A green revolution in sub-Saharan Africa? The transformation of Ethiopia's agricultural sector

Abstract

As the widespread pessimism about African agriculture has receded, policies for a green revolution in Africa are again called for. This study explores the presence of a national-level green revolution in Ethiopia and finds that an Ethiopian green revolution has taken place since the mid-1990s, mainly among staple-growing smallholders in agroecologically favourable areas and that the state has played a central role in this transformation via public spending on agriculture. It concludes that there is scope for states in today's low-income countries to take a leading role in the transformation of their agricultural sectors.