horse bean, field pea, haricot bean, chickpea, grass pea and lentil
Oil crops Niger seed, linseed, sunflower, rapeseed, groundnut, safflower and sesame
Fruits-vegetables Citrus, papaya, banana, avocado, mango, cabbage, tomato, hot peppers, pumpkin, onions and garlic
Root and tuber crops Enset, Irish, sweet and indigenous potatoes, taro, yams, carrot
Cash crops Coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, spices, sugar cane and chat
Table 3. Quantity of farming inputs (for inorganic and organic based farming system) in Ethiopia (hectare/year).
Input Inorganic farming
(kg/ha)
Organic farming
(Ton/ha)
Cost/hectare (US$)
Chemical fertilizers
N
P
K
100
50
100
-
-
-
NPK total cost 150
Biofertilizers
Compost/vermicopost Poultry manure
FYM
-
-
-
5
5
10
30
Total cost
40
Chemical pesticides
Insecticides and disease controlling substances 70 - 100
Biopesticides
Insecticides and disease controlling substances (kg) - 50 25
around five towns round the year to observe their farming pattern;
whether it is inorganic based or using natural types of resources
with special reference to different seasonal crops. Information was
also gathered about various stages of crops grown in Ethiopia as
mentioned in Table 2.
Inputs in farming systems
Inputs applied by the farmers in their farming systems were
analyzed on the bases of average quantity of major nutrients and
pesticides used in organic and inorganic farming. The average total
cost (per hectare) of production was calculated for different farming
systems from field preparation till the harvesting and yield. The cost
comparison for these two different types of farming practices
adopted by the farmers was as given in Table 3 and Table 4.
Potential impacts of organic farming
Attempts were made on the potential effects of organic farming on
human health, water bodies, livestock, air, soil fertility and biodi-
versity. All the important impacts of this study were grouped into
four categories and these categories included social, economical,
agricultural and environment impacts.
Elements for sustainable developments
Studies were based on the actual farm observations for the require-
ment of different types of nutrients and pesticides for different crops
per hectare and average values were taken for calculations of
important elements for organic farming and sustainable develop-
ment for a country like Ethiopia. Our main approach was on the
study of natural resources (organic pesticides and organic fertili-
zers) available in the country, which could support the organic mat-
ter based farming system without compromising the total crop pro-
duction. Measurements were for the total arable land available in
Ethiopia for agricultural practices with the help of UNDP data. Then
the calculations were made on the basis of total avail-ability of
compost/vermicompost, poultry manure, FYM and biopesticides in
the country from different sources. Individual amount of compost /
vermicompost, poultry manure, FYM and biopesticides was calcula-
ted required for the organic farming for the whole agricultural land
of Ethiopia. Then assumptions were made for the possibility of sus-
tainable development and organic farming with the present availa-
ble natural resources (compost/vermicompost, poultry manure,
FYM and biopesticides) of the country.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The study was done during 2005 - 2006 in the country
site villages of around Gonder, Jimma, Moyas, Harar and
Diredawa towns as these locations were covering the
four directions of Ethiopia as shown in Figure 1. The total
land area of country is 108.5 million hectares and out of
this, 45% is arable land out of which only 3% is irrigated,
25% forest, woodlands and savannas and 30% is waste-
202 Sci. Res. Essays
Table 4. Average cost (per ha/year) and its comparison for inorganic and organic farming system
in Ethiopia.
Activity Inorganic farming (US$) Organic farming (US$)
Seedbed preparation 20 10
Fertilizers 50 40
Seeding 10 5
Irrigation 50 50
Thinning 20 10
Weed and Pest management 100 25
Harvesting 50 30
Supervison 20 20
Total cost 320 (Birr 2752) 190 (Birr-1634)
Jimma Town
Gondar Town
Moya’s Town
Harar Town
Dire Dawa
Town
Figure 1. Map of the study sites.
land. Total land available for agriculture in Ethiopia is
3.25 million hectare. From Table 1, it was found that
crops and livestock accounts for more than 75% of their
total exports and contributes a good percentage towards
GDP (45%) of the country.
It was found from Table 2, that the important crops gro-
wing in Ethiopia were cereals (tef, barley, maize, wheat,
sorghum, oats and finger millets), pulses (horse bean,
field pea, haricot bean, chickpea, grass pea and lentil), oil
crops (Niger seed, linseed, safflower, rapeseed, ground-
nut, safflower and sesame), root and fibers crops (nnset,
Irish, sweet potato, potatoes, taro, yams and carrots),
fruits-vegetables (citrus, papaya, banana, avo-cado,
mango, cabbage, tomato, hot peppers, pumpkin, onions
and garlic) and cash crops (coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco,
spices, sugar cane and chat). The livestock and different
types of crops were the important source of income for
farmers.
As shown in Table 3, the important farming inputs are
NPK fertilizers, herbicides, compost/vermicompost, poul-
try manure, FYM, chemical pesticides and biopesticides.
The total amount required (ha/year) for N, P, and K are
100, 50 and 100 kg, respectively and the total cost of
NPK is US$ 100. Biofertilizers required (ha/year) includes
compost/vermicompost of 5 ton, poultry manure 5 ton
and FYM is of 30 ton and the total cost of biofertilizers is
US$ 40.The amount of chemical insecticides (ha/year)
required is about 70 kg and its cost is US$ 100. Similarly
biopesticides requirement (ha/year) is of 50 kg and its
cost is US$ 25 as shown in Table 3.
It is evident from Table 4 that different activities for crop
production are field/seedbed preparation, fertilizers, see-
ding, irrigation, thinning, weed and pest management,
harvesting and supervision and the cost of these active-
ties for chemical farming are US$ 20, US$ 50, US$ 10,
US$ 50, US$ 20, US$ 100, US$ 50 and US$ 20 respec-
tively and for organic farming these were US$ 10, US$
40, US$ 5, US$ 50, US$ 10, US$ 25, US$ 30 and US$
20 respectively for per ha/year. It was also clear from
Table 4 that the total cost of chemical farming for per
Devi et al 203
Table 5. Elements available/required for sustainable development in context to Ethiopian farming
system (ton/year).
Components Quantity available (ton/year) Quantity required (ton/year)
Compost/vermicompost 1.6 x 1011 3.25 x 1010
Poultry manure 8.5 x 109 3.2 x 109
FYM 1.8 x 1010 9.7 x 107
Biopesticides Abundant 1.6 x 1010
ha/year in Ethiopia was US$ 320 and that was equi-
valent to 2752 birr (Ethiopian currency) and for organic
farming (ha/year) this cost was US$ 190 (1634 birr).
From the cost comparison of chemical farming and orga-
nic farming, it was found that chemical farming was
40.6% more costly.
Table 5 indicates that the important elements for sus-
tainable development in a country like Ethiopia for orga-
nic farming are compost/vermicompost, poultry manure,
FYM and biopesticides. The amount required for 3.25
million hectares (total agricultural land) per year for com-
post/vermicompost, poultry manure, FYM and biopesti-
cides are 3.25 x 1010 ton, 3.2 x 109 ton, 9.7 x 107 ton and
1.6 x 1010 ton respectively. The total amounts available
per year in country for each category were 1.6 x 1011 ton
of compost/vermicompost, 8.5 x 109 ton of poultry
manure, 1.8 x 1010 ton of FYM and biopesticides are in
abundance. On the basis of data mentioned in Table 5, it
could depict that the amount of essential elements for
sustainable development in Ethiopia are in sufficient
amount.
There are some assumptions of this study regarding
the organic farming for its social and economical impacts,
agricultural and environmental impacts. According to the
belief, the social impacts included better health condi-
tions, more employment generation, decreasing rural
migration, storage for longer period, eco-friendly work
environment and better education opportunities. The
important economical impacts may be organic farming
will be 40.6% cheaper than chemical farming and hence
income security in peasant, reduction of cash investment,
more return, low risk and self-sufficient and stronger rural
economy. Impact on agriculture can be conservation of
germplasm, balanced food-quality, soil fertility and micro-
bial activities, tolerance against pest/diseases, self-dep-
endent and stable production system and the possible
impacts on environment may be in terms of reduction of
soil pollution, maintenance of soil nutrients and soil
microorganisms, control on soil erosion, protection of bio-
diversity, check on air and water pollution and sustain-
able production.
Conclusion
Ethiopia is a country of farmers and 85% of its population
is engaged in farming activities. From the ongoing resear-
ch, it is clear that the scope of organic farming is bright in
this country and it is about 40.6% more economical than
inorganic farming. Organic farming will help the farmers
to maintain the similar returns with less input. It is also
environmental friendly and at the same time, maintains
the soil fertility and its integrity. This farming system will
also help farmers on control over their means of produc-
tion and greater independence. Finally, it can be conclu-
ded that organic farming is the way towards sustainable
development for a developing country like Ethiopia. The
Ethiopian government may also capture international
market of organic products and hence earn more foreign
exchange by exporting organic products to even develop
countries like USA, Japan, European countries and other
neighboring countries.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Author is highly thankful to the Education Ministry of
Ethiopia and UNDP for this opportunity to visit Ethiopia
and provide funds enable to work on different environ-
mental aspects of Ethiopia.
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